Village of Westmont
Date Issued: Jan. 11, 2017
“I want to thank all of our fire department personnel, and village staff who have worked long and hard to make this happen,” said Westmont Fire Chief David Weiss. “This is the first time that a part-time/combination department in the State of Illinois has achieved a Class 1 ISO rating and is also an accredited agency. This speaks to the dedication and commitment that Westmont has to our emergency services in the community.”
The Insurance Services Office (ISO) evaluates communities and their fire departments throughout the country. Each community is given a Public Protection Classification from 1 to 10 with 1 being the highest rating. Approximately 200 fire departments, less than 1% of the more than 30,000 departments in the United States, are ISO Class 1.
“This is an honor for the Village of Westmont,” stated Mayor Ron Gunter regarding this impressive accomplishment. “We are excited to have representatives from ISO attend our March 30 Village Board meeting to make an official presentation. We have a great fire department and we’re proud to announce this most recent achievement to our residents and business community. This is yet another reason to choose Westmont as a great place to live, work, raise a family, and do business.”
Once the Class 1 ISO rating officially goes into effect on May 1, 2017, the Insurance Services Office will send out notifications to all insurance carriers regarding this achievement. Homeowners and businesses should alert their insurance providers regarding the Class 1 ISO rating as it may result in reduced insurance premiums.
“Over the last 35 years, I have been privileged to see the continuous improvement within the department,” said Fire Department Deputy Chief James Connolly. “We have come a long way from the days of responding from home when the pager went off. Standardized vehicles, on-duty staffing including paramedic equipped ambulances and fire apparatus, consolidated fire dispatch, and many other improvements are reflected in this highest possible ISO Classification.”
“Infrastructure improvements to our water mains as well as improvements to protocols with our 9-1-1 emergency dispatch contributed to our improved ISO rating” added Deputy Chief Steve Riley.
Congratulations to the dedicated staff of the Westmont Fire Department and the Village of Westmont for achieving this great honor.
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Contact: Larry McIntyre
Village of Westmont Communications Director/Public Information Officer
630-417-0280, lmcintyre@westmont.il.gov 