The City of Danville has once again secured its place among the nation’s elite fire departments, recently earning the prestigious Class 1 community fire protection rating from the Insurance Services Office (ISO).
This marks the second consecutive time Danville has achieved the highest rating possible, reaffirming the dedication and skill of its firefighters. The rating makes Danville one of only nine communities in Virginia, and 334 nationwide, to receive this honor.
Fire Chief David Coffey shared the exciting news with the City Council, emphasizing the hard work behind the accomplishment. “Every five years, there is a reevaluation of your fire service, and I am proud to say that we are a class 1 again. It’s not just an inspection that takes a few days. This is an accumulation of five years of hard work by your firefighters. They made this happen.”
While Danville first achieved the Class 1 distinction in 2019 with a score of 92.5, this time, the department raised the bar even higher, scoring 95.88. “It sounds like a small gain, but those are very hard-earned points,” Coffey said.
He noted that out of over 27,000 fire departments registered with the U.S. Fire Administration, only 334 hold ISO 1 accreditation. Of those, just 125, including Danville, are both ISO 1 rated and internationally accredited.
“So, whenever there is an ear to listen, I will be fast to tell them there are bigger fire departments, but there are none better,” Coffey said. “This is as good as it gets.”
The benefits of this top-tier rating extend beyond accolades. The ISO classification plays a critical role in the insurance industry, potentially lowering premiums for homeowners and businesses by offering a higher level of fire protection. The better a community’s fire department is rated, the lower its fire insurance costs—a factor that Coffey believes will aid in Danville’s economic growth.
“I know we have dubbed our community as the “comeback city” for economic growth,” Coffey told the City Council. “This is our contribution to that growth. … The better your rating, the less expensive your insurance is. So, we hope that will be more attractive for these businesses as they come into town.”
Danville’s fire department has been on an upward trajectory for years, first moving up to a Class 1 rating from Class 2 in 2019 and achieving international accreditation in 2015. Accreditation is a voluntary, rigorous assessment process through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, which evaluates every aspect of a department’s operations, from response times to administrative processes.
The ISO rating process itself is no less comprehensive, evaluating fire protection efforts, in detail, in cities, counties, and districts throughout the nation. The performance-based evaluation examines emergency communications, fire department performance (equipment, staffing, training, operations), community risk reduction (fire code enforcement, investigation and public education), community water supply, and needed fire flows.
After a detailed evaluation, a Public Protection Classification (PPC) rating is assigned. The overall rating is then expressed as a number between 1 and 10, with 1 being the highest level of protection and 10 being unprotected or nearly so. These ratings can affect decisions that insurers make regarding the availability and price of property insurance and can often be a useful benchmark that helps fire departments and public officials measure the effectiveness of their efforts.
With this latest achievement, the City of Danville continues to set the standard for fire service excellence—proving that, while the city may be small in size, its commitment to safety and service is unmatched.
