The Class 1 Public Protection Classification by the Insurance Services Office is a coveted designation for fire departments across the country and few earn it, says Grand Rapids Fire Chief Brad Brown.
“There are 502 departments in the country with The ISO rating of 1 out of a little over 27,000 fire departments in this country, so it did place us in the top 1.86% of fire departments across the whole country.”
The ISO analyzes emergency communications, operations, water supply and community risk reduction efforts.
Brown says the department is proud of the job they do saving lives and protecting property, but there’s a lot of work the public doesn’t see.
“With record keeping, with equipment maintenance, meetings with the water department, refining procedures in dispatch. This behind-the-curtain work is what rounds out a professional well-managed fire department and our citizens should know that’s what they have here.
Brown says as the city grows with major developments and projects downtown, there are opportunities for continued improvement.
“Although we’re a Class1, we still have a lot of work to do.”
