ISO and Verisk recently had a unique opportunity to meet with one of the foremost organizations in the fire service — the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA). The USFA provides national leadership to promote fire prevention, preparedness, and response.
On June 26, Kevin Kuntz, assistant vice president of Risk Engineering and Technical Training, Verisk Insurance Solutions – Commercial Property, and Butch Cobb, national director of ISO Community Hazard Mitigation, met with Ernest Mitchell, Jr., the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s U.S. Fire Administrator, and his staff.
Pictured at the meeting are Ernest Mitchell, Jr., FEMA’s U.S. Fire Administrator; Kevin Kuntz, assistant vice president, Verisk Insurance Solutions – Commercial Property; and Butch Cobb, national director, ISO Community Hazard Mitigation.
They discussed a number of issues during the meeting:
- The USFA provided positive feedback for ISO’s revised Fire Suppression Rating Schedule. The organization especially supported a number of new items in the schedule that now receive credit, including adoption and enforcement of wildland-urban interface ordinances, fire department driver training, participation in the National Fire Incident Reporting System, and community risk reduction efforts.
- ISO and Verisk learned about the new continuing education program under development by the USFA and the National Fire Academy.
- The USFA explained that the installation of residential sprinklers is a priority for them since residential fires are where most lives are lost.
- The USFA indicated a desire to collaborate with ISO in a number of areas, including validation of community risk reduction programs for fire inspection, public education, and fire investigation and the effect of building codes with respect to fire.