Middleport Fire Chief Jeff Darst presented the department’s 2019 ISO report during Monday evening’s council meeting, and said he was pleased the department had achieved a Class 3 rating.
ISO stands for Insurance Services Office, an independent, for-profit organization whose function is to score fire departments using its organization’s standards every five years.
To determine an ISO rating the organization first conducts a field survey, then scores the department using the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS), which is a 100 point scale in four key areas: Emergency Communication Systems (10 points); Fire Departments, covering personnel, capabilities, training, equipment, etc. (50 points); Water Supply (40 points); and Community Risk Reduction (extra credit of up to 5.5 points).