Request for ISO fire ratings results delayed by commission
- Charlene Sims, Journal staff
- 7 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Charlene Sims, Journal staff
MOUND CITY – The Linn County Commission has not authorized the release of the most recent ISO rating for the fire stations included in Linn County Fire District No. 1. On Monday, April 13, commissioners indicated it would take an Kansas Open Records Act (KORA) request from the county clerk’s office to release the results of the latest inspection.
The stations included in the fire district include Parker, Centerville, Mound City, Prescott, Blue Mound, as well as the rural stations located in La Cygne and Pleasanton. City fire departments in both La Cygne and Pleasanton were inspected at the same time, and while La Cygne’s rating remained unchanged, Pleasanton has been working to rebuild its city department and has until next September to do so.
During the public forum at the commission meeting on Monday, April 13, rural Parker resident Tom Kemper, asked for the results but was told to complete at KORA request form for the information.
Kemper pointed out that the ISO inspectors were in Linn County six or eight months ago and while the city of Pleasanton had received their Insurance Services Office (ISO) determination back, no mention had been made of whether Linn County had received its rating back.
The ISO rating is taken into consideration when an insurance company decides whether to insure or how much to charge for insurance. ISO is based on a grading system from 1 to 10 with 1 being the best and 10 representing a community without an effective fire service. If the fire department score increases to 10, the premiums for property insurance for private residences and businesses in the city could rise dramatically
In June 2024 Kemper was at the commission meeting pressing for a presentation of the ISO rating. Commissioner Hightower had asked for it a week before. At that time, Kemper asked that he be notified when it presented because he would like to hear it .
At that meeting, Kemper said that he had asked former Linn County Clerk David Lamb for a copy of the last ISO scoring card and he was looking for it. He said he would like to compare where the county is at today versus when the county got its 5/10 score back in 2017. He said that the county was due for a review of its rating.
The ISO inspections for Linn County and cities in Linn County were done in July of 2025. While ISO inspections are usually triggered by a request of the fire chief in each agency, it is possible that the controversy about disbanding the Pleasanton’s city fire department may have triggered the ISO to inspect Linn County’s fire departments.
The city of Pleasanton in October of 2025 received a letter from the Public Protection Classification Retrogression Team (PPC) stating that the city rating is slated to be lowered to 10 from it’s current rating of 5. The department was given a year to bring the department up to standards. The PPC required Pleasanton to respond to the letter in 30 days and within 60 days they had to provide a realistic plan for improvements, and they must provide quarterly updates on what work is being done to meet those standards.
The discussion continued at the current April 13, 2026 meeting.
“Once those results come in, I would like to see them,” said Kemper. “I would like to get a copy of them to compare them to the last survey results that we had to see where we went up and where we went down.”
Commissioner Hamilton said, “It shouldn’t be a problem,” then said, “It’s open to the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA). Fill out a KORA request.”
Kemper replied, “I’ve got a KORA request here if you want it but if I don’t need it, there’s no point in going through it.”
Commissioner Jim Johnson replied, “I would think we take a KORA request if you’re asking for records, open records. That’s what it is. We’ve stated it.”
Hamilton reminded Kemper to put on the request how he would like to receive the information.
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