A good grade for Oskaloosa’s Fire Department means lower home insurance rates for you.  Oskaloosa Fire Chief Mark Neff told the City Council Monday (10/15) that the Fire Department is now rated as Class 3 by the Insurance Services Office.  The ISO rates fire departments around the country for the way they fight fires and also for things like emergency communication, water supply and educating the public about fire danger.  Insurance companies take into account a local fire department’s rating when figuring out your home insurance rates.  Chief Neff says several factors went in to getting the Class 3 ranking.

“The acquisition of the aerial apparatus was a big part of it, although it was just one piece of that puzzle. We’ve continually increased training standards that we require of both our career staff and our reserve department staff.  They have accepted that willingly.  Then along with that goes into how we actually function as a fire department, our operational procedures.  We’ve changed some of those.  We’re constantly looking at better ways of doing things.”

In 1996, Oskaloosa’s Fire Department was rated Class 6.  That improved to Class 4 in 2014 and now to Class 3.  That new ranking takes effect December 1