Kalispell boosts its fire rating
By JOHN STANG
Move might lower insurance premiums
The Daily Inter Lake
Kalispell's fire protection rating will improve by two notches, which might lead to cheaper fire insurance premiums for some residents.
The New Jersey-based Insurance Service Office plans to upgrade Kalispell's fire protection rating from 5 to 3 on Jan. 1, 2007.
"It will mean reduced fire insurance premiums for a great deal of our folks," Kalispell Fire Chief Randy Brodehl said.
The fire department encourages property owners to check with their insurance companies to see if the change in ISO rating will affect their individual insurance premiums.
The ratings - the nationwide benchmarks for measuring the effectiveness of fire departments - are used by insurance companies to help calculate fire-related premiums.
The ratings are on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the top and 10 being the bottom. Roughly 10 percent of the nation's fire departments have ratings of 4 or better.
Other Montana cities with ratings of 3 are Billings, Great Falls and Missoula.
Inspectors studied Kalispell's fire department this year; the last insurance-rating inspection was in 1994.
In 2001, the Kalispell Fire Department began a push to upgrade its fire-protection rating. Factors helping improve the rating include:
. Building a second fire station in northern Kalispell. That enables the fire department to reach at least 90 percent of the city in five minutes or less.
. Increasing the number of firefighters from 18 to 30, which allows 10 firefighters to be on duty at all times. A few years ago, the city had four firefighters on each 24-hour shift.
. Adopting a stricter set of National Fire Protection Association standards. Under those standards, the city still needs to add four firefighters, but the City Council has said it will hire those people when the money becomes available, Brodehl said.
. Increasing training, including adding a training tower at the new northern fire station.
. Increasing the department's prevention staff from one to three people. That has led to more fire-prevention inspections of businesses, better annual hydrant tests and inspections, prefire planning for commercial buildings, and reviewing construction plans.
. Adding about 200 fire hydrants in recent years, bumping the city's total to 1,140. There is one spot in the city that is not within hose distance of a fire hydrant, and two hydrants are scheduled to be installed to fix that gap.
. The public works department upgrading water lines to provide long-running steady streams of water for fire hoses.
. Flathead County's 911 center improving dispatch procedures.
Columbia Falls has an insurance rating of 5, while Whitefish has a rating of 4 within five miles of a fire station and 8 beyond that range.
Among Flathead County's rural fire departments, Bigfork, Evergreen, Smith Valley and Somers have ISO ratings of 5 within five miles of a fire station, with ratings of 8 or 9 beyond that distance.
Big Mountain, Hungry Horse, South Kalispell and Smith Valley fire departments have ISO ratings of 6 within five miles of a fire station and 9 beyond that distance. West Valley's rating is 7 within five miles of a station and 10 beyond that perimeter.
Bad Rock, Creston, Ferndale, Marion and Olney have ISO ratings of 9.
Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com