City maintains fire insurance rating [Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.]

Aug. 07--The city of Owensboro has maintained is Class 2 fire insurance rating after a review by the Insurance Services Office.

ISO evaluates cities and counties periodically to determine a city's insurance rating. The ISO rating is a factor used by insurance companies to determine home insurance rates. The Class 2 rating is the second-highest rating a city can receive; the city has held a Class 2 rating since 2003.

"Basically, the good news is we didn't get any worse in our rating, so our (rates) didn't get any worse because of our rating," Owensboro Fire Department Chief Steve Mitchell said Monday.

The insurance rating is based on several factors, such as the response ability of the fire department, water supply and distribution, and 911 dispatch capabilities.

When evaluating the fire department, the ISO evaluators "determine the amount of apparatus and staffing you should have, based on their analysis of the city," Mitchell said. "They do an analysis of all commercial buildings in the city ... and the amount of water it would take to suppress a fire.

"They look at where your fire stations are and what your average response time is," Mitchell said. "They look at what kind of training facilities you have and how often you use them."

Mitchell said cities that receive a Class 2 rating score between 80 and 89 points on a 100 point scale; changes in fire department training helped the fire department increase the city's over all score, Mitchell said.

Previously the city scored in the low 80s, Mitchell said. "Now, we're a very strong mid-range Class 2. What we increased most in was training; about three years ago, we started a more comprehensive training program for our promotions process ... Our average monthly hours of training increased as well."

Owensboro-Daviess County combined 911 Director Paul Nave said ISO evaluators study the type of equipment a dispatch center has, equipment maintenance and whether the number of staff meet ISO's recommended staffing level based on the number of 911 calls the center receives.

"We lost some points because of the staffing, because we didn't have what they recommend in staffing," Nave said. "... I think many agencies don't meet that recommendation for staffing."

But the dispatch center received high marks for having redundant equipment, which could be used if the main dispatch system failed, Nave said. The center also was graded highly for having an alarm system that would alert dispatchers if a call from dispatch was not transmitted.

The dispatch center received a separate grade of 9.74 on a 10-point scale.

"We knew if we were graded down, that was going to impact every single person in the city of Owensboro" who pay for homeowner's insurance, Nave said. "Once that rating is set, you can't change it until the next cycle.

"I was very pleased with our score," Nave said. "The 911 board was also proud that we were able to achieve that rating."

Mitchell said ISO evaluators checked the water distribution system to see how many gallons of water were used in the city, and how many gallons would be available to firefighters during a fire. The evaluators also look at how many fire hydrants are in a city and how those hydrants are distributed and maintained.

"They actually went out and tested 30 hydrants in different parts of town," Mitchell said. "We're working with the water system in different parts of town on upgrades. We're hoping to get a few points" and improve the city's ISO rating in the next evaluation, Mitchell said.

James Mayse, 691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com

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