Effective Sept. 1, the Fire Protection Rating for Douglas County will drop from 4/4X to a rating of 3/3X.
This lower rating means homeowners and businesses could receive a reduction in their Fire Insurance Premiums, depending on their insurance provider.
Of more than 46,000 communities that were evaluated in 2017, only 3,409 received a Fire Protection Class rating of 3.
The Fire Protection Rating is given by the Insurance Services Offices (ISO), an independent company that collects and evaluates information from communities across the United States on their structure fire control capabilities.
ISO rates on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the least prepared and 1 being the best prepared).
“This was truly a team effort; and without every member of our department and our partners at E-911 and the Douglas County Water and Sewer Authority, this milestone would not have been possible,” said Douglas County Fire Chief Scott Spencer.
Douglas County Board of Commission Chairman Dr. Romona Jackson Jones said, “I am so happy for our citizens because this improved ISO rating could have a positive effect on home insurance rates in Douglas County, and this has not happened since the 1980s.”
The Douglas County Fire/EMS Department has gone from a Class 10 in 1974 to a Class 6 in the early 1980s.
In the late 1980s, the rating was reduced to a Class 4 where it had remained until this most recent evaluation reduction to a Class 3.
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