GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – The Green Bay Metro Fire Department has once again earned the highest class of fire protection.
The department announced on Wednesday that they have received a Class 1 ISO rating. The rating serves as a Public Protection Classification (PPC) number on a scale from 1 to 10, with Class 1 being the very best fire protection.
“We let it speak for itself. It is an elite deal,” said Chief David Litton.
But Litton says it didn’t come without a lot of effort in reducing community risk and cutting response times.
“I said, ‘Look, we’re going to get to a class one. We’re gonna analyze what we’ve got going on here, and we’re going to work to improve’,” Litton said. “The time that the call comes in that the dispatchers are answering the call, the time that they dispatch us out, the time that our guys take the turn out and get in the vehicles, and then our response time to get the emergency. Because after all, we can’t make things better until we get there.”
They first hit that level in 2015, and maintained it through a five-year audit.
“I didn’t want to be the first class one department to lose a class one department and go down to a class two again, so we were thrilled when we got the report!” Litton said. “I’m very proud of the fact that we are one of 388 communities in the entire United States, one of 388, there are 38,500 communities that are evaluated by ISO.”
When Green Bay Metro Fire initially received the recognition, they were just one of just 143.
“I’m happy that more communities are being classified as a class one, because I mean there’s more and more people that are being served efficiently and safely, and that’s really good news,” Litton said.
The Green Bay Metro Fire Department, Green Bay Water Utility, Allouez Water Works, and the Brown County Communication Center successfully maintained a Class 1 ISO rating after an extensive five-year audit. The assessment looked at fire department capabilities, emergency communications, water availability, and needed fire flows, which are the quantity of water required to put out a fire at different places.
But the designation isn’t just about bragging rights. It has a real impact for people living in the community.
“In general, the price of fire insurance a community with a good PPC grade, a number one, is substantially lower than in community with a poor PPC grade, assuming all other factors are equal,” Litton said.
“The most exciting for people to talk about is lower insurance rates. That’s great, that makes us more competitive as a community in attracting new residents, and that’s really important to emphasize,” said Mayor Eric Genrich. “But even more important than that is demonstrating that we are incredibly safe community with great response rates in terms of EMS and fire.”
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