There is a wild card, if you will, for property owners weighing the upcoming Ripon Fire Consolidated parcel tax vote. It’s a card held by the Insurances Services Office (IS0). The agency rates fire districts as well as city fire departments using a Public Protection Classification on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the best, Insurance firms use the ISO ratings to help determine their risk insuring homeowners and businesses against fire losses. That, in terms, helps set premium charges for insurance coverage Ripon is in line to be re-evaluated in the next two years. Already, homeowners through California are feeling the brunt of the up to $40 billion in insured losses from the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. If the current ISO rating slips from 3 to 4, insurance firms will factor that into the cost of policies they write within the consolidated fire district in addition to the other costs they incur insuring in the California market. There is not a straight forward estimate of what would happen in such an event happening. But there is a case that insurance underwriters make that the better equipped districts are to handle fires reduces their exposure to loses. The bottom line in California is fire insurance rates are going upon just based on losses in recent years. Changes in a district’s ISO rating if it goes up or even is maintained will help blunt fire premium increases. That said, a drop in rating would likely add to what insurance companies will increase rates due to a whole list of factors such as increased replacement costs to increased fire losses involving insured property. ISO rating components are weighted as follows: *Fire Department (50%): Evaluates equipment, staffing levels, training, and proximity of fire stations to homes. *Water Supply (40%): Assesses hydrant size, type, installation, and inspection frequency, as well as the overall capacity to deliver water for firefighting. *Emergency Communications (10%): Measures the quality of the 911 system, dispatch systems, and personnel. *Community Risk Reduction (Extra 5.5%): Credit for fire prevention, education, and safety codes. The biggest concern at least of parcel owners within the City of Ripon that has fire hydrants connected to a steady water supply, is the fire department. Staffing levels and proximity to a staffed fire stations to homes are big factors. The extra 5.5 percent for community fire risk reduction to help blunt deficiencies in the primary category, is a bit problematic for the consolidated department. The workload the district has experienced in recent years has made it impossible to conduct robust fire prevention effort that includes inspections. What the parcel tax will generate a year The district is still ironing out exact wording, but the bottom line of the upcoming ask of parcel owners is to generate $1.8 million a year. To man a second fire engine to address the issue of more than one emergency happening at any given time — there were 986 concurrent calls for service in 2025, it will cost $900,000 in salaries and overall benefits such as health insurance, workmen’s compensation, and retirement. The $900,000 figure covers six firefighters at $150,000 with two a shift for 24/7 coverage. Ripon Consolidated 2,881 calls last year or an average of 8 a day. Of those 986 happened when the department’s only staffed two-man fire engine was on another call requiring an engine to respond from Manteca, Escalon, Modesto or Salida To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin