Study rates City Fire Dept. highest in region

Press-Republican (Plattsburgh, NY)

Sep. 21--PLATTSBURGH -- The city is scattered with Fire Union lawn signs calling for additional manpower, but city officials say the Fire Department is at an all-time high.

Friday afternoon, the City of Plattsburgh released results from a 2017 safety study performed by Jersey City-based Insurance Services Office.

That group analyzes more than 46,000 fire protection areas in the nation and its look at the City of Plattsburgh Fire Department had examined its two fire halls.

The study zeroed in on various categories, like quality of staffing, equipment, training and location, as well as structure locations in regard to water supplies, dispatch and communication system efficiencies and water supply quality.

Ratings were graded one through 10, with one as the highest class and 10 as the lowest.

At the time of the 2017 study, the local Fire Department had earned the Class 2 rating.

COST SAVINGS

Insurers rely on the ratings when determining fire insurance rates.

And so, the city release says, a positive rating of the City Fire Department amounts to cost savings for residents and businesses.

"I could not be more proud of the investment the city has made in its equipment and staffing," Mayor Colin Read says in the city release. "The city has maintained a minimum daily staffing level of six firefighters for the last decade, and their training and experience has paid dividends.

"I have been exploring with the Fire Chief to improve the daily staffing levels while also reducing the cost to taxpayers."

REGIONAL HIGH

According to the city release, the municipality's Class 2 rating was the highest in the North Country and was an improvement from its former Class 3 rating.

The City of Plattsburgh was only exceeded by six other New York state fire departments out of the some 2,273 that were rated.

Earning the local department its high score was its quality of equipment, staffing and training.

"It also scored very highly in its communications system," the city release says. "Its protocols to ensure a reliable and abundant water supply and its inspection of hydrants and flow testing rounded off the superior score."

Mayor Read thought updates made since 2017 could earn the City Fire Department an even higher score the next time around.

"In doing so, we can garner both tax savings and insurance savings for our residents and further enhance fire safety," he says in the release.

AIMING HIGHER

To help the department get there, the city release mentions a slew of improvements that either have been, or will be, put into effect.

Some updates focus on emergency reporting and dispatch technologies, while others are improvements to protocols, trainings and/or strategies.

Mayor Read said he and Fire Chief Scott Lawliss hope one strategy would up the number of firefighters present on each shift, while drawing from a pool of off-duty fighters located closer to the city.

"Currently two-thirds of the firefighters live outside the city," Read says in the release, "which can potentially increase the city's response time for a major fire."

Additional protocols have been enacted to improve the city's water supply system, fire flow testing and inspection regimes.

When all combined, the city says it is confident it will move up to that Class 1 rating.

"In doing so," the release says, "the City of Plattsburgh will further cement its status as the highest rated fire department in the region."

Email McKenzie Delisle:

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Twitter: @McKenzieDelisle

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