Fort Smith achieved an Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating of Class 1, the most elite classification in the country, at the end of 2016, and everything is on track to keep that rating.
The classification is determined on where fire stations are located, response times and the type of the events to which the department responds, Fire Chief Phil Christensen told the Fort Smith Board of Directors during his annual fire department report Tuesday (June 23). “We were moved up to ISO 1 in 2017. We will be up for review next year. In every measurable standard that ISO uses, we are maintaining at 90% or better, meaning we will still be at ISO 1 at this time next year,” Christensen said. “I keep a very close eye on that. We do not want to lose it. It is a tremendous asset for the city itself.”