Hackensack fire department ranks among nations' best Wednesday May 22, 2013, 5:06 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record
HACKENSACK – The city’s Fire Department has earned a Class 1 fire protection grade, ranking the 99-member department among the best in the nation, a welcome citation as a grim anniversary nears.
Just 61 departments in the United States have a Class 1 rank out of more than 48,000 that have been surveyed by the Insurance Services Office, a risk assessment company. Hackensack is one of just two departments in the state, after Hoboken, with the designation.
“We felt we were one of the best departments in the state and this rating supports that fact,” said Fire Chief Thomas Freeman. “All our hard work and training is being recognized.”
Property owners in Hackensack could also see their insurance premiums lowered as a result of the Class 1 designation. They should contact their insurers to let them know about the grade, Freeman said.
The department earned strong scores for response time, staffing levels, equipment, training and fire alarm handling. It was also awarded a near perfect score for the city’s water supply system, including the condition of hydrants, which makes up 40 percent of the total grade. United Water provides water service to the city.
The achievement provides a boost to a department that’s preparing to mark the 25th anniversary of a notorious fire at the Ford dealership in which five firefighters were killed.
After the July 1, 1988, fire, investigators identified inadequate leadership, poor communications, and failure to recognize that the building’s roof could collapse as contributing factors.
Lessons from the fire led to better training and operations in the city and across the nation. Freeman had five years on the job when the Ford fire devastated the department.
“Since then, the fire services nationwide have made leaps and bounds in training and awareness,” he said.
The Fire Department was last rated was in 1998, when it received an above-average Class 3 grade. In early 2012, the risk assessment company reviewed the department again, notifying officials that they were very close to Class 1 rating.
Deputy chiefs Steve Kalman and Matthew Wagner worked with firefighters to make the improvements needed to bring up the score to achieve a Class 1 rating.
Fire Lt. John Taylor said the training has been difficult – “I can’t stress how hard it is” he said. Firefighters did drills day and night and documentation was required for everything.
“I can’t ever express to you how proud the guys are now that we accomplished that,” Taylor said.
City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono said the news was a boost to the city and property owners. “It’s a heck of a complement for our fire department,” he said.
Email: adely@northjersey.com
