City of Dothan (AL) achieves Class 2 ISO rating
Since December 1, 1998, the City of Dothan, Alabama, has had a Class 2 Insurance Services Organization (ISO) rating. In 1995, the city was issued a 3/9 split rating for the first time in its history. The split rating meant that homes and businesses in the higher rated areas had to pay significantly more for their fire insurance and had to wait longer for a fire truck to respond to fire and medical emergencies, explains Fire Chief Dennis L. Rubin.
The City Commission, disappointed in the split rating, directed the city manager to develop and implement a fire protection program that would improve response times and eliminate the dual rating system. By the end of phase 1 of the improvement program, in late 1997, the entire city was assigned an ISO Class 3 rating.
A second phase of the program to improve the city`s overall rating involved installing more than 50 miles of water main lines and adding about 350 new fire hydrants–spaced at 1,000-foot intervals or closer, per ISO requirements. The city also had to meet specific fire waterflow delivery requirements for commercial buildings. The water system upgrades were completed at a cost of just under $4 million.
Three new fire stations were built to meet ISO fire station distance requirements. The fire department implemented a fire hydrant maintenance program, im-proved the fire truck fleet, and established many other administrative controls to reach the lower rating. The cost of the three new fire stations and the four 1997 engines and 30 new firefighter positions needed to have them function was about $2.5 million.
Dothan is the sixth fire department in Alabama to receive an ISO Class 2 rating; there are no Class 1 cities in the state. For additional information, contact Captain Ed Roberts at (334) 793-0372.