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Elmont Fire District Receives Exceptional Rating

Lower rating may lead to lower fire insurance premiums for home and business owners

The Insurance Services Offices (ISO), an insurance advisory organization that provides insurers with a variety of underwriting and rating services, has notified the Elmont Fire District that its Public Protection Classification (PPC) rating has been upgraded from a Class 4 rating to a Class 2, which is a rarity in our state. ISO assigns a PPC ranging from1 to 10, with 1 being the highest rating and 10 signifying the worst. The classification is for both commercial and residential properties. Only 8.2 % of the communities across Long Island are ranked a Class 2. Approximately 1.3% in New York State and 2.2% across the country received this outstanding ranking.

According to ISO, a community's investment in fire mitigation is a proven and reliable predicator of future fire losses. As a result, insurance companies use PPC information to help establish fair premiums for fire insurance - generally offering lower premiums in communities with better protection.

The PPC program evaluates and reinforces the importance of key areas of fire protection:

Emergency communications (10%) – 911 telephone systems, adequacy of telephone lines, operator supervision and staffing, and the dispatching hardware and software systems
Fire department (50%) – adequacy of equipment, sufficient staffing, evaluation of training, existence of automatic aid, and geographic distribution of fire companies
Water supply (40%) – condition and maintenance of hydrants, existence of alternative sources, and a careful evaluation of the amount of available water – in volume and pressure – compared with the amount needed to suppress fires

"We are always working to improve our ISO rating," said Elmont Chief of Department Angelo Chilelli. "One reason for the higher ranking is the addition of our training tower, which allows us to enhance firefighter training on our time and grounds. As a result, we are not completely dependent on using the Nassau County Fire Service facilities. We are fortunate to have an outstanding and dedicated Fire Department and Ambulance Service, and are thrilled that our hard work resulted in this significant achievement."

Elmont Ex-Chief of Department Michael Capoziello said, "In terms of fire equipment, we earned points for maintaining a reserve (spare) Engine and Ladder truck. The Elmont FD has sustained a spare Engine and Ladder system since 1975, and we were one of the first fire departments on Long Island to do so. If a fire company's apparatus goes out of service, we use a reserve truck. So, there's never a halt in apparatus accessibility."

Another big factor in the ISO rating is the ability to maintain excellent training and maintenance records, as well as any other documents that deal with the day-to-day business of running a fire district.

"We are extremely pleased to announce to the communities we serve in our Fire District that we received an ISO Class 2 rating," said Elmont Board of Fire Commissioners Chairman Ralph Esposito. "This classification would not be possible without the dedication and first-rate performance of all of the Board members, Chiefs and members of our Department. This is a very proud day for us."

Since insurers establish their own fire insurance premium pricing, ISO suggests that individual property owners consult with their insurance agent or representative concerning the potential effect of these changes in PPC for their own property insurance premiums.

Charts illustrating the distribution of PPC Classes across the U.S. and New York State can be found via http://www.isomitigation.com/ppc/1000/ppc1001.html. For more information on ISO, please visit http://www.iso.org/iso/home.html.