Ranking could have positive impact on property insurance rates

The Dearborn Fire Department has earned a prestigiously high performance ranking from an organization that extensively evaluates the fire safety of communities around the country.

 The new ranking reflects the department’s response time, training, fleet of equipment, deployment of equipment, staffing, fire station locations, operating procedures and incident management system.

Specific improvements that led to Dearborn’s high ranking are incorporating the Melvindale Fire Department in 2013, building a comprehensive Training Center, and upgrading communication systems, Chief Joseph Murray said.

The organization, called ISO, supplies information to the insurance industry, which uses the data in determining insurance rates. The high ranking given to the Dearborn department could positively impact property insurance rates for city residents and businesses.

ISO is a leading source of information about property/casualty insurance risk. It collects information on municipal fire-protection efforts in communities throughout the United States.

In each of those communities, ISO analyzes the relevant data and then assigns a Public Protection Classification from 1 to 10. Class 1 generally represents superior property fire protection, and Class 10 indicates that the area's fire-suppression program doesn't meet ISO’s minimum criteria.

Dearborn earned a Class 2 rating following the ISO’s last evaluation.

This is the first ISO evaluation of the department since it incorporated the Melvindale Fire Department in 2013.

“We’re proud to have achieved this ranking,” said Murray. “We have always been confident of the ability of our professional firefights to respond and effectively fight fires, we place a high value on training continuously and rigorously, and we regularly invest in vehicles and equipment in Dearborn.  

“Where we had room for some improvement for the ISO rating was in the location of our fire stations. The addition of the station in Melvindale has enhanced our capacity to quickly deploy to all areas of Dearborn,” said Murray.

“While the true goal of achieving a high ranking is improved public safety, we also hope that residents and business owners in Dearborn and Melvindale see the added benefit of lower insurance rates,” said Murray.

According to the ISO, insurance companies use ranking information to help establish fair premiums for fire insurance — generally offering lower premiums in communities with better protection.