Redwood City's Fire Protection Rating Improves

By the City of Redwood City

The Redwood City Fire Department announced Friday that, after extensive evaluation, its fire-protection services, as rated by an insurance industry advisory company, improved from a Class 3 to a Class 2.

The classification by Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), known as the Public Protection Classification (PPC) program, assesses the fire-protection efforts in a particular community.

The Redwood City Fire Department was graded on: communications, water supply, operations, training, and fire prevention codes and programs. The department received an overall score of 89.27 out of a possible 100 total points.

This new rating places the department in the top 1 percent of the safest of all U.S. municipal rated fire departments.

"Our recent evaluation indicates the commitment made by our City Council, City Management, the Redwood City Water Division, and San Mateo County's Public Safety Communications," said Redwood City Fire Chief James Skinner. "We are extremely proud and dedicated to be providing the best services to our community." 

ISO collects information on municipal fire-protection efforts in communities throughout the United States. In each of those communities, ISO analyzes the relevant data using its Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS). The company then assigns a Public Protection Classification from 1 to 10. Class 1 generally represents superior property fire protection, and Class 10 indicates that the area's fire-suppression program doesn't meet ISO's minimum criteria.

By classifying communities' ability to suppress fires, ISO helps the communities evaluate their public fire-protection services. The program provides an objective, nationwide standard that helps fire departments in planning and budgeting for facilities, equipment, and training. And by securing lower fire insurance premiums for communities with better public protection, the PPC program provides incentives and rewards for communities that choose to improve their firefighting services.

ISO provides statistical, actuarial, underwriting, claims, and related information and analyses to insurers, reinsurers, agents, insurance regulators, and other government agencies. For more information, visit the ISO mitigation website at www.isomitigation.com.

Visit the Redwood City Fire Department's website at www.redwoodcity.org/fire for fire prevention, disaster preparedness, and other important information.

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