ROGERS -- City department cooperation, new trucks from the 2011 bond issue and fire prevention efforts from the Rogers Fire Department netted the city the best possible rating from the Insurance Service Office.
Achieving a top rating has been years in the process, said Fire Chief Tom Jenkins and Mayor Greg Hines during a news conference announcing the rating Tuesday afternoon.
At A Glance
What is ISO?
Rogers was recognized with a Class One Public Protection Classification from the Insurance Service Office on Tuesday. The classification is commonly referred to as a city’s ISO rating.
• Class 1 indicates exemplary fire protection and Class 10 indicates the community’s fire suppression program doesn’t meet minimum criteria of a fire house, truck, four firefighters and two hours of training every two months.
• According to the ISO website there are 60 fire departments classified as a class one, 750 as a class two and 2,410 as a class three out of 46,000 U.S. departments.
• Arkansas has one class one department, 18 class two and 52 class three departments out of 1,400 departments.
Source: Insurance Service Office
Both men touted the lower rating as a way to lower property insurance costs.
Claim history, insurance agency and other factors play a roll, but Jenkins said his research shows a reduction from 2 to 20 percent in insurance costs.
"That's something to get excited about in my book," he said.
Rogers jumped from a three rating to one. The city was last rated in 2007, Jenkins said.
Departments are rated one through 10 based on their ability to fight fire, with one as the highest ranking a department can get, said Charles Copple, field representative from the Community Hazard Mitigation Services department of ISO.
Fewer than 100 fire departments hold a Public Protection Classification of one, Copple said.
"Those in the fire service know what a big deal this is," Hines said.
Bond issue elections included fire improvements since 1981, Hines said. Efforts increased in the last several years, he said. Getting the lowest rating has always been the goal, he said.
"It's the best," Hines said.
The low rating shows residents the community is safe, and could be the tipping point for an industry deciding between two cities, Hines said.
Half the review focused on the Fire Department, Jenkins said, but the other half of the rating requires cooperation. Ten percent of the score came from the dispatching process and 40 percent looks at the water system.
Both the Fire Department and the Rogers Water Utility flow test the 5,000 fire hydrants in Rogers, said Earl Rausch, utility superintendent.
The keys to Rogers' rating included everything from the sprinkler systems in new construction to firefighter training. The department underwent the rigorous accreditation process with the eye on the number one rating, Jenkins said.
"We felt like we were a class 1 department already," Jenkins said. "We just had to be validated."
The 2011 bond issue was the final puzzle piece in the rating because it paid to replace older trucks in the fleet, Jenkins said. The oldest front line truck is from 2010 and the average truck is from 2012. There is one 1997 truck, but it is assigned to the training center, he said.
The more modern trucks have equipment the old ones didn't. New trucks are equipped to carry tanks of foam to put out fire. Five of the eight front-line engines are equipped for paramedics, Jenkins said. They also have safety improvements for the firefighters who ride them.
"A voter who voted for the bond issue, they helped us do this," Jenkins said.
Earlier bond issues helped pay for construction of fire stations in Rogers, Hines said.
The new Station No. 2, under construction near New Hope and Dixieland Roads will move firefighters closer to the main road and could cut 30 seconds off a response time, Jenkins said. It will also be larger than the old station and able to house special rescue equipment and possibly an ambulance, Jenkins said.
NW News on 01/14/2015