Brian Curry

The Arizona Fire & Medical Authority/Sun Lakes was notified that they had achieved the prestigious “Class One” insurance rating from the Insurance Services Office (ISO), Public Protection Classification (PPC), indicating an exemplary ability to respond to fires. This “Class One” rating places AFMA/Sun Lakes among an elite group of agencies.

The Public Protection Classification rating is based on three factors: the district’s ability to receive and respond to fire alarms, the fire district’s first alarm response and initial attack capabilities and its water supply system.

AFMA/Sun Lakes is one of only 305 fire departments out of approximately 46,000 departments nationwide to receive a Class 1 ISO rating.

ISO ratings range from 1 to 10, with Class 1 representing superior public protection and Class 10 indicating no recognized protection. Since ISO fire ratings are used by property insurance companies to set insurance premium rates; the lower the ISO fire rating, the lower the insurance premium.

This upgrade in AFMA/Sun Lakes rating indicates that insurance premiums on commercial and residential properties could be lowered by year’s end.

This PPC rating upgrade becomes effective on December 1 of 2018. The fire district had previously held a rating of two, which is also outstanding. In summation, Deputy Chief and Public Information Officer Eric Kriwer said, “The authority strives for excellence and worked diligently to increase the rating to the highest possible level for its partner agencies.”