MORGANTOWN — The Morgantown Fire Department was recently given a Class 2 rating from the Insurance Services Office (ISO), a goal Chief Mark Caravasos said the department was actively trying to achieve.
“We were hoping to get the increase,” he said. “We’ve been working on it.”
The rating increase comes five years after the previous inspection by the ISO, which ranked the department at Class 3. It was Caravasos’ second review as chief.
He said to his knowledge this is the highest rating the department has received. Only 3 percent of fire departments nationwide hold a Class 1 or 2 rating, a press release stated.
“I’m very proud,” he said. “It took everyone in the department working on this to get where we are.”
ISO is a data collection firm and most insurance companies use the firm’s data to help determine insurance rates he said.
Rusty Davis, owner of Davis Insurance Group in Westover, said a typical house in Morgantown will see about a 3 percent savings on the cost of their insurance because of the higher rating.
“Doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up,” he said.
Caravasos said that since this was his second experience with the inspection, he was able to better prepare – he started gathering the required data and documentation a year before the inspection.
The fire department isn’t the only organization that has an affect on its rating. The data firm also looked at the city’s water supply, water grid and hydrant system, controlled by the Morgantown Utility Board (MUB).
MECCA911 — Monongalia County’s emergency dispatchers — are also reviewed.
Part of what it took to earn the Class 2 rating was working with MUB to fix discrepancies involving hydrants that ISO discovered at the last review, Caravasos said.
Since then, the department GPS tagged all 598 hydrants in the city and did comprehensive testing on each.
The department also increased its manpower through a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant and purchased new fire engines.
“They go through everything with a fine-tooth comb,” Caravasos said.
He said increasing the department’s rating to Class 1 isn’t an unrealistic goal.
It would take another increase in manpower — the department is still understaffed by National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) guidelines. He said ISO follows those guidelines in its review.
The NFPA recommends four people per vehicle. Caravasos said the department typically sends four people on its fire engines, but not its ladder trucks.
The department is also seeking to add a fire station at the Morgantown Municipal Airport and would need another SAFER grant for an extra 18-20 firefighters for that plan to come to fruition.
Some of the department’s existing stations also need renovations. Caravasos said the Norwood Station in Sabraton only houses four firefighters.
The department also needs a training center in Monongalia County. He said there used to be one in Morgantown, but WVU removed it to build its DreamWorks Field soccer facility.
Now, the department has to send firefighters to Clarksburg, Wheeling or the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy for training.
Caravasos said his department isn’t the only one whose ISO rating is hurt by not having a local training center. The others, including volunteer, are likely affected.
“If everyone worked a little more I think we can obtain a Class 1 here.”
