Wheeling’s Fire Protection Rating Could Save Homeowners Money
City's Insurance Score Rises to ‘Near Perfect’
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WHEELING -- The city of Wheeling is getting a big feather in its cap for community fire protection preparedness, and homeowners in the city may see the benefits through their pocketbooks.
Last month, city officials were informed that Wheeling's Insurance Services Office or ISO rating had improved from a 3 to a 2. This Public Protection Classification or "fire score" rates how well protected a community is to fight a fire, with a score of 10 being the least prepared and a score of 1 being the most prepared.
City Manager Robert Herron said the city had received this "very good news" late last year about its national ISO rating improvement, which is among a number of key factors that most insurance companies use to determine homeowners insurance premiums. Several factors play into the ISO rating number, including the multifaceted level of services offered by the fire, water and code enforcement departments.
"It's very good news," Herron said. "That is a direct result of efforts from city council all the way down from funding water projects, funding the fire department equipment and funding the fire department facilities, among other efforts.
"It will ultimately save homeowners -- when it becomes effective on March 1, 2022 -- additional funding on their homeowners insurance."
The ISO uses a Fire Suppression Rating Schedule to come up with the score. Fire department services and factors that contribute to the score include firefighter staffing levels, training and average proximity to the nearest firehouse.
Prevalence of fire hydrants and availability of water supplies are also major contributors to the rating system. Additional factors include the quality of the area's emergency communications systems -- including the 911 system, and the availability of community outreach programs and safety courses.
A community's ISO rating is one of the many underwriting variables most insurance companies use to determine insurance rates for homeowners, business owners and other property owners. While some insurance companies use their own metrics based on other historical fire incident data in an area, the ISO rating is a significant factor for many insurance providers, including most of the nation's biggest insurance firms.
"They basically predict the amount of risk in a response district," Wheeling Fire Chief Jim Blazier said. "We're always looking at things we can do to help improve our score. We've been close in recent years of moving from a 3 to a 2, so this is a big step for us."
Blazier noted that the city's water department, the Ohio County 911 Center and the recent effort of the city's code enforcement division all played a big role in the ISO rating improvement.
Everything from the city's water line projects to increased action on raze or repair orders for dilapidated properties have likely contributed to the recent rating upgrade, Blazier said, noting that many dilapidated structures that would be considered fire hazards have been removed in recent years.
"It's really a combined effort of a lot of departments," he said. "One of the factors -- and this is a hard one to overcome -- is staffing."
However, Blazier noted that grant funding through the federal AFG (Assistance to Firefighters Grant) has recently helped bolster the fire department's manpower, which is definitely another plus.
Some rural areas have an ISO rating of 9 or even 10, officials noted. According to the classification criteria, properties located more than five driving miles from the nearest fire station receive a significantly higher score.
Officials said the ultimate goal is to earn an ISO rating of 1.
"That's a tall order," Blazier said, noting that the city would likely have to build another fire station -- in addition to the new fire headquarters which is soon to be built -- and implement additional staff increases. "But we will always be working to make improvements any way we can."
Alex Shubert, manager for the National Processing Center for the ISO, noted in the city's recent rating notification that the potential for lower insurance premiums is just one motivator for communities looking to improve their Public Protection Classification.
"PPC also provides fire departments with a valuable benchmark, and is used by many departments as a valuable tool when planning, budgeting and justifying fire protection improvements," Shubert noted.
An improved rating of 2 is the best rating outside of a "perfect" rating.
"We're very proud of that," Herron said. "It's very, very rare in this country to get to a 1, but we certainly are striving to get to that point. We went from 3 to 2, so certainly significant progress is being made."
Once the new rating goes into effect in March, Blazier noted that homeowners in the city should reach out to their insurance provider to see if the new ISO rating can have a positive impact and potential cost savings on their insurance premiums.