By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Marion’s fire protection rating — a measurement of how well residents are protected from fire — went up this year.

Fire protection ratings are assigned by Insurance Service Office, an independent company that rates a community and its area, city administrator Roger Holter said.

A public protection classification ranging from 1 at the top to 10 at the bottom is used by insurance companies to set the fire risk for properties they insure.

“All insurance companies are supposed to use this as their classification guide to set their rates,” Holter said.

A metropolitan area with direct access to a fire station is rated 1, Holter said.

Marion’s rating notched up from 6 to 5, and residents of the county lake went up to 5 along with them, Holter said. The county park and lake is one of Marion’s direct fire districts, he said. A few of the lake homes are rated 9 because of the distance to a fire hydrant, Holter said.

The large water tower on the east edge of the city holds a half a million gallons.

“We were able to prove the water tower can maintain over 700 gallons a minute,” Holter said.

Holter said getting Marion’s fire protection rating higher took cooperation from several people.

All members of the city fire department became certified with Federal Emergency Management Agency in the past year, which was also a factor in the improved fire protection rating.

The report was created Oct. 18 and officially goes into effect for insurance carriers Feb 1, 2019.

Marion insurance agent Casey Case said some insurance companies won’t cover homes rated 9 for fire protection.

“Most of the companies we represent are rural and include farm insurance,” Case said. “There is a significant change in premium from a class 9 to a class 5.”

Case said homes with a classification changing from 6 to 5 probably won’t see any difference in their insurance rates.