This Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department distinction could save you money

Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department recently earned a lofty safety distinction that could save homeowners and business owners insurance costs.

The department learned Wednesday it had achieved the country’s highest possible insurance risk rating, ISO 1. Only about 200 fire departments in the country carry the highest rating, according to a city news release, including 21 in South Carolina.

“What this represents is an acknowledgment of what your fire department has been doing for years,” Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Chief Reece Bertholf said. “...We are among the elite in the nation.”

The Insurance Services Office, a subsidiary of Verisk Analytics, calculates the rating and based on several factors, including how well the department receives and handles fire calls, the number of fire engines and condition of equipment, training and response records and the community’s water supply system. The ISO data can be sold to insurance companies and used to determine premiums.

A new category this year assessed building codes and enforcement, fire safety education, and community programs like smoke detector outreach.

This story was originally published May 4, 2017 at 9:10 AM with the headline "This Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department distinction could save you money."