According to the new ratings from the Insurance Services Office, Inc., The Alliance Fire Department is among the top 15 percent of fire departments in the country and the top 3 percent of fire departments in Nebraska regarding fire suppression capabilities.
In addition to making the Alliance area residents feel safer, the higher rating can translate into more affordable property insurance.
“A lot of challenging work went into achieving this newest rating. It was a team effort put forth by our firefighters and Alliance City Council, City Administration, and Alliance Rural Fire District board members,” said Alliance Fire Chief Troy Shoemaker.
“Over the last few years, we have upgraded equipment, purchased and installed our live-fire training facility, and started developing the training grounds, improving our training program. Those efforts, combined with those of the Alliance Public Safety Communications Center and Public Works with our water distribution system, significantly improved our rating. We are already considering how to maintain our new rating.”
The Insurance Service Office (ISO) evaluates and classifies more than 40,000 fire protection areas across the country, analyzing how each district performs on water supply, emergency communications, needed fire flows, and the equipment, staffing, and training of fire departments, among other factors using their Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS). ISO then assigns a Public Protection Classification (PPC) from 1 to 10. Class 1 represents superior property fire protection, and Class 10 indicates that area’s fire suppression program does not meet their minimum criteria. The Alliance Fire Department’s newest ISO-issued PPC is 03/3Y, making it one of just 3,856 Class 3 fire departments in the U.S. and one of just 24 in Nebraska. Alliance’s previous PPC was 04/4Y.
“I applaud the efforts of Chief Shoemaker, the Alliance Fire Department, Alliance Public Works, and the Alliance Public Safety Communications Center for continually improving the quality of our emergency services,” said Alliance City Manager Seth Sorensen. “This will directly translate into savings for our residents in exchange for their continued investment in City services.”
According to the ISO, a community’s investment in fire mitigation measures can be a reliable indicator of future fire losses. Statistical data on insurance losses routinely reflects the relationship between adequate fire protection, measured by the PPC ratings, and low fire losses. Consequently, scores of insurance providers utilize PPC ratings to help set their premiums for homeowners and businesses. Typically, fire insurance costs in a community with a highly rated fire department under the ISO classification are lower than in a community with a poor PPC grade. “These excellent marks for the Alliance Fire Department are a textbook example of the residents’ tax dollars being put to good use,” said Alliance Mayor Earl Jones. “First and foremost, our Fire Department’s top-of-the-line practices and procedures help us feel secure in our homes and businesses.” If residents can also save money on their insurance, that is just icing on the cake.
Fire Chief Shoemaker states the new Class 3 classification will be effective May 1, 2024. ISO is an independent company that provides information about risk to insurance companies, communities, fire departments, insurance regulators, and others.
