Firefighters risk their lives every day to keep people safe from harm, and that hard work is paying off in a big way for both firefighters and Panama City residents.
The insurance service office, also known as ISO, rates industries across the board, including local fire services.
An ISO rating gives a classification from 10 to 1, with a rating of 1 being the best. “They come out and they evaluate your fire service. They look at three components: the water supply, the fire department and then your dispatching service and communications,” said Fire Chief Panama City, Alex Baird.
What does this rating mean for your home? Insurance companies look at the rating and the higher the number, the higher the insurance premium. The lower, means the opposite, with better premiums and more discounts… that’s why PCFD is proud of their class 2 rating.
“By having a class 1, class 2 fire department, you’ve got a very good fire department. Class 2 for us, we’re one in 1,300 in the country that have a class 2,” said Baird.
Class 2, putting Panama City Fire Rescue in the top 2% t of fire departments across the nation. The average station has a 5 rating, but they are not average! PCFD went from a 3 to the 2 rating, and can only hope to improve from there.
“We as firefighters, as our department, we’re always trying to make ourselves better in anything we do. So anytime it’s recognized, it’s nice to know and we’ll continue to work on it to get better,” said Panama City Fire Department Captain, Jerome Fleeman.
The class 2 rating becomes active on February 1st of 2018. If you want to be a part of the fire team, the Panama City Fire Department has one opening. To apply, contact Panama City Fire Rescue at their station on Business Highway 98.
