CFP News

Firefighting is a dangerous occupation, and that goes beyond the risk of fighting fires (see “The Hidden Killers of Firefighters,” also in this issue of CFP News). First responders selflessly sacrifice their time and put themselves at risk to help their communities, so it’s good to know there are organizations that acknowledge their personal sacrifice and are dedicated to improving their safety and health. This article outlines a few of the national organizations.

ISO has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc. (FLASH), a nonprofit organization that works to strengthen homes and safeguard families from natural and man-made disasters.

Contrary to public perception, the major cause of death for firefighters is not fire—it’s cancer. From January 1, 2002, to March 31, 2017, cancer caused 61 percent of career firefighter line-of-duty deaths, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), with 70 percent in 2016 alone.

Because the risk for loss is so high, insurers use various tools to determine fire loss potential for properties they insure. Two of these tools are from Verisk/ISO: Public Protection Classification (PPC®) and FireLine®. Each program uniquely addresses various aspects of fire prevention and loss. Here are the very important differences between them.

The Henrico County Division of Fire, an internationally accredited fire department, earned the highest possible rating from ISO’s Public Protection Classification (PPC®) program, making it an ISO Class 1 community. Chief Anthony McDowell explains his strategy.

It’s been happening for years: firefighters and department staff are dealing less and less with actual fires and more and more with other emergency and nonemergency calls for service. The trend is no secret in the fire service.

Fortunately for our community partners, residents, and insurers who rely on our information, ISO's BCEGS® staff consists of more than 20 full-time team members who have extensive related experience.

Community Fire Protection News will profile a member of the ISO Community Hazard Mitigation team in each issue. For our first spotlight, meet David Hyland.

As part of ISO’s Public Protection Classification (PPC®) program, we locate, identify, and track the fire hydrants in the United States. This past February we reached a milestone— more than 9 million hydrants in the United States.

The initial “size-up” of a commercial property is critical for determining the fire department’s effectiveness in fighting a structure fire. An effective size-up starts with pre-incident planning activities.