The Temple Terrace’s Fire Suppression Rating is among the best in the country, and that could translate to substantial property insurance savings for businesses and homeowners, city officials said recently.
ISO Community Hazard Mitigation, an independent agency, said Temple Terrace has attained a Class I Fire Suppression Rating, which insurance companies often consider in determining property fire insurance rates. The rating takes effect Jan. 1, 2015.
”This is big. This puts you in the 1 percentile of the entire country,” said Michael C. Morash, manager of ISO’s office in Port St. Lucie.
Fewer than 20 fire departments in the country are both nationally accredited and have an ISO Class I rating, records show. ISO collects information on municipal fire-protection efforts in nearly 48,000 communities throughout the United States, evaluating a city’s fire department, water distribution, emergency communications and more.
The agency analyzes relevant data, then assigns a Public Protection Classification from 1 to 10. A Class I rating signifies superior fire protection service.
By classifying a community’s ability to suppress fires, Morash said, ISO helps communities and insurance companies evaluate their public fire-protection services.
“A Class 1 ISO rating is a huge accomplishment for our Fire Department, which our organization and community can be extremely proud of. Residents and businesses can be assured that we are providing the best possible fire service that we can,” Risk Reduction Division Chief Shane Samon of the Temple Terrace Fire Department said in a news release.
Samon encourages Temple Terrace property owners to contact their property insurance companies and alert them of the city’s new Class I Fire Suppression Rating. Depending on their personal property insurance needs, they may experience savings in their premium rates, he said.