Better fire safety ratings could mean savings for Columbia and Richland residents

Columbia and Richland County residents could be in for big savings on their insurance bills starting Aug. 1.

Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins announced Wednesday that the city moved up to a Class 1 Insurance Services Office Public Protection Classification rating, and the county moved up to a Class 2 rating.

“We will cherish this,” said Jenkins, chief of the Columbia Fire Department, which serves all of Richland County. “I am elated.”

The city’s previous rating from the nationally recognized assessment agency was a Class 2, and the county’s previous rating, a Class 4, Jenkins said.

Officials could not say what residents might save, and emphasized that each household’s or business’s situation will vary. But in the past, improvements in fire safety have decreased some residents’ insurance bills in amounts ranging from 11 percent to 40 percent.

The department is now one of 14 fire protection areas in South Carolina to have a Class 1 rating, according to the department. This is the city’s first Class 1 rating in the department’s 113 year history.

Fire departments are assessed based on response times, equipment inventory, having backup generators for power failures, 911 operators’ ability to assess situations quickly, fire prevention education, water supply, codes enforcement and upgrades to hardware and software system used for dispatch systems.

Ratings under the ISO system range from 1, which marks superior fire protection, to 10, which indicates almost no fire protection. Many insurance companies use ISO as one factor of many that go into determining fire protection ratings to determine homeowner and business insurance premiums.

ISO currently rates more than 48,600 fire-protection areas within the United States – of which 601 are in South Carolina.

Though ratings usually are delivered by mail, ISO representatives presented the city’s and county’s new ratings in person at the fire department Wednesday.

Jenkins attributed the improved numbers to hard work and teamwork between departments.

“I commend the members of my staff that devoted countless hours of preparation that went into getting ready for the inspection, and I would also like to thank the City of Columbia’s Water Division and Columbia-Richland Communications for their partnerships through this process,” Jenkins said.

This story was originally published April 20, 2016 at 7:26 PM with the headline "Better fire safety ratings could mean savings for Columbia and Richland residents."