Northshore Fire earns improved Fire Protection Class rating

Northshore station in Kenmore
Photo by Jerry Pickard

The Northshore Fire Department was recently notified by the Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau (WSRB) that the fire protection class rating for the communities of Lake Forest Park and Kenmore has been upgraded from a Class 4 to a Class 3.

The new rating will take effect December 1, 2017. Many insurance companies use the WSRB protection class rating to assess insurance premium rates for homeowners and commercial properties.

The WSRB evaluates fire protection capabilities of all Washington communities and rates them on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 indicates exemplary fire protection capabilities, and 10 indicates very poor or no capabilities. This upgrade places the Northshore Fire Department’s rating in the top ten percent for the state.

Protection Class rating is determined by WSRB’s assessment of the fire department’s ability to suppress fires. Categories include:

• Fire Department – distribution of fire stations, engine and ladder companies, pumping capacity, apparatus maintenance, department personnel staffing and training
• Water Supply – adequacy of firefighting water supply including water flow, hydrant locations and system maintenance
• Emergency Communications – evaluation of the community 911 system’s ability to receive and handle calls for emergency services
• Fire Safety Control – fire prevention, public education and building code enforcement

The Northshore Fire Department is very pleased with the results of the recent WSRB rating process. The upgraded rating provides validation of a number of improvements made in the last ten years to enhance operations, training, and fire prevention programs.

The full report from WSRB for each community can be found here: Kenmore - Lake Forest Park