There are tens of thousands of fire departments in the United States, and each one is rated based on several criteria by New Jersey-based Insurance Services Office Inc. (ISO).
ISO’s Public Protection Classification (PPC) ratings range from 1 to 10 (with 1 being the highest and 10 the lowest) and only a fraction of departments occupy the top three levels (just over 6,000), with even a smaller percentage being small town agencies. The City of Houston Fire Department is now one of those rare examples of an ISO 3 in a small town, as Chief Robbie Smith recently learned.
“This proves that ISO sees that we’re better serving the community,” Smith said. “It shows that what this department is doing is headed in the right direction.”
For its PPC program, ISO collects information on municipal fire-protection efforts in communities throughout the United States, which helps them evaluate their public fire-protection services. The program provides an objective, countrywide standard that helps fire departments in planning and budgeting for facilities, equipment and training.
The four primary criteria scrutinized in ISO’s PPC program are equipment, apparatus, manpower and training. Other elements considered include water supply, fire hydrant numbers, conditions and inspections, and dispatching.
Smith said the HFD’s dispatch center, Texas County Emergency Services (911), played a major role in the improved rating.
“They’re doing a great job,” he said.
ISO indicates online that it has detailed information on about 40,000 fire departments across the U.S.; there are 498 departments with an ISO 1 rating, 2,004 with an ISO 2 and 3,826 with an ISO 3.
Of 105.5 available credits, the HFD earned 70.71.
“This is a huge accomplishment for us,” Smith said. “It shows that this community has a fire department that is trying hard to provide the best service possible.”
ISO ratings are recognized by most insurance companies, with high ratings often resulting in lower premiums. Online, ISO indicates that by helping reduce fire insurance premiums in communities with better public protection, the PPC program “provides incentives and rewards for communities that choose to improve their firefighting services.”
The HFD’s new ISO rating officially kicks in on April 1. The HFD achieved ISO 4 status in 2013.
THE HFD’S BIG YEAR
The HFD experienced a huge year in 2024, highlighted by the construction and launching of its new Training Tower.
The multi-level facility (on Industrial Drive next to the water tower) was originally scheduled to be assembled in October by Fire Training Structures LLC of Phoenix, Arizona, but the firm was able to get to Houston’s project much sooner and the facility was up and running in May. Its existence for that many months of 2024 made the difference in securing the ISO 3 rating.
“Having the facility show up so early really worked in our favor,” Smith said.
The Training Tower has already been used close to 20 times, with firefighters from several area departments benefiting from it.
“The facility itself isn’t designed to generate income,” Smith said, “but all of those people who come here to use it spend money in town, so it’s definitely a good thing for the city.”
Smith said several current and former City Council members were instrumental in providing support for the training facility, including Kevin Stilley, Don Romines, Tim Ceplina, Angie Gettys, Fred Stottlemyre and Sheila Walker.
“All of us in the department want to thank those individuals for seeing what we’re after, where we’re trying to go and what our true needs are,” Smith said.
The HFD has 33 people on its roster, including six ranking officers. Personnel responded to a record 289 calls in 2024, including 213 that were of a medical nature (the department began Emergency Medical Responses (EMR) at the beginning of 2022).
“We’re doing extremely well,” Smith said, “and we’re very pleased with the direction all of us continue to go in.”
The HFD’s funding mostly comes from a sales tax approved by voters in 2019.
“Without that, none of this is even possible,” Smith said. “We would still be a Class 4, there wouldn’t be a training facility and we would be squeaking by with whatever we could get.”
For non-emergencies, the HFD can be reached at 417-967-3348, extension 231. For emergencies, dial 911.
Smith said he doesn’t rule out the HFD someday reaching ISO 2 status.
“We need to keep moving in the same direction,” he said. “There’s never going to be a point at which we can’t improve more, and it’s our responsibility to know that and act upon it.”
HFD IN 2024
- Total emergency responses: 289
- Emergency medical responses: 213
- Motor vehicle crashes: 23
- Carbon monoxide/propane/gas leaks: 13
- Fire alarms: 10
- Smoke inside residence/commercial: 9
- Wildfires: 5
- Severe weather: 4
- Power lines down/pole on fire: 3
- Vehicle fires: 3
- Aircraft emergency on runway: 1
- Called and cancelled on the way: 1
- Fumes inside commercial structure: 1
- Juvenile extrication at residence: 1
- Mutual aid structure fires: 1
- Unlawful burn: 1
