Fire Chief Strives for Better ISO Rating

To quell resident concerns, Fire Chief Charles Cavarra recently spoke to residents about the Garden City Fire Department's Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating and what it means for residents' home insurance bills.

ISO’s Public Protection Classification Service gauges the fire protection capability of a fire department, according to its website, and collects information on a community’s public fire protection and analyzes the data using a Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS).

Ratings range from 10 to 1; Class 1 represents the "best public protection" while Class 10 indicates "no recognized protection."

Garden City's rating is a 3. Fire Chief Charles Cavarra said he wants to change that.

"The goal is to attempt to attain a 1 rating," he told residents during the Sept. 20 village board meeting, noting that Garden City would be the first department on Long Island to do so. "That's the direction we're headed."

Ratings are based on a 100-point system. A department that achieves a score in the 90s is considered Class 1; a score in the 80s a Class 2; a score in the 70s a Class 3 and so on. Garden City's fire department scored a 77.

A recent media report revealed that the Elmont Fire Department, an all-volunteer force, scored higher and is considered a Class 2. Cavarra said residents have asked him, "If an all-volunteer department can achieve a 2 why can't we?"

In 2005, when ISO was last in the village, the department scored a 5 out of 10 points for communications. "Not a good score," Cavarra said, adding that the recent switch to Firecom will help the department gain points back in this category.

Forty points count toward the village's water department. In 2005, Garden City earned a 34 out of 40 points. Cavarra said valves with neighboring communities were inoperable in 2005, one of the reasons the department lost points in this category.

The water department, however, has since corrected those issues, Cavarra said, and has also updated 100 fire hydrants around the village from two-valve hydrants to steamer hydrants.

Because of these changes, Cavarra is confident the department "should come in the 38-point area."

Lastly, 50 points go toward the fire department overall; Garden City scored a 37 out of 50 points. Cavarra said the point loss could be attributed to several second-line apparatus missing equipment. "That's all since been corrected," he said, adding that additional points were deducted because of the way the department handles its manpower, record keeping and training.

In 2007, a new computer system was installed; prior to that it was done via pen and paper.

The Insurance Service Office is due back in the village in 2015, although the village could request a sooner review if all improvements have been made. "We don't have to wait until 2015," he said. "We can call now and six months from now they'll come."