Our
fire department friends know all about ISO ratings and NFPA standards. For the benefit of those who don't know so
much about such things, let us just say that the lower the rating, the better the potential for reduced property insurance rates.
In
general, the grade is based on resources (water), transportation (the ability
to put the water or fire suppressant at the scene), manpower (to suppress
and/or confine the fire), and time (as it equates to the speed of
responding). Falcon Direct is in the
"time" business, or more specifically providing the infrastructure to
quickly alert personnel (in particular volunteer personnel) and to provide the
ability for dispatch to communicate with first responders, incident commanders,
and support services.
After
addressing the basics, the last 10% of the grade gets a little tougher. It's kind of like going to school. The first 70% of the grade can be obtained
with relative ease (this equates to an ISO Class 7 rating which is pretty good)
compared to a 9 which is not so good).
A Class 5 rating would be comparable to a "B" in school. Anything below a 5 puts the department in
the top 10% (compare this to an A-, A, or A+ as your rating drops).
You
have to work for an "A" in school and you have to work for the lowest
possible rating to best serve your community, both in terms of safety, property
protection, and the lowest possible insurance rates. We have a number of products available to help you get those
lower ISO ratings. The first is known
as an InstalertR, (pronounced insta-lerter) exclusively offered by Falcon
Wireless.
As
you will note in the picture above, it is relatively small (not much larger
than a desk calculator), easy to use (three lights and one button). What it does is to INSTANTLY tell a dispatch
operator if (a) the control radio at dispatch is not transmitting or (b) if an
associated repeater is not transmitting, per ISO and NFPA standards. This is the only product of it's type and
it's only $1,549!
If
you are looking for a way to get a better ISO rating, the InstalertR is a
simple and efficient solution. It's
available in either VHF or UHF and is compatible with all analog radio systems.
For more information, just give us a call at 800.489.2611. You'll be glad you did!
