Broken Arrow has joined about 350 communities nationwide to have the highest classification of fire safety.
On a recent evaluation from the Insurance Services Office, the Broken Arrow Fire Department earned a Class 1 rating.
"People want to move to communities that do public safety well. Police and fire, those things matter, and those core services matter when it comes to retaining and recruiting to any community. And Broken Arrow’s thriving," said Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, who attended a news conference Thursday announcing the ISO rating.
Fire Chief Jeremy Moore expressed his gratitude to Broken Arrow’s residents for continued investment in the department through sales tax measures over the past five years, which has led to 20 new firefigthers, an addiitonal truck and a seventh fire station.
"Thank you to our citizens. They’ve made an investment into the fire department, and I’m excited that today, this is the return on their investment," Moore said.
ISO rates fire departments on a 100-point scale, and only those scoring 90 or better get Class 1 ratings. Broken Arrow got nearly 94.5 points on its evaluation.
Farmers Insurance Agent Celia DeLeon said an ISO Class 1 rating is great news for policy holders.
"Having the lowest ISO rating available means their home and business at a lower risk for serious fire damage, and a lower risk has high impact on your insurance rates," DeLeon said.
DeLeon said after April 1, the average homeowner could see a savings of 1% to 3% on insurance premiums, while commercial businesses could see up to 3% savings.