One way to determine the effectiveness of your local fire department is their ISO number.
The Insurance Services Office of New York rates the firefighting abilities of fire departments throughout the U.S.A. ISO analyzes the relevant data using their Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS). They then assign a Public Protection Classification on a scale of 1 – 10 (4 is the national average). Class 1 is the highest and class 10 is the lowest. Usually your insurance agency will have this information, but if they don’t, you can try contacting the fire department directly, or checking online to see if its listed on their website.
Some Questions you may want to ask your Local Fire Department include:
- What type of emergency dispatch service do they use, and how many operators and lines go into it.
- Do the Fire fighters consider themselves to be well equipped?
- How many fire departments are in the area. (The ISO standard is 1 for every 5 miles, although this may not be feasible in some remote rural areas)?
- How far is the closest Fire Station from your home?
- How far is the second station from your home?
- What it the Fire department’s average response time?
- How strong is the area’s water supply and pressure?
- How well trained in emergency medical procedures are the firefighters.
- Do they rely on Volunteers? If so are there enough Volunteers for the area?
By asking these questions you will be able to gain a stronger grasp on the efficacy of your local fire department, and possibly fill in any weaknesses in your Home Security Plan.