Rural Oklahoma Fire Department Gets Upgraded ISO Rating

Sept. 12--The Murry Spur Fire Department on Wednesday celebrated an upgrade to its ISO rating.

Public Protection Classifications from the Insurance Services Office range from 10, a rating which means a Fire Department does not meet ISO's minimum standards, to a 1, which indicates superior protection. On Wednesday, the Oklahoma Insurance Department presented Murry Spur a certificate noting its upgraded PPC from a 9 to a 4.

Murry Spur Fire Chief Cary Carter said the upgraded rating was particularly impressive because his department of 19 firefighters and five junior firefighters operates on hauled water. Firefighters load tankers from strategically placed hydrants throughout about a 17-square-mile region that the department covers in Spiro.

Firefighters can leave the Murry Spur station with as many as 8,500 gallons of water. Their efficient shuttle system, plus their record keeping, maintenance and stringent training were factors that contributed to the upgrade, Carter said.

"The main part is training," Carter said, adding that each firefighter is required to have six to eight hours of training each month.

A community's ISO PPC rating can have a dramatic effect on homeowners insurance rates. Residents in Murry Spur's coverage area could see as much as a 50-70 percent drop on their insurance premiums, Carter said.

The rating increase also enables the department to make good on its promise to get its ISO rating down as low as possible. The department made its commitment during a campaign several years ago to pass a sales tax initiative to help fund LeFlore County fire departments, Murry Spur Assistant Fire Chief Tony Gillespie said.

Murry Spur compares favorably to many other fire departments in the state. About 36 percent of the 1,600 Fire Departments in Oklahoma have a PPC of 9 or 10, according to information from Kelly Collins, communications director at the Oklahoma Insurance Department.

OID began an ISO program in August 2012 designed to help the state's fire departments, many of them rural or volunteer, prepare for their ISO reviews. Before the program was initiated, more than 53 percent of Oklahoma ISO classifications were a 9 or 10, Collins said.

Many of the low grades are not representative of a department's capabilities, but rather are a result of required technicalities, like record keeping, of which a department may not be aware, Collins said.

Still, Murry Spur's jump is impressive, Collins said.

"It's a great achievement for those guys, and it's definitely something they should be proud of," she said.

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