ISO Three (3) Initials you should know about your town where you live because it effects how much you pay for Fire Insurance

 ISO the Insurance Service Offices is an independent rating organization  you as a Home Or property Owner should know about .

Why 

Because this organization looks at the readiness and effectiveness of Fire Suppression services in your area 

IE your local Fire Dept.

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While some Dept are proud to put on their fire rigs where a ISO  3 ,4 or 5 Community 

many are hesitant to because some community have no or poor ratings. 

This can make a big difference in obtaining and what you pay for Fire Insurance 

So How is it rated  According to BankRate

The ISO outlines four categories that account for their scoring model no matter where in the U.S. your home resides. Each carries a specific weight and reflects a different aspect of fire prevention.

50%	Fire department: The overall health of a fire department is assessed in this category. Factors ISO assesses include: training, number of employees and volunteers and maintenance and testing of crucial equipment.
40%	Water supply: ISO evaluates the following questions; Does a community have enough water and water access for fire departments to use for fire suppression; How many fire hydrants are there; How much water is available after daily consumption?
10%	Emergency communications systems: This evaluates how well a fire department receives and responds to emergency calls.
5.5%	Community risk reduction: Any extra practices a community develops are recognized in this category. Includes fire safety education, fire prevention techniques and fire investigation (ISO considers these points to be bonus points)

The higher your community's number the more you pay

No1# being the best and No10# the worst 

You would be very surprised what your community is rated despite fact you have paid firefighters nearby .

Some community's with Volunteers are actually better than paid depts. 

So how do you find your community's Rating .

Well some times that's the big secret they don't want to give it out just to the Fire Dept.

But there are some ways to find out like an insurance agent can help

https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/homeowners-insurance/iso-fire-ratings/

 But if a community wants to hide it and not reveal it that's their choice .

which is a shame but that's way system was set up they where rightfully so worried people would not invest in community's with poor ratings . that's why if your buying a home check around because insurance varies widely from community to community.

Unconscionable Actions of a Fire Officers leaves a Building Unprotected full of people .

 This Past Saturday a Volunteer Fire Dept  North  of Pittsburgh  did a very Unconscionable act when they tampered with a Fire Alarm and left  a large Motor Cycle dealership without Protection.

During an Spring Open House Event  the fire Alarm Activated in Administration Office area 

Point 30# it was a Addressable Smoke Detector which was bad .

 

Unfortunately I was out of town at another customer and it would be at least 4 hours or more before I got there .

I was able to remove the detector from system profile remotely so it would stop causing a false alarm till I could get there. 

The  Honeywell Vista 250FBPT is designed to allow this as are other modern panels .

But this was not good enough the Officers said he was going to fine them if it went off again .

He then orders the smoke detector taken down and removed from system and when they did this they left the entire rest of the loop open thereby bypassing and rendering that part of system inoperable which was offices, restrooms and part of showroom 

HE DOES ALL THIS AND NEVER TALKS TO ME AND TELLS ME WHAT HE IS DOING 

 The Officer  then goes up stairs to look at panel and wants to know where the gauge is so they know the panel is working . Gage the dealer employee asks? and just laughs .

Well they have not had Voltage Gauges on fire alarms since 60s. The employee knew this because he worked for a municipality with large alarm panels .

The fire fighters arrived in a pissed off mood and said they where tired of responding to false alarms 

Yes 2 false alarms in 8 years I have been handling the system and took it over Because  thee where problems which I corrected.

These fire fighters need to be removed from office and new officers who are properly trained to replace them. There is absolutely no excuse for this behavior they put there township at great liability had there been a fire and god forbid a fatality they would have been 100% responsible for all damages. . Yes the dealership has a Sprinkler system but a lot of damage could go on before a fire would have been detected. 

I will be writing and letting the township know what happened so it never happens again.

Once again  THE FIRE SERVICE IS ITS OWN WORST ENEMY 

Just Imagine these headline in newspaper 

FIRE DEPT DISABLED FIRE SYSTEM ALLOWING MAJOR DAMAGE TO A DEALERSHIP