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Insurance Information

Insurance Services Office Fire Protection Rating


The Insurance Services Office (ISO), a leading source of information about risk, assigns Baltimore County and other jurisdictions a fire protection rating. The ISO supplies date to a variety of users, including the insurance, finance, real estate, human resources and health services industries.

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Insurance companies – not ISO – set premiums for policyholders, but most insurance companies rely on ISO’s classification system to rate risk.

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The Rating System
The ISO uses a 1 to 10 rating system, with 1 the highest rating. The fire protection rating is based on a number of factors, including number and location of hydrants, number and location of fire stations and access to water sources in rural areas beyond the metropolitan water system.

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Baltimore County’s urban, developed areas — most of which lie within the metropolitan water system — are rated a 3. The rural areas — most of which lie beyond the metropolitan water system — are rated a 6.

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In 2006, the ISO significantly upgraded the rating in the rural areas from a 9 to a 6, a reflection of a longstanding, successful effort by career and volunteer fire companies to develop a rural water resource strategy involving identification of rural water sources and installation of dry hydrants and underground tanks.

CHESTNUT RIDGE (DISTRICT 50) is rated a 6 on the scale by ISO.


The following Engines usually respond on the first alarm to our first due district: Engine 501(1040 gal.),Engine-Tanker 503(3000 gal.), Engine 19(1000 gal.), Engine 312(500 gal.), Engine 301(500 gal.), Engine 401(1000 gal.), Engine 14 (1000 gal.), Engine 391 (1000 gal.), and Engine 17 (1000).

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