Darlington Fire Department improves ISO rating
Darlington Fire Department Chief Pat Cavanaugh, Assistant Chief Charles Bailey, Firefighter Dustin Jordan, and Firefighter Alex Merritt.
Photo by Samantha Lyles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Residents of the City of Darlington will see a reduction on their homeowner’s insurance next year, and they can thank their local fire department for the extra cash. During the recent Public Protection Classification survey conducted by ISO (Insurance Services Office, LTD.), the Darlington Fire Department improved its rating from a 4 to a 3, and that’s no small feat.
“Not every fire department even qualifies to get an ISO rating. Some don’t have the equipment or the personnel to be rated,” says Darlington Fire Department Chief Pat Cavanaugh, noting that fewer than 50,000 departments nationwide are ISO rated. “For taxpayers in Darlington, this is a significant savings on their homeowner’s insurance…. just estimating, but it could be about $100 bucks.”
ISO collects and evaluates information on structure fire suppression capabilities from communities across America, providing their findings to insurance companies so policy rates are based on data-driven risk assessment. Ratings range from 10 (worst) to 1 (best), and very few agencies inhabit that upper echelon.
“The cool thing is they surveyed 48,000 fire departments and we are in the top 3 percent. Only 3,000 departments made a 3 rating,” Cavanaugh says. “Towns our size don’t usually get 3 ratings; we usually top out at 4 or 5. Hartsville is a 5.”
A number of factors are considered when formulating an ISO rating, including the water distribution system, the fire department’s training, number of personnel, fire vehicles and equipment, pre-planning for fires at businesses and structures, and regular fire inspections. Cavanaugh says the improved rating is owed to a team effort between DFD and city administration.
“Last time they came in and rated us in 2005, we got 62 out of 100. When (city manager) Howard Garland and I took over, we said we wanted to try and get the rating to a 3. So we spent the last three years making sure the training was updated. We added a new training facility (for structure fire simulations), and we worked with Davis and Brown to improve the water distribution,” said Cavanaugh.
That improved water distribution means better flow in many areas where DFD had struggled to get adequate pressure. Cavanaugh says that some hydrants have seen an increase from 600 gallons per minute to 1,000 GPM.
“Davis and Brown have been thoroughly professional working with our fire department. They’ve helped to secure funding to increase the size of our water line on the Public Square and they’ve worked with us to improve many fire hydrants around town… they are one of the big reasons we’ve gotten this improved ISO rating,” says Garland.
DFD also added a certified arson investigator, ramped up fire prevention education in schools, added new equipment, computerized record keeping, and continues to replenish the firefighter ranks with enthusiastic new personnel who want to make that ISO rating even better next time around.
“The guys were excited,” says Cavanaugh. “They were saying ‘We can get to a 2! We’ve got five years!’ They’re already psyched up and ready to go.”