Panama City fire chief outlines ISO Class 2 rating, staffing and station coverage; flags Panama City North response gap

Chief Collier told the Panama City Commission at a July virtual workshop that Panama City’s fire department holds an Insurance Services Office (ISO) Class 2 rating and that the department is working to maintain and improve that score while facing staffing and station-location challenges that affect response times in parts of the city.

The department’s ISO score was 81.26 out of 105 in the 2022 evaluation, Collier said, and the city’s last full evaluation earned a Class 2 rating in 2017 and again in 2022. “We received a class 2 rating,” Collier said, adding that Panama City is in the top 4% of U.S. departments because only 1,729 of roughly 40,000 evaluated departments have a Class 2. He noted Panama City North shares the same classification under an “2x” designation while it lacks local stations and personnel.

The ISO rating matters because it influences insurers’ assessments, Collier said; commissioners and residents asked about how the rating affects premiums. Collier said insurers apply their own formulas and the department cannot calculate an exact homeowner premium change. Commissioner Granger and others suggested comparing similarly sized nearby developments, including Margaritaville and Sweetbay, to estimate local impacts.

On specifics, Collier said the department conducted more than 2,800 annual business inspections, ran over 25,000 training hours a year and has more than 2,077 hydrants in Panama City and Panama City North. “We have over 2,077 hydrants located within Panama City proper and Panama City North,” he said. He also said 79 hydrants are out of service (about 3.8%)…