PRESS RELEASE
December 1, 2015
Contact: James Colburn, Captain
Alameda Fire Department
(510) 566-4045
City of Alameda Fire Department Rated a Class 1 Fire Agency by Insurance Services Office, Inc (ISO)
Alameda, CA -- ISO has recently completed its analysis of the structural fire suppression delivery system provided by the Alameda Fire Department (AFD). The resulting classification is a “01/1Y” (Class 1), ranking the AFD among 97 other Class 1 United States fire agencies of over 48,000 evaluated.
A community’s investment in fire mitigation is a proven and reliable predictor of future fire losses. Statistical data on insurance losses bears out the relationship between excellent fire protection – as measured by the Public Protection Classification (PPC) program – and low fire losses. Insurance companies use PPC information for underwriting and establishing fair premiums for homeowners and commercial fire insurance. In general, the price for fire insurance in a community with a good PPC grade is substantially lower than others with a poor score.
In each of these communities, ISO analyzes the relevant data and assigns a PPC grade – a number from 1 – 10. Class 1 represents an exemplary fire suppression system and Class 10 indicates that the area’s fire suppression program does not meet ISO’s minimum criteria. The Alameda Fire Department has been rated a Class 1 agency, one of only eight in California.
Alameda Fire Chief Doug Long said, “The Alameda Fire Department strives to provide a very high level of fire protection to our community. We are ecstatic that the Insurance Services Office has recognized our efforts, which should in turn help keep insurance premiums low for our citizens“.
Areas of performance evaluated for the Class 1 ISO rating include the needed fire flow, emergency communications, the fire department (including equipment, staffing, training, geographic distribution of fire companies, operational considerations and community risk reduction) and water supply.
For a copy of Alameda’s 2015 ISO report, please visit www.alamedafire.org.
