Jan. 10--The Springfield Fire Department has joined the top half percent of all fire departments in the nation by receiving a Class 1 rating from the Insurance Service Offices, Fire Chief Barry Helmerichs announced to the Springfield City Council Tuesday.
Only 241 out of 46,000 fire departments nationwide in 2017 had a Class 1 rating, according to Helmerichs. ISO scores fire departments from 1 to 10, with a majority of fire departments being graded at Class 5, according to its website.
Springfield residents "should feel good that the fire department they have in their community can achieve that service grade," Helmerichs said.
The department first achieved a Class 1 ISO rating in 1988 but was downgraded to Class 2 in 2003, when the department decided that it couldn't afford the upgrades ISO required. The department's rating dropped again in 2013 to Class 3.
Helmerichs, who became fire chief in 2015, said one of his goals was to improve the department's ISO rating.
"We didn't add anything to do this," Helmerichs told aldermen. "This is just sweat equity on our part."
The Springfield Fire Department hasn't hired more firefighters or opened any more fire stations since being downgraded. But ISO has moved from evaluating equipment to a more performance-based assessment, Helmerichs said. It looks at a city's fire suppression capabilities by grading the fire department, the emergency communications system, the city's water supply and efforts toward community risk reduction. Data collected from the previous year informs the current rating.
Last year, Helmerichs learned Springfield's ISO rating increased to Class 2. The fire department worked on its response times and firefighter training, while City Water, Light and Power worked on water distribution, and the 911 call center improved its handling of calls, Helmerichs said.
"(Response times and water distribution)'s always been a challenge for us because of the area we cover," Helmerichs said. "We cover twice (the area) as Peoria, four times as Bloomington and Champaign."
Outreach to the community through its Adopt-A-School program and public education messages helped bump up its rating.
The ISO rating becomes effective in April. Helmerichs said with the new rating, some insurance companies offer a better rate on fire insurance policies for residences and businesses.
"The fact that you did it without additional staff, without a new house ... this is significant for Springfield," Ward 9 Ald. Jim Donelan told the chief. "You did a good job."
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