ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Asheville’s Fire Department has earned a designation that will rank it among the top 1% in the nation.

The agency’s rating by the Insurance Services Office will rise to Class 1 from Class 2.

What You Need To Know

  • The Asheville Fire Department was recently awarded a Class 1 fire rating

  • According to the North Carolina Department of Insurance, the team will be one of 21 fire stations in the state with a Class 1 rating

  • Asheville's current fire rating of 2 will officially become a 1 on March 1

As fire Capt. Trey Young awaits his next call, he recalls what led him to his career.

“As a little boy, I had the opportunity to visit a fire station, and my dad happened to be friends with the fire chief there,” Young said. “That day I got to take a ride in a fire truck to go get lunch. After that, I was kinda hooked.”

He watches over his team and reflects on the milestone his department just reached. 

“The state fire marshal’s office is looking at our ability as a fire department to effectively put out fires,” Young said. 

There are many elements that make up consideration for this Insurance Services Office rating. 

“Our communication system, basically the dispatchers, the people that you hear not only taking the 911 calls, but sending us to them,” Young said. “The third element is our water system, the ability to apply water quickly and effectively to put fires out, and then finally, our risk reduction for the fire prevention program.”

According to the North Carolina Department of Insurance, the team will be one of 21 fire stations in the state with a Class 1 rating.

“There’s everything from how we train our firefighters, not only initially, but their ongoing training, how we equip our fire trucks, how many fire trucks we have,” Young said. “How are they spread throughout the city? How many people are on those fire trucks? All these elements come together to determine what your point value is.” 

Young believes this designation will have a direct benefit to the community.

“They know that they’ve got a well-prepared fire department that’s going to be responding to their incidents, and they also save money,” Young said. “Your fire insurance premiums are based off of this classification system. Depending on how your fire department ranks, it has a direct effect on your fire insurance.”

The department says it is now among the top 1% of all fire departments nationwide.

Asheville’s fire rating will be updated to 1 at the beginning of March.

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