The Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) provides information about risk for the property & casualty insurance industry.
ISO is used by insurance companies to evaluate fire departments for the purpose of establishing insurance premiums. In states using ISO; Fire Alarm, Fire Department, and Water Supply are measured in the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS).
This schedule reviews the major elements of a community’s fire-suppression system and develops a numerical grading called a Public Protection Classification (PPC). Within this grading there are 10 classifications, which define different levels of public fire suppression capabilities. A classification of 1 is the best and a classification of 10 would be the worst.
The District has achieved an ISO Class 2 PPC rating and is one of 323 departments in Texas to have received this distinction. As such, ESD 48 is in the top 15th percentile of fire protection of the 2,865 communities rated in the State of Texas and the top 7th percentile in the U.S. and is to be commended for this investment in fire protection services. There are limited areas of improvement, most notably.
As of 2023
In obtaining an ISO Classification, the grading is broken down into three major categories:
- Receiving and Handling of Fire Alarms: 10% = 10 points
- Fire Department: 50% = 50 points
- Water Supply: 40% = 40 points