The Las Cruces Fire Department has received notification that it will maintain its Insurance Services Office Public Protection Classification 1 Rating for at least another four years.
On Thursday, Dec. 10, Las Cruces Fire learned that its ISO Public Protection Class 1 Rating would remain in effect for the City of Las Cruces. The City of Las Cruces first earned recognition in 2015. The Class 1 rating places Las Cruces in the top 10 percent of more than 39,000 fire departments rated by ISO and allows for lower property insurance rates for home and business owners within city limits.
In December 2019, the ISO began its performance re-evaluation of the Las Cruces Fire Department, the Las Cruces Utilities, and Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority. The evaluation examines several areas within each of the three categories. The fire department’s score is worth 50 percent of the total points. The City’s water supply accounts for 40 percent of the evaluation while MVRDA, the local emergency dispatch center, provides the remaining 10 percent of points available.
The review also allows for 5.50 additional points to be awarded for efforts in community risk reduction. In its review, the Las Cruces Fire Department received 5.23 points in the community risk reduction category for its work in fire education, fire code enforcement, and fire investigations.
The overall score for Las Cruces was 92.42 out of 100 points. The score maintains the ISO PPC Class 1 rating for at least four years.
“The Class 1 rating would not be possible without the continued effort of LCFD personnel in training, service delivery, and risk reduction efforts as well as our partnerships with Las Cruces Utilities and MVRDA,” said Jason Smith, Interim Fire Chief. “These two groups are dedicated to improving services and supporting LCFD. This is a great example of how we provide a return on the community's investment in its fire department, utility services, and emergency dispatch center.”