MONROE, CT — An independent assessment of the Stepney, Monroe and Stevenson volunteer fire companies, the town’s emergency dispatch center, Aquarion Water Co.’s fire hydrant and water supply system, and Fire Marshal William “Bill” Davin’s risk reduction programs all resulted in a better fire protection rating for the town.
Monroe’s Public Protection Classification (PPC) was upgraded from a rating of 5 to 4 on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the highest rating.
According to Insurance Services Office Inc.’s latest report, only 16 percent of the over 38,000 communities across the country that were surveyed by ISO had a better rating than the town of Monroe.
“That’s outstanding news,” First Selectman Terry Rooney said. “Anytime any department of the town of Monroe receives an accreditation of achievement, it’s a reflection of their dedication and commitment to our town.”
The first selectman said the higher rating is further proof of how the town’s volunteers go above and beyond to serve their community better.
“Congratulations to our fire service, a job well done,” Rooney said. “Our community is so fortunate to be protected by all of you.”
Insurance Services Office Inc. is the leading supplier of data and analytics for the U.S. property/casualty industry.
Property insurers put a lot of weight into ISO’s PPC ratings when determining premiums, so fire officials said they are pleased to deliver these strong results to Monroe’s property owners.
“We’re very proud of this accomplishment and improvement, which followed a detailed survey and site visits by ISO assessing our fire trucks, equipment, related maintenance and testing records, staffing levels and training records, among other considerations,” said Monroe Fire Chief Kevin Catalano.
“Relative to Monroe’s most recent ISO survey in 2017, our scores improved in each of the four major areas that ISO evaluates, and that reflects our continuous improvement mindset,” he added.
Catalano acknowledged the time and effort fire officials put into preparing for and facilitating ISO’s latest survey, including Stepney Fire Chief David Lewis Jr. and Captain Mike Dunn and Stevenson Fire Chief John Howe and Assistant Chief Jeff Giordano.
All respectful comments with the commenter’s first and last name are welcome.
Its a shame now that the ISO will go up again.
Because of poor management in the Monroe Fire Department and on the Town level
we sold a ladder truck that was purchased for over 1 Million for under 1 Million, that over the last 5 years got no use.
The responsibility resets on the Chiefs and Officers of the Monroe Fire Company to train and equip their people to use said truck, they failed horribly and ended selling a like new truck for much less then we paid for it
So we went from 2 ladder trucks to 1 and that will bring the ISO rating back up.
This will hurt the residents of Monroe in many ways
We lost tax money selling a few year old in like new condition ladder truck for less than we got it for
The ISO rating is going to go up, because we now only have 1 ladder in town and it sits in a station almost in Newtown
If a ladder is needed for a rescue say on moose hill rd. the truck needed to do that now sits 15-20 min away
In the end no matter the “reason” that we got rid of a new truck it was a loss of the Fire department and the residents of Monroe
Very Poor leadership from the offficers of the fire department and worse leadership from the town Elected “officals”