Menlo Park Fire Protection District Ranked Among Nation's Top Agencies

MENLO PARK, CA — A Bay Area fire district recently earned a Class 2 fire rating, which is considered very good and affects the cost of homeowner and business insurance, fire officials said.

A review of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District began six months ago and the fire board accepted the results of the review last week. The rating is a measure of the fire department's ability to put out fires.

Fire ratings range from one, which is excellent, to 10, according to fire officials.

The ratings are prepared by the Insurance Services Office, which grades 46,042 fire agencies every four years.

Nationwide, 241 agencies have a Class 1 rating while 1,324 have a Class 2 rating. That puts the Menlo Park Fire Protection District among the top four percent of all fire agencies in the country.

Most insurers use the rating for underwriting and calculating premiums for home and business insurance.
Menlo Park fire officials said the district can improve its rating by improving dispatch protocols, the locations of ladder trucks, staffing, training records, pre-fire planning, code enforcement and investigator
certifications.

Improving inspections of fire hydrants and improving the water supply could also improve the rating.

The Menlo Park Fire Protection District serves Atherton, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, unincorporated areas of San Mateo County and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

The rating helps the fire district evaluate its readiness, preparedness, planning and budgeting for facilities, equipment and training.

— By Bay City News Service / Image credit: Menlo Park Fire Protection District