The Brownwood Fire Department recently completed a review with the Insurance Services Office (ISO) in order to survey and update the fire protection classification rating of the City of Brownwood. The Brownwood Fire Department has been awarded an ISO class rating of 2. This improvement could translate into lower insurance rates for residents and businesses located within 5 miles of a Brownwood fire station.

The Brownwood Fire Department will become an ISO Class 2 effective March 1, 2022. Of the approximate 32,200 fire departments in the United States, only 411 have achieved the elite Class 1 classification and only 1,789 have attained the level of a Class 2 rating. This places the City of Brownwood into the top 7% of the country. This rating reflects the City of Brownwood’s dedication to providing the community with a high level of fire protection.

ISO regularly performs reviews of all communities and fire protection districts. The review process is comprehensive. The fire department review is 50% of the total grading and reflects the fire department’s response capabilities. The water system within the city accounts for 40% of the review process, emergency communication systems account for 10% of the total grading, and community risk reduction can add up to 6.5 additional points for a total of 106.5.

The ISO rating is one of the primary elements used by the insurance industry to develop fire protection premium rates for homes and businesses. The scale is based on a relative scale of 1 through10 (1 represents exemplary public fire protection, 10 indicates the public fire protection does not meet minimum standards). The lower the ISO rating, the lower the premium. In addition, the ISO rating provides a reflection of standards developed over many years from the study of pertinent fire protection conditions and performance standards. For more details about ISO, please visit www.isomitigation.com.

Achieving a lower ISO rating has been a difficult task that has taken several years to achieve. Cooperation and commitment between all city departments is and will continue to be essential in order to maintain the Class 2 rating.

As the City of Brownwood’s ISO rating changes, residential and commercial property owners are encouraged to contact their preferred insurance agent and ask for a comparison review on their individual fire insurance premium. Insurance companies — not ISO — establish the premiums they charge to policyholders.

Aside from the reduction in the insurance premium, the quest for the lower ISO rating has made the already outstanding fire department even better. Fire suppression, code enforcement, public education, training, and the dedication of all the sworn firefighters who serve on the fire department are benefits to the residents of the City of Brownwood and to its future economic development opportunities.