While many of you may have heard about I.S.O., or Insurance Services Office — the agency that evaluates most public fire protection services in the United States — what do your really know about I.S.O.?
• Who are they?• What do they really do?• Who do they represent?• How does what they do affect you–as a firefighter, fire chief of fire commissioner, city manager or mayor?• How does an I.S.O. evaluation affect these difficult fiscal challenges so many communities are experiencing?Following the tragic loss of nine Charleston, SC, firefighters, significant discussion came up nationwide regarding I.S.O. Clearly, so many firefighters simply do not understand “how I.S.O. works” and exactly what they do and what they do not do.Host Chief Billy Goldfeder talks with veteran fire chief Butch Cobb, ISO’s Director of Community Hazard Mitigation and Mike Waters, Vice President of ISO Risk Decision Services, who also serves as a captain to get the answers to those questions and much more.Please send any questions, suggestions or comments for this podcast to: [email protected].
About the Author
Billy Goldfeder
BILLY GOLDFEDER, EFO, who is a Firehouse contributing editor, has been a firefighter since 1973 and a chief officer since 1982. He is deputy fire chief of the Loveland-Symmes Fire Department in Ohio, which is an ISO Class 1, CPSE and CAAS-accredited department. Goldfeder has served on numerous NFPA and International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) committees. He is on the board of directors of the IAFC Safety, Health and Survival Section and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.