With ISO ratings, like golf, the lower the number, the better the fire department, the better the fire protection.

The ISO (Insurance Services Office, Inc.) is the leading supplier of statistical, underwriting and actuarial information for the property/casualty insurance business.

Through their Public Protection Classification surveys, the ISO analyzes the structure of fire departments and fire suppression delivery systems all over the United States.

In an August 21 letter to Acting County Administrator Gary Moore, the ISO states, "ISO has completed its analysis of the structure of the fire suppression system provided in your community. We are very pleased to report that the resulting classification is a Class 4/9. This is an improvement from the former classification of Class 5/9."

Since, insurance companies base their premium rates for fire insurance on local ISO ratings, this will mean a direct savings for homeowners.

The letter was presented and Chief Johnson’s announcement was made to the commission at their September 4 meeting.

Refusing to take credit, Chief Johnson told the county commissioners the improved rating was due to the hard work and dedication of Deputy Chief Al Thomas and "all the men and women, both regulars and volunteers, of the Glynn County Fire Department who worked as a team."

Chief Johnson also thanked the Glynn County Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Department for helping map the water system and pinpoint fire hydrants. He thanked the both the city and county water departments for their efforts in maintaining the water systems.

Chief Johnson also thanked the citizens of Glynn for supporting the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) and the commissioners for including SPLOST funds to upgrade all phases of the fire department.

"All this wouldn’t be possible without the SPLOST," said Chief Johnson, "With it we’ve built two new fire stations, one in north Glynn County on Cate Rd. and one on the north end of St. Simons Island, that are an important part of the ISO rating."

Chief Johnson finished with words of appreciation for his wife and family and received a large round of applause from co-workers and citizens in the audience.

Deputy Chief Thomas took the podium briefly to give the commission some background on how the ISO develops its ratings.

The ISO has a program to evaluate communities according to a uniform set of criteria, which incorporates nationally recognized standards developed by the National Fire Protection Association and the American Water Works Association.

Thomas told the commission, "The ISO allocates credit for its rating by evaluating three major features of a fires suppression system. They are the fire alarm and communications system, the fire department and the water supply system."

While the ISO has a "single classification," in many communities they have also developed a "split classification," which is what Glynn County has.

The split classification applies to the distance between homes and businesses and fire hydrants and fire stations.

Glynn has a split classification due to the fact that it is a geographically large county.

A large portion of Glynn is heavily populated and properties are within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant and within five miles of a fire station. These areas have earned the ISO 4 classification.

But due to its size there is also a large portion of the northern, southern and western parts of county are rural and sparsely inhabited. In many of these areas the houses are on wells and private water systems without county maintained hydrants and are more than five miles from a fire station. These areas have the ISO 9 rating.

In moving up to the ISO’s 4 classification, the Glynn County Fire Department joins an elite group of only 6.9% of fire departments in the country.

Appeared in the September 8, 2003 edition of "The Islander"

Republished with permission of the editor

Related:

The Glynn County Fire Department - Saving more than Life and Property