Atlanta Fire Rescue Earns Best Possible ISO Rating

From the City of Atlanta

Mayor Kasim Reed and Chief Kelvin Cochran announced today that, for the first time in the City’s history, the Insurance Services Office has raised Atlanta’s Public Protection Classification (PPC) rating to Class 1, indicating an exemplary ability to respond to fires. This upgrade indicates that insurance premiums, particularly on commercial properties, could be lowered by year’s end. The PPC rating upgrade becomes effective November 1, 2014.

The Public Protection Classification rating is based on three factors: the City’s ability to receive and respond to fire alarms; the fire department’s first-alarm response and initial attack capabilities; and the water supply system. Insurance companies have 90 days to respond to the rating change. The City’s score rose more than eight points over its 2013 total, from 81.97 to 90.14.

“I applaud the efforts of Atlanta Fire Rescue, the Department of Watershed Management, and the E911 Center for their diligent effort to achieve a rating shared by only 60 cities nationwide,” said Mayor Kasim Reed. “The Class 1 rating reflects the importance the Administration places on keeping its residents safe.”

The ISO rated 49,010 fire departments in the United States in 2013. Atlanta Fire Rescue was the largest of the four Georgia fire departments to achieve a Class 1 rating, along with fire departments in Savannah, Gainesville and Macon.

“Atlanta Fire Rescue is very proud that our work is being recognized with a Class 1 rating,” Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran said. “We consider this a testament to our hard work in reducing fire loss through firefighting and fire prevention education and to Mayor Reed’s commitment to public safety.”

The ISO is a leading source of information about insurance risk that gauges the fire protection capability of local fire departments to respond to structure fires. The ISO collects information on a community’s public fire protection and analyzes the data using its Fire Suppression Rating Schedule. It then assigns a rating from 1 to 10, with Class 1 representing the best public protection and Class 10 indicating no recognized protection. Besides the potential effect on insurance premiums, PPC data are useful in strategic planning, budgeting and justifying fire protection improvements.