The Bedford Fire Department recently earned the coveted Insurance Services Office Inc. Public Protection Class 1 rating, the highest level a Fire Department can earn. The Class 1 rating will mean lower property insurance rates for home and business owners, as insurance companies use ISO PPC ratings to establish premiums.
“These are two very important milestone accomplishments for the Bedford Fire Department,” said Bedford Fire Chief Sean Fay. “It has been a journey of nearly five years getting to this point. We made commitments to make strategic improvements in many of our operational areas. The hard work has certainly paid off, and the results have been successful. I feel like we have made a huge investment into our future and our residents directly benefit from it. My goal all along was to simply leave the Bedford Fire Department better than I found it. I believe that goal has been accomplished.”
Out of the approximate 30,000 fire departments rated, only about 1 percent can achieve an ISO Class 1 rating. In order to do so, the Bedford Fire Department had to meet a nationwide standard for budgeting, equipment, personnel, training, and planning.
In addition to the ISO Class 1 rating, the Bedford Fire Department received the Texas Fire Chiefs Association “Best Practices” designation. The Association’s Best Practices Program encourages Texas fire departments to implement industry-standard best practices, to achieve benchmark levels of excellence and to seek continual improvement in their services to the local community.
By adopting these industry-standard best practices, it ultimately enhances firefighters’ safety, long-term planning, standard operating guidelines, deployment analysis, risk management, and other administrative functions. To receive this designation, the Fire Department undergoes a third-party inspection and verification process.
For more information on the ISO PPC program, please visit www.isomitigation.com. Additional information on the TFCA designation can be found at www.txfirechiefs.org/best-practices.