Video: Vestavia Hills Fire Department announces improved ISO rating

Vestavia Hills residents could see an improvement in their insurance rates beginning in June.

At a press conference in front of city hall on March 2, the Vestavia Hills Fire Department announced its improved ISO (Insurance Service Office) rating, which moved up from a 3 to a 2.

“That may not seem like a big deal to a lot of folks, but it makes a big difference on people’s insurance,” said city council member Steve Ammons. It makes a big deal on their quality of life in the city, understanding that they’re in the 99th percentile of communities across the United States.”

ISO evaluated 48,753 communities last year, said Fire Chief Jim St. John, and assigned Public Protection Classifications (PPCs), which are used by insurance companies to determine rates for fire insurance. The rating improvement is a 23 percent increase over the city’s last evaluation, which occurred in 2010, St. John said.

“The PPC is but one measure we use to measure our operations, but it is a very important one,” he said. “It will be realized as cost savings to many property owners. On behalf of our membership, I would like to thank the city council and the city manager for their enduring support of the City of Vestavia Hills Fire Department and meeting our mission to protect life, prevent harm and preserve property.”

Ratings are given on a scale of 1 through 10, with 1 being the best and 10 signifying no protection at all.  ISO ratings are a reflection of a department’s emergency communication, the fire department’s operations and water supply.

The department’s partnerships with Birmingham Water Works Board and Shelby County 911 helped improve its rating, St. John said. The department received all available credit for its water supply because of the consistent supply and the system Birmingham Water Works Board provides, he added.

“Likewise, our partnership with Shelby County 911 resulted in a drastic increase in the credit for receiving and handling fire alarms,” St. John said. “This reclassification is a result of an enormous amount of work from the Vestavia Hills Fire Department.”

Battalion Chief Greg Gilchrist helped lead the effort toward an improved rating, St. John said. Gilchrist has been with VHFD for 23 years and served on the ISO committee to work to make improvements in the department.

“We had to be very meticulous and start dotting every ‘I’ and crossing every ‘t’ to make sure that we were doing things properly,” Gilchrist said.

One of the most important steps the department took was fire response changes, Gilchrist said. This includes getting more people on scene for a fire in a short amount of time. Changing from the city having its own 911 dispatch center to working with Shelby County 911 also helped, he said.

“We were able to improve our service at a lower cost by not trying to do it all ourselves,” he said.

The department plans to continue looking into potential improvements, St. John said, and hopes to continue to improve its ISO rating.

“Our vision is to be the leader of public safety in the community,” St. John said, “and I think that score shows that we are doing well and that we are continuously improving and we seek to improve more to be able to provide that better service.”

The new rating goes into effect June 1, and St. John encouraged citizens of Vestavia Hills to contact their insurance agents to ensure they have the updated rating on file.