Lakewood Fire Department Ranks in Top 2 Percent of Fire Departments in Ohio

The city of Lakewood’s most recent Insurance Offices evaluation of the Lakewood Fire Department not only placed it in the top 2 percent of Ohio, but also may save taxpayer money. Nationwide, Lakewood lands in the top 2.5 percent out of nearly 5,000 fire departments across the country.

“This report is great news because it essentially means possible lower property insurance costs for our residents and business owners,” said Lakewood Mayor Michael Summers. “Our fire department does an excellent job of keeping our residents safe, but they are also good stewards of the taxpayers’ money.”

Something called an ISO rating system is used to measure department performance. The system works on 1-10 values for levels of fire protection, water supply and infrastructure and dispatch service with 1 being the best rating. The LFD score a 2 rating, last year's score was a 3 rating.

Lakewood Fire Chief Scott Gilman says that they have already implemented steps to improve. “These steps include a re-evaluation of hydrants to determine the number of substandard hydrants, improved officer training, and training additional fire instructors,” said Gilman.

According to the City of Lakewood website, there were several factors that went into Lakewood’s success.

“A community’s investment in fire mitigation is a proven and reliable predicator of future fire losses,” according to the ISO report. “Insurance companies use PPC information to help establish fair premiums for fire insurance — generally offering lower premiums in communities with better protection. By offering economic benefits for communities that invest in their firefighting services, the program provides an additional incentive for improving and maintaining public fire protection.”