Hart County ISO Rating Drops to 4

Hart County has a new lower ISO rating.

Hart County Administrator Jon Caime said Tuesday the County got word last week that the rating had been lowered.

ISO is an underwriting provider that rates risks for communities on fire protection, water systems, and other critical infrastructure such as building codes, and natural and man-made catastrophes.

They also partner with municipal fire authorities, city managers, and other community officials to evaluate local fire-protection resources.

Their reports are then turned over to insurance companies which adjust the rates for a homeowner’s insurance policy based on how close the home is to fire protection.

Caime said Hart County’s ISO rating has been lowered from 9 to 4.  He said the County has been working for the past number of years to get the rating lowered.

“The first thing the Board of Commissioners did was hire two full-time firefighters which relieved the volunteer firefighters who typically have to work during the day,” Caime said. “It also gave resources to the volunteers so they didn’t have to run equipment here and there and order stuff. So that’s the first thing we did.”

Caime said over the years, the County also pumped millions of dollars into upgrading their fire equipment.  Caime said the County also hired a full-time Fire Chief who his paid by the County.

“About 8 years ago we went from an elected chief, elected by the volunteers to a full-time fire chief appointed by the Board (of Commissioners),” Caime said. “We also appointed a fire board. That was quite controversial because the volunteers had to give up control of the department by having a full-time chief that now reports to the Commissioners.”

More recently, the County also built new fire stations and continued to run more water lines.  According to Caime, the latest effort is the development of a water shuttle.

“Basically, it’s the same as having a fire hydrant in front of your house. It involves some new fire equipment, but it really took the work of the volunteers, the full-time firefighters and the Chief and the Fire Board to train. These guys trained like crazy. They put all this in order to get this ISO 4.”

Other efforts included partnering with Elbert County to provide fire protection for residents on the Elbert County line.

Caime said because water lines have yet not been run throughout the entire County, there are still pockets of residents whose ISO rating is still a 10, but he said the County is working to bring those ratings down.