Montgomery County Emergency Services District No. 4 and Needham Fire Rescue Company have received a new rating of 2 from the Insurance Services Office, a benchmark that means property owners could see lower insurance rates.
The department was rated as a Class 4/8B fire-protection area in 2006, but hasn’t been rated since. The ISO, which provides the ratings to insurance companies, began a new effort to classify fire departments in 2015.
Insurance premiums are based in part on the quality of fire protection, which means property owners here can get lowered premium on that area of insurance.
Analysts looked at everything from how far apart fire stations are from each other to how long it takes dispatchers to answer calls. It also evaluated the district’s water supply and fire hydrants, and the use of Tanker trucks. And staffing of apparatus and the ability of the fire department to cover the properties in its area.
In 2014, the fire department responded to 1,770 calls with an average response time of 5 minutes, 09 seconds. And currently has 27 full time employees and 24 part time paid firefighters.
