Palmer fire rating to improve in October

MAT-SU — Homeowners in the Greater Palmer Consolidated Fire Service Area may see a reduction in fire insurance annual premiums thanks to a change in the area’s Insurance Services Office Public Protection Classification rating.

Effective Oct. 1, the area will be reclassified as “6/10.” It has a rating now of “8b/10.” The numerical rating system is used by the Insurance Services Office to rate the fire protection capabilities of a fire department.

A “6/10” rating is given to good suburban fire departments that do not employ full-time firefighters and do not have a municipal water supply system that supports a fire hydrant grid.

People should check with their insurance agents to determine the specific impact this improved rating will have on their insurance premiums.

The area is unique in the borough, in that it contracts with the city of Palmer for fire protection services.

ISO conducts detailed on-site assessments of municipal fire protection capabilities and collects information for more than 46,000 fire protection areas across the United States. ISO’s audit teams analyze the relevant data and assign a Public Protection Classification from 1 to 10.

Class 1 represents exemplary public protection and Class 10 indicates that the area’s fire-suppression program doesn’t meet minimum criteria. Most, but not all, U.S. insurance companies use this rating to assign annual homeowner and commercial insurance premiums charged to residents and businesses within a given fire protection district.

The chart at the below illustrates the ISO ratings within the various Mat-Su Borough fire service areas.

AREA ISO CLASS

Wasilla Lakes FSA 4/8b

West Lakes FSA 5/10

Talkeetna FSA 5/9

Caswell Lakes FSA none

Willow FSA 8b/10

Greater Palmer FSA 6/10

Butte FSA 6/10

Sutton FSA 8b/10

City of Houston 8b/10

City of Palmer 4/9

For more information, contact Dennis Brodigan, director of Emergency Services at 373-8815, or John McNutt, Palmer fire chief