Regular equipment updates help SJFD keep strong ISO rating
By Jenna Wilson
The St. Joseph City Council approved funding Tuesday for new fire department gear, and while that’s an obvious benefit to firefighters themselves, it plays an implicit role in home insurance rates for residents.
Insurance Services Office ratings establish how well-equipped a fire department is to put out a fire, and an insurance company uses the 1-10 rating to help determine home insurance rates.
With new gear, fire departments are better prepared to tackle fires, which then positively affects ISO ratings, and in turn, keeps home insurance rates lower.
“The city of St. Joseph’s ISO rating is currently at a 3,” said Jamey McVicker, assistant fire chief of the St. Joseph Fire Department. “We have always had that on our mind to try and improve or maintain that class rating. A lot of it right now is looking at departmental operations and our manning.”
Over 10 years ago, the fire department was at an ISO rating of 4, but officials said they’ve been able to maintain their ISO rating of 3, which is a good number for the city of St. Joseph — good enough that the fire department received the green light from the St. Joseph City Council on Tuesday night to continue with the revolving turnout gear program, equipping firefighters with a new set of gear every six years.
The department was approved for the purchase of $77,896 worth of new turnout gear from MacQueen.
“Now we will continue to receive a new set of gear every six years for everybody,” said Ivan Klippenstein, fire department training officer. “To get that done, we’re doing it in increments of 23 people. So, we did 23 last year, 23 this year and that should get a second set of gear for everyone in the next six years.”
A set of gear is supposed to last 10 years, and with the funding approval from the city council, each firefighter will be equipped with two sets of turnout gear within a 12-year span.
“That’s a huge benefit to us from before when we had just the one set,” said Klippenstein. “Before that, we had some gear that lasted beyond that, so it was torn, tattered and actually very thin. It wasn’t really performing its duty in both the fire and cancer prevention and now, our ability to wash it more frequently helps protect us from that.”
The fire department is thoroughly completing audits and inventory to make sure all its equipment is well-maintained and up to date.
“The biggest factor is that we don’t go backwards,” McVicker said. “Going backwards would be at a cost to our citizens, so we appreciate their trust and our city council in providing the necessary funds for us to maintain that class three.”
