By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Hays property owners may be eligible for lower insurance rates after April 1.
The city of Hays’ Public Fire Protection Classification by the Insurance Services Office (ISO) will improve from Class 3 to Class 2 effective April 1, 2018, according to Fire Chief Gary Brown. The rating is used by insurance companies to help set homeowner and fire insurance rates.
Brown told Hays city commissioners Thursday night a re-evaluation in October 2017 of the city’s preparedness for fire emergencies included additional credit for the Ellis County fire station, fire trucks and firefighters located in Hays.
“We made significant progress in a lot of areas. Beginning in January 2017 the city of Hays and Ellis County fire departments automatically respond together to reported building fires in the city and the built-up areas surrounding the city without regard to the city limits. This cost effective sharing of resources allows for a stronger initial response to fires, better and safer firefighting operations and increased fire insurance credit,” Brown said.
Commissioner Shaun Musil congratulated Brown for the improvement. “This is great news for the residents of Hays and Ellis County.”
He noted the Automatic Aid Agreement between the fire departments were not the only consideration. Many city departments were included in the evaluation including 911 Communications, Water Resources, Public Works, and police.
“Planning, Inspection and Enforcement (PIE) within Public Works has a really important tole in this. They make sure new buildings get built in accordance with the building code, make sure that there’s adequate water on site for the buildings that are being built, make sure that we get the water mains in place and have those fire flows.”
Brown also cited recent upgrades to the 911 and radio communications systems by Ellis County as instrumental in the reclassification.
“We’re now also getting credit for procedures to command emergencies which meet national standards. Our standard operating procedures were evaluated to make sure they were adequate. The way we do fire code enforcement and fire investigations were all rated in this schedule.”
ISO evaluates fire protection in more than 44,600 communities. The towns are rated on a scale of Class 1 (exemplary fire protection) to Class 10 (no recognized fire protection.)
As a Public Fire Protection Class 2 community, Hays will be in the top 4% of communities nationwide and the top 2% of communities in Kansas. Hays has been in Class 3 since 2005.
Brown suggested residents check with their insurance agent regarding the impact of the improved ISO score. “In general, insurance costs are lower in communities with better Public Fire Protection Classification scores,” he explained.