Elmhurst Holds Class 2 Rating with Insurance Service Office

Submitted by the City of Elmhurst.

Elmhurst, IL - The City of Elmhurst steadily holds its ISO Class 2 rating from the Insurance Service Office, Inc. (ISO).

ISO is a private firm that provides information to insurance companies regarding property/casualty risk through a number of programs, one of them being the Public Protection Classification Program (PPC).

The PPC reviews the fire department, water distribution and dispatch/communication center capabilities.

Based on a scale of 1-10, with “1” being the best rating, the City of Elmhurst has continued to maintain its Class 2 ISO rating for over 25 years. In 2015, the ISO rated 2,299 communities in Illinois. Of these communities, 76 were ranked, along with the City of Elmhurst, as Class 2.

A community’s ISO class rating is dependent on:

• Needed fire flows (the amount of water necessary for fire suppression)
• Emergency communications (dispatching)
• Fire department (equipment, staffing, training, geographic distribution of fire companies, operational considerations and community risk reduction)
• Water supply (inspection and flow-testing of hydrants, alternative water supply operations and careful evaluation of the amount of available water compared with the amount needed to suppress fires up to 3,500 gallons per minute)

City Manager, Jim Grabowski states, “The City of Elmhurst’s Fire Department provides a very high level of fire protection to our community. We take pride in the fact that the Insurance Service Office recognizes our efforts with a Class 2 rating, which in turn helps keep insurance premiums low for our citizens.”

The City of Elmhurst continues to be viewed as an innovative leader in the provision of fire and emergency services as well as community risk reduction while providing the best possible value to the community.