Great Palmer Fire Rating Improves

Effective October 1, 2012, the Greater Palmer Consolidated Fire Service Area (GPFSA) will be awarded an ISO Public Protection Classification of “6/10.” Currently, the GPFSA is rated at an “8b/10.” The numerical rating system is used by the Insurance Services Office (ISO) to rate the fire protection capabilities of a fire department.

ISO conducts detailed on-site assessments of municipal fire-protection capabilities and collects information for more than 46,000 fire protection areas across the United States. ISO’s audit teams analyze the relevant data and assign a Public Protection Classification (PPC™) from 1 to 10. Class 1 represents exemplary public protection, and Class 10 indicates that the area’s fire-suppression program doesn’t meet minimum criteria. Most, but not all U.S. insurance companies use this rating to assign the annual homeowner and commercial insurance premiums charged to residents and businesses within a given fire protection district.

GPFSA’s “6/10” rating represents a significant improvement over the current rating of “8b/10.” This improved rating is indicative of a good suburban fire department that does not employ full-time firefighters, and does not have a municipal water supply system that supports a fire hydrant grid. For those residents and businesses within the GPFSA, this improvement may reduce your insurance annual premium; check with your insurance agent for the impact this improved rating may have for your property. The chart at the right illustrates the ISO ratings within the various Matanuska-Susitna Borough (MSB) fire service areas.

The GPFSA is unique among our MSB fire service areas in that we contract with the City of Palmer for the fire protection services within the Greater Palmer area. This fire protection partnership has many benefits for the residents and businesses within the GPFSA both financially and operationally; and this improvement in the ISO rating is in large part due to the hard work and efforts made by the City of Palmer Fire Department, and the Greater Palmer Fire Service Area Board of Supervisors.

For more information contact Dennis Brodigan, Director of Emergency Services at 373-8815, or John McNutt, Palmer Fire Chief at 745-3854.