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Release: Immediate
Contacts:
Susan Kenney / Sarah Malinowski
MWW Group (for ISO)
201-507-9500
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International
Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) President Jeff Johnson Endorses ISO’s
Revised Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS)
JERSEY CITY, N.J., January 19, 2010 — The
president and chairman of the International Association of Fire Chiefs
(IAFC), Jeff Johnson, has endorsed the upcoming revisions to ISO’s Fire
Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS).
The
Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS) is a manual containing the
criteria ISO uses in reviewing the firefighting capabilities of
individual communities. The schedule measures the major elements of a
community’s fire-suppression system and develops a numerical grading
called a Public Protection Classification (PPCTM).
“The
FSRS incorporates nationally accepted standards developed by such
organizations as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the
Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), and the
American Water Works Association (AWWA),” said Mike Waters, vice
president of Risk Decision Services at ISO. “When those organizations
update their standards, the ISO evaluation changes as well. So, the PPC
program always provides a useful benchmark that helps fire departments
and other public officials measure the effectiveness of their efforts —
and plan for improvements.”
After
engaging in discussions with a variety of stakeholders in organizations
that deal with water, fire, and emergency communications, ISO recently
embarked on a project to review and update the content of its FSRS. “We
have developed a list of potential modifications and additions to the
current FSRS and will beta test the revisions and additions to assure
reliability and consistent application,” said Waters. “Following the
test process, ISO will confer with stakeholders before finalizing the
document and filing it in each state.”
Updates
include revisions to the FSRS emergency communications section,
possible revisions to the fire department and water-supply sections,
and references to community risk-reduction programs.
“ISO
has recently set the stage for a new era of connection to the fire and
emergency service and the communities it serves by completing a
much-needed upgrade of its Fire Suppression Rating Schedule,” said
Chief Johnson in his year-end message to IAFC members. “The IAFC
congratulates the leadership at ISO for this update and, more
important, for their commitment to continuous quality improvement. The
ISO thread will continue to link fire departments to each other and
their communities. It’s evident that ISO’s goal is to work with the
fire service to weave a stronger position of protection for our
communities.”
The
new rating system recognizes accredited departments and will include
recognition of a science-based standard of cover that measures a
department’s operational performance in time-based fractile
percentages, where sufficient data exists, or use of the traditional
distance-based method of coverage. The system also provides points of
credit for fire prevention, an updated technology section, and many
other meaningful improvements.
“The
fire and emergency service will be well served by having ISO lead the
way with a progressive rating system that pulls our industry forward,”
added Johnson. “The new rating system goes a long way toward these
goals.”
For more information about ISO’s FSRS, visit www.isomitigation.com/.
About ISO
Since 1971, ISO has been a leading source of information about
property/casualty insurance risk. For a broad spectrum of commercial
and personal lines of insurance, the company provides statistical,
actuarial, underwriting, and claims information; policy language;
information about specific locations; fraud-identification tools; and
technical services. ISO serves insurers, reinsurers, agents and
brokers, insurance regulators, risk managers, and other participants in
the property/casualty insurance marketplace. ISO is a subsidiary of
Verisk Analytics. For more information, visit www.iso.com and www.verisk.com.
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