Getting to Class One

The ISO's ranking procedure is complicated and involves dozens of factors, according to Dave Dasgupta, a company spokesperson.

This ranking procedure is complicated and involves dozens of factors, Dasgupta says. Fifty percent of the grading is based on the fire department itself, 10 percent on the fire department's communication abilities (the time it takes for a dispatcher to send the closest fire company to the emergency), and 40 percent on how the city copes with high water demand in a crisis.

For fire departments, good equipment, personnel and response time are the best indicators of a quick "knock-down," firefighter lingo for quieting a blaze.

Good departments run an aggregate of water-pumping engines--the front line of defense, first to the fire. The engines are backed up by the trucks, whose firefighters rescue trapped people and ventilate fire buildings. For cities with special needs--say, a large chemical-spewing plant near a residential area--apparatus and personnel trained to handle hazards are key.

Equipment needs to be top-notch. Good departments should use a variety of nozzles to disperse water and be able to distinguish between different types of axes for different types of walls. Solid, non-worn hoses deliver the smoothest water.

For a city its size, Cambridge is well-equipped, with eight engines and four trucks.

Staffing, too, is important. Technological advances mean that fewer firefighters are required to operate hose lines and other equipment. Nevertheless, insurance agencies believe that a bigger crew means a better, faster, response.