By Vanesa Brashier, editor@bluebonnetnews.com
The City of Dayton and the Dayton Volunteer Fire Department have new plaques to add to their walls of honor at city hall and the fire station. The award of achievement from the Insurance Services Office (ISO) arrived earlier this month, further proof that the fire department’s ISO rating rose to a 2, up from the previous score of 6.
The better rating gives the city an advantage when competing for industrial business development, according to Dayton City Manager Theo Melancon. It could also mean lower homeowners insurance rates for those insured by carriers who recognize the ISO rating.
The new rating has earned Dayton VFD entry into an elite group of fire departments across the nation that have a score of 2 or better.
“Only 1.1 percent of the fire departments in the United States have a 2 ISO rating,” said Councilman and firefighter Alvin Burress. “Only 4 percent of the fire departments in Texas have a rating of 2 or better.”
The next goal for the city is to improve the ISO rating for the building codes.
“What ISO is going to look at is our current building codes that the city council revised a few months ago. We are up to the 2015 standards, which are the most current for building codes,” Melancon said. “ISO will look at which codes were adopted, our fire service rating and other factors dealing with the current stock of housing in the city. Our enforcement track record also is taken into consideration. We’ve been very aggressive lately and there is no reason why we can’t lower people’s insurance rates while also providing a safer community for our residents.”
Melancon said the building code ISO will give the City of Dayton an advantage over other cities hoping to attract industrial development.
“At the end of the day, especially in the commercial world, any time you can have a different selling point, it will differentiate you from other cities and show you are working for a better quality community for development,” the city manager said.