City responds to threat of lower fire insurance rating

The Springfield Fire Department has a plan to maintain its current Insurance Services Office rating after receiving word that the office will drop the city's ISO rating - a factor in many companies' rates for business and homeowners insurance - if improvements aren't made.

The ISO completed its decennial review of the city in May, and it notified the city earlier this month that it was assigning a provisional rating of ISO Class 3, down from ISO Class 2.

In a news release, the city said there shouldn't be any impact on residential or business insurance rates until the final rating is published in May, adding that individual insurers may consider ISO ratings when setting fire insurance premiums.

The new analysis gave the city 78.02 points out of a possible 100, down from 80.53 points in the 1999 analysis; the ISO 2 rating requires 80 or more points.

The Fire Department has 60 days to submit an action plan spelling out improvements it plans to make to maintain its Class 2 rating.

Among the expected actions the city will take are:

• adding additional staff through a new Fire Academy class beginning in July;

• replacing or upgrading the department's "burn building" training facility, which is currently considered inadequate; and

• new equipment purchases, including salvage covers, floodlights and ladders.

As of 2008, Springfield was one of only eight departments statewide to hold a Class 2 or higher rating, out of nearly 1,800 total departments.

The city also noted in the release that the ISO analysis says the city needs at least five more engine companies and at least four more fire stations to achieve optimal coverage. While the city has made initial plans for a 13th fire station, in northwest Springfield, there is currently no funding for construction or staffing, officials said.[[In-content Ad]]