JERSEY CITY, N.J., January 19, 2010 —- The president and chairman of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), Jeff Johnson, has endorsed the upcoming revisions to ISO’s Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS).
The Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS) is a manual containing the criteria ISO uses in reviewing the firefighting capabilities of individual communities. The schedule measures the major elements of a community’s fire-suppression system and develops a numerical grading called a Public Protection Classification (PPC™).
"The FSRS incorporates nationally accepted standards developed by such organizations as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), and the American Water Works Association (AWWA)," said Mike Waters, vice president of Risk Decision Services at ISO. "When those organizations update their standards, the ISO evaluation changes as well. So, the PPC program always provides a useful benchmark that helps fire departments and other public officials measure the effectiveness of their efforts — and plan for improvements."
After engaging in discussions with a variety of stakeholders in organizations that deal with water, fire, and emergency communications, ISO recently embarked on a project to review and update the content of its FSRS. "We have developed a list of potential modifications and additions to the current FSRS and will beta test the revisions and additions to assure reliability and consistent application," said Waters. "Following the test process, ISO will confer with stakeholders before finalizing the document and filing it in each state."
Updates include revisions to the FSRS emergency communications section, possible revisions to the fire department and water-supply sections, and references to community risk-reduction programs.
"ISO has recently set the stage for a new era of connection to the fire and emergency service and the communities it serves by completing a much-needed upgrade of its Fire Suppression Rating Schedule," said Chief Johnson in his year-end message to IAFC members. "The IAFC congratulates the leadership at ISO for this update and, more important, for their commitment to continuous quality improvement. The ISO thread will continue to link fire departments to each other and their communities. It’s evident that ISO’s goal is to work with the fire service to weave a stronger position of protection for our communities."
The new rating system recognizes accredited departments and will include recognition of a science-based standard of cover that measures a department’s operational performance in time-based fractile percentages, where sufficient data exists, or use of the traditional distance-based method of coverage. The system also provides points of credit for fire prevention, an updated technology section, and many other meaningful improvements.
"The fire and emergency service will be well served by having ISO lead the way with a progressive rating system that pulls our industry forward," added Johnson. "The new rating system goes a long way toward these goals."
For more information about ISO’s FSRS, visit http://www.isomitigation.com/.
About ISO
Since 1971, ISO has been a leading source of information about property/casualty insurance risk. For a broad spectrum of commercial and personal lines of insurance, the company provides statistical, actuarial, underwriting, and claims information; policy language; information about specific locations; fraud-identification tools; and technical services. ISO serves insurers, reinsurers, agents and brokers, insurance regulators, risk managers, and other participants in the property/casualty insurance marketplace. ISO is a subsidiary of Verisk Analytics. For more information, visit www.iso.com and www.verisk.com.
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