Frequently Asked Questions - Plans for the Future

The Insurance Services Office (ISO) reviews and analyzes fire departments across the country and assigns ratings from 1 (the best) to 10 (the worst). Insurance companies use these ISO ratings when calculating home insurance premiums. Generally the better the rating, the lower the premium; however, that can vary among the insurance companies. The ISO rating is based on three criteria: (1) communication systems to receive alarms and to dispatch equipment; (2) equipment, staffing, and training; (3) the community’s water supply for fighting fires.

Bergheim VFD currently has an ISO rating of 9. Homes and property within the department’s service area that are outside the 5-mile radius from the fire station are still rated a 10; however, those having rated fire hydrants located within 1,000 feet are covered under the ISO rating of 9.

Apparatus (tenders) for hauling water and static water storage tank depots are both definitive pluses for lowering the Department’s overall rating; the addition of at least two unmanned satellite stations placed strategically within the service area will also help lower the rating for those areas currently rated a 10.

 In the future when Bergheim VFD has met all of the rating criteria (this includes manpower, equipment, water supply on wheels & storage sites, and unmanned satellite stations), the department could realistically receive an ISO rating of at least a 6. It is impossible, however, to predict exactly how the ISO board will rate us.

The Department continues to actively seek sites for remote static water supply depots in the service area; each site will house water storage tanks so that trucks will not have to return to the station to refill tanks during a fire – the first remote site was completed in 2012 with plans to establish two additional sites by the end of 2013 and at least two additional sites per year in 2014 and in 2015.  

To provide water on wheels, Bergheim VFD took delivery of its first tender during the third quarter of 2012 and plans to solicit bids in 2013 for a second tender to be delivered in 2014.

Over the next three years, Bergheim VFD is planning to acquire the following:

In 2013

• Purchase a brush truck to be delivered by the end of 2013 – this will  replace the old original brush truck purchased from another volunteer fire department
• Secure and install water storage tanks on two additional static water depot sites within the Department’s service area
• Solicit bids and purchase a second tender (water on wheels truck) for delivery in 2014
• Secure wild land firefighting uniforms and a heat sensing camera
• Provide additional gear and training for 5 volunteer firefighters

In 2014

• Take delivery of a second tender (water on wheels truck)
• Secure and install water storage tanks on two additional static water depot sites within the Department’s service area
• Provide additional gear and training for 5 volunteer firefighters

In 2015

• Solicit bids and purchase a rescue/emergency response vehiclefor delivery in 2015
• Secure and install water storage tanks on two additional static water depot sites within the Department’s service area
• Provide additional gear and training for 5 volunteer firefighters