Fenton, MO -- April 1, 2016 -- The Fenton Fire Protection District is proud to announce the Insurance Services Office (ISO) has awarded the district a Class 1 Public Protection Classification rating effective April 1, 2016.

The Fenton Fire Protection District is currently the only agency in the State of Missouri to enjoy this extraordinary rating for fire protection. The Class 1 rating is the highest score awarded to fire protection agencies in the United States and represents the best possible fire protection services. Less than 160 of the 48,000 rated fire protection agencies in the United States are rated Class 1.

ISO ratings are used by insurance companies in the establishment of commercial and residential insurance rates. The rating is based on a detailed evaluation of the district’s operations, water supplies, emergency communications center, and community risk reduction.

The district’s improvement to an ISO Class 1 was facilitated by the processes addressed through the accreditation by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) and through the dedicated efforts of the firefighters, paramedics, chief officers, and staff of the Fenton Fire Protection District, Missouri American Water Company, and Central County Emergency 911.

The Fenton Fire Protection District has Accredited Agency status with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI). The district met the criteria established through the CFAI's voluntary self-assessment and accreditation program. The Fenton Fire Protection District was the first fire department in St. Louis County to achieve accreditation and the second in the state of Missouri. Internationally there are only 284 agencies that have received International Agency Accreditation status with the CFAI and the Center for Public Safety Excellence.

The process of accreditation provides the organization and the citizens many benefits including:

• Provides mechanisms to evaluate expenditures that are directly related to improved or expanded service delivery in the community
• Nationally-accepted response criteria
• Elevates the level of professionalism
• Well-defined response and resource evaluation
• The promotion of excellence within the fire and emergency services
• Encouraging quality improvement through a continuous self assessment process
• Providing a detailed evaluation of a department and the services it provides to the community
• Identifying areas of strength and weakness within a department
• A mechanism for developing strategic and program action plan
• Provides a continuous improvement model