News

Eldorado Fire Department improves fire protection

Posted March 07, 2017 10:00 pm

BY TRAVIS DENEAL tdeneal@dailyregister.com

ELDORADO – Eldorado Fire Chief Mike McKinnies said he's very proud of his department after continued improvements essentially will lower insurance premiums for Eldorado residents.

Eldorado recently had their Insurance Services Office score reduced to a 3. Previously, the score had been a 5.

A municipality's ISO rating is used by insurance companies to determine likelihood of total losses in a particular area. The lower the score, the less likelihood of a total structure loss in event of a fire. It also is a general correlation to the quality of fire department services in an area.

"I am very proud that we have an ISO rating of 3," McKinnies said. "We've put a lot of time and effort into this, and it's wonderful that it has translated into this lower rating. That should mean that some business owners and homeowners ought to see a reduction in their insurance premiums."

Many insurance companies rely on ISO ratings to determine how much premium to charge. The general theory is that because the lower number statistically means a lower chance of a total loss, property and casualty insurance companies will charge less for structures in low-ISO territories. Not all insurance companies rely on ISO numbers.

McKinnies said meticulous record keeping has been critical to Eldorado achieving the lower score.

"They go back and look at all records for the past three years," he said. "They have a formula they use that takes everything we do into consideration, like the number of hydrants, the size of water mains and many other specification. The outcome of that formula gives them a score, and that score determines the ISO rating."

A look through the city's ISO ratings through the years showed a gradual shift toward better fire protection. In 1969, the first year an ISO score could be found, Eldorado had a 7. It remained a 7 until 1981, when it actually increased to an 8. In 1984, it dropped back to a 7, and then achieved a score of 5 in 2001. It has remained at that level until the past few days when McKinnies said he received notification that the score was lowered to a 3.

The city of Harrisburg also has an ISO rating of 3, Fire Chief John Gunning said. He said, though, that he's been told that not all insurance companies have taken the updated ISO rating into consideration.

"People need to be aware that we are an ISO 3 and check with their insurance company when it comes time to renew their homeowners policy," Gunning said. "We received a '3' in September or October of 2015."

In Marion, the city has an ISO rating of 4, Fire Chief Jerry Odum said, though the city is overdue for an update.

"The last year they checked was 2011, and it used to be every five years," he said. "It seems like things are a little different now, so we might have to contact them."

He said that he has heard from some other fire chiefs that ISO testing is not as burdensome as it was in years past.

"It used to be a three-day ordeal," Odum said. "Now I've heard some departments say it doesn't take nearly that long."

Eldorado Fire Chief Mike McKinnies displays a small section of documents used to determine the city's ISO rating for fire protection purposes. Travis DeNeal photo

Article Comments

Article Categories
Fire News