Los Osos property owners might be eligible for a discount on insurance costs after the fire department got a higher rating on fire protection efforts, the Community Services District announced Jan. 7.
The department’s upgraded “Insurance Service Office” or ISO rating is “3/3X,” an improvement from “5/9.”
“I applaud the efforts of Los Osos Community Services District Utilities Department and Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Station 15 — South Bay, in cooperation with S&T Mutual Water Company and Golden State Water Company for their commitment to providing excellent service to Los Osos and, thereby, achieving this rating,” said R. Michael Wright, Los Osos CSD’s board president.
The ISO ratings are determined by information gathered on municipal fire protection efforts throughout the U.S. ISO goes into a community with a checklist of items they inspect and analyze using a “Fire Suppression Rating Schedule,” the CSD said. Out of that comes a 10-1 rating, with one being best. Few cities nationwide — estimated at about 40 — achieve a perfect score.
According to the firefighter website, www.FireServiceInfo.com, the ISO gives points for everything from the training aids a fire department owns to the distance between fire hydrants.
“Historically,” the website reports, “very few cities ever received a Class 1 rating. There have been times where only one city, out of the nation, would receive a one.”
“The ISO rating is one of the primary elements used by the insurance industry to develop premium rates for residential and commercial businesses,” according to the CSD. “By classifying the communities’ ability to suppress fires, ISO helps communities evaluate their public fire protection services.”
The process is also a good check on the fire service’s preparedness, planning and budgeting for facilities and equipment.
Along with the fire department’s rating, the ISO process also checks the water distribution system, because without a good water system, fire protection gets tricky. And that’s somewhat complicated in Los Osos, which has three water companies — the CSD, Golden State Water and S&T Mutual (Sunset Terrace).
The CSD’s General Manager, Kathy Kivley, said, “Through eight years of infrastructure upgrades by the three water purveyors and an increase of fire protection services through the cooperative fire protection agreement with Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire, the safety of residents and business owners has improved.”
The good rating is also a bright spot on an otherwise bleak water picture in the South Bay. With its main drinking water aquifer in a state of overdraft and facing advancing seawater intrusion, the purveyors have called upon their customers to conserve, conserve, conserve as they work to keep the fire hydrants fully charged.
Nevertheless, the CSD and fire department are encouraging Los Osos property owners to tell their agents about the new ISO rating and maybe get a break on insurance costs. For more information call Cal Fire Battalion Chief Phil Veneris at (805) 528-1053 or Kivley at (805) 528-9370.
