Fire protection, funding and insurance costs
For elected officials, fire district boards and community leaders in Oregon and Washington. Fire protection is graded for insurance, and that grade shows up in what residents and businesses pay for property insurance every year. Here is what the evidence shows, with sources, so you can weigh the cost of fire protection against the cost of losing it.
The short version
- Insurers price fire protection. Verisk says "virtually all U.S. insurers of homes and business property" use its fire protection classes, and Washington's Insurance Commissioner says "almost all property insurance companies will provide different insurance pricing per scoring level."
- The grade depends on firefighters, stations, water and training, which depend on funding and, in most rural communities, on volunteers.
- When communities lost fire protection, residents reported large premium increases: 20% to 40% on Fox Island in 2024 and 25% to more than 100% on Vashon Island in 2018 and 2019, according to local insurance agents.
- The levies that keep fire protection in place, in the official examples below, cost households tens to a few hundred dollars a year.
Our view
FireDepartment.net believes a well-supported fire department is one of the best investments a community can make. Fire protection is one of the few public services that pays property owners back directly: when a community keeps the firefighters, stations, water and training it needs, insurers generally charge less to insure every home and business in it. When it loses them, everyone can pay more, every year.
We think the cost of funding a fire department, and of supporting the volunteers who staff most rural departments, should always be weighed against what residents and businesses would pay without it. In the examples below, the levies cost households tens to a few hundred dollars a year, while the premium increases residents reported after losing fire protection ran from 20% to more than 100%.
This is FireDepartment.net's opinion, not the position of any fire department. We do not support or oppose any candidate or ballot measure.
How fire protection is priced into insurance
- Oregon communities are graded by ISO, a Verisk company, with a Public Protection Classification from 1 (best) to 10. What the ISO rating means.
- Washington communities are graded by the Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau (WSRB) with a protection class from 1 to 10. What the WSRB class means.
- Both look mostly at the fire department (staffing, training, apparatus and station locations) and the water supply, plus 9-1-1 dispatch and fire prevention.
- Verisk: the price of fire insurance in a community with a good class "is substantially lower than in a community with a poor PPC, assuming all other factors are equal."
- The grade applies to homes and businesses, so a change reaches every property owner, including the city, county and school buildings a community insures.
Sources: Verisk, PPC questions and answers; Washington Insurance Commissioner, report on protection classification scoring, cover letter, May 28, 2026, checked November 1, 2026.
Other ratings that affect insurance and safety
The 1-to-10 fire protection class is the best known rating, but not the only one. Officials will hear about these too:
- ISO's other fire classes. Many communities have a split class such as 4/4X or 4/4Y, where homes far from hydrants or other approved water get the second part. Class 8B is for communities with strong fire protection but limited water, and Class 10W helps some homes 5 to 7 road miles from a station that have approved water nearby. More on ISO classes.
- WSRB's classes in Washington. WSRB gives each property its own class based on distance to a station and water, including classes such as 8A and 9A, and since 2026 "W" classes such as 5W for homes 5 to 7 road miles out. Tender Credit can improve a home's class where there are no hydrants. More on WSRB classes.
- Other rating bureaus. ISO rates most states. Washington, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina have their own grading, like WSRB.
- Building code grades. ISO's Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS) rates how well a community adopts and enforces building codes; ISO says communities "with well-enforced, up-to-date codes should demonstrate better loss experience, which can be reflected in lower insurance rates." In Washington, WSRB's building code classes are part of the protection class itself.
- Flood. FEMA's Community Rating System, run for FEMA by ISO, "awards discounts on flood insurance premiums based on communities' efforts to mitigate flood damage."
- Wildfire. Insurers use separate wildfire risk scores, not the fire protection class. Homeowners and neighborhoods can lower their risk with defensible space, Firewise USA and wildfire-prepared home programs. See wildfire readiness.
Sources: ISO, split classifications, Class 8B, Class 10W, independent bureau states, BCEGS and Community Rating System; WSRB, W classifications and the 2026 report above; Washington Insurance Commissioner, wildfire risk scores; all checked November 1, 2026.
What communities saw when fire protection changed
| Community (links to the article) | What happened | Reported effect on insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Fox Island, WA (2024) | A station stopped being full-time; the south end went from Class 5 to 9. | Premiums generally rose 20% to 40%, an insurance agent said; his own rose about 35%. |
| Vashon Island, WA (2018-19) | After the loss of volunteers, some areas went from Class 5 to 9. | Increases of "25 percent to more than 100 percent," typically "hundreds of dollars a year," an agent said. |
| Key Peninsula, WA (2016) | The district faced a possible drop from Class 5 to 9. | The fire chief's example: a home paying $500 a year "you're going to double your insurance bill." |
| The Dalles, OR (2008) | The city area dropped from Class 4 to 5. | "The city and county governments said their insurance went up by 10 percent," the fire chief said in 2018. |
| Eugene-Springfield, OR (2017) | Improved from Class 3 to 2. | The department estimated savings of $35 to $56 a year on a $700 premium. |
| Skagit County Fire District 13, WA (2017) | Improved from Class 7 to 6. | "Each rate dropping saves some $150, average," the chief said. |
| SW Polk Fire District, OR (2026) | Improving from Class 5/10 to 4/10 on September 1, 2026, credited to its 2022 levy; after a later levy failed, a station is losing its staff. | The district warned the cuts "could ultimately result in the reversal of the improved rating." |
These are figures reported by insurance agents, fire chiefs and departments in local news, not insurers' rate filings, and each insurer prices differently. Sources: Gig Harbor Now, June 5, 2024; Vashon Beachcomber, June 19, 2018 and May 8, 2019; Key Peninsula News, February 26, 2016; The Dalles Chronicle, February 26, 2018; KVAL, 2017; La Conner Weekly News, August 16, 2017; SW Polk Fire District, May 21, 2026; all checked November 1, 2026.
What fire protection costs households
Fire districts are funded mostly by property taxes, set per $1,000 of assessed value. Some official examples:
| District (links to the source) | Rate | Cost for one home, as published |
|---|---|---|
| Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, OR (2025 local option levy) | $0.69 per $1,000 | About $210 a year at $305,000 assessed value, the district's average |
| SW Polk Fire District, OR (2026 replacement levy proposal) | $1.37 per $1,000 | $274 a year at $200,000 assessed value |
| Clallam County Fire District 3, WA (2025 proposal, $1.11 to $1.50) | $0.39 per $1,000 increase | About $183 more a year for a $470,000 home |
| Key Peninsula Fire, WA (2016 proposal) | Increase | About $38 a year for a $250,000 home, the chief estimated |
How much a district can levy is set by law. In Oregon, a district's permanent rate cannot be raised, so voters approve local option levies of up to five years for operations, within Measure 5's limit of $10 per $1,000 for all general government. In Washington, fire districts can levy up to $1.50 per $1,000, plus an EMS levy of up to 50 cents and, with 60% voter approval, a benefit charge. Washington law says a benefit charge can be set "in the proportion that fire insurance rates are reduced or entitled to be reduced as the result of providing the services."
Sources: Multnomah County, Measure 34-332; SW Polk Fire District, levy questions and answers; Sequim Gazette, 2025; Key Peninsula News, above; League of Oregon Cities, Measures 5 and 50, January 2026; RCW 52.16.130, 84.52.069 and 52.18.010; MRSC, fire benefit charges, January 8, 2025; all checked November 1, 2026.
Volunteers keep fire protection affordable
- Staffing is the largest single item in ISO's grading, and in Washington three volunteer firefighters count as one on-duty firefighter, for up to half the required staffing. Losing volunteers can cost a community its class, as Vashon Island and Orcas Island found.
- Independent Sector values an hour of volunteer time in 2025 at $37.66 in Oregon and $42.98 in Washington. A fire department can multiply that by its members' logged hours to show what its volunteers give the community.
- Helping people volunteer is what FireDepartment.net does: ways to volunteer, and free recruiting help for fire departments.
Sources: ISO, items considered; WSRB, 2026 protection classification report; Islands' Sounder, July 18, 2024; Independent Sector, Value of Volunteer Time 2026; all checked November 1, 2026.
What the numbers do not show
- Each insurer prices differently, and some do not use these classes at all. No state regulator publishes a table of premium change by class.
- Fire is one part of a home insurance premium; one insurer told Washington's Insurance Commissioner it is about 16%.
- The classes measure fire department and water supply capability, not wildfire risk. Wildfire has driven much of the recent rise in premiums and non-renewals, and better fire protection alone will not reverse that.
- Washington's Insurance Commissioner reported in 2026 that WSRB's method needs more transparency and treats rural and volunteer departments unfairly, so ratings may change.
Source: Washington Insurance Commissioner, report on protection classification scoring, May 28, 2026, checked November 1, 2026.
Questions to ask your fire chief
- What is our community's class, and when were we last graded?
- Which parts of our area are in a worse class because of distance from a station or water, and how many homes is that?
- What does our last ISO or WSRB report say we would need to improve one class, or to keep the one we have?
- How many volunteers do we have, how many do we need, and how has that changed?
- What would happen to our class, and our response times, if a station lost its staff?
For fire departments sharing this page
Fire departments are public agencies, and state law limits how they can take part in elections:
- Oregon (ORS 260.432): once a measure is on the ballot, public employees on work time may share impartial, factual information, but not material that urges a vote. The Secretary of State's guide asks for both what a measure would fund and what would happen if it fails, the cost per $1,000 of assessed value, and no words like "only" or "less than" about cost. The Elections Division offers a free Safe Harbor review.
- Washington (RCW 42.17A.555, now RCW 29B.45.010): agencies may share "an objective and fair presentation of the facts," but may not use public resources to support or oppose a ballot measure.
- The factual sections of this page are meant to be shareable. Our view, near the top, is advocacy; leave it out of anything your department sends during a measure, and check with your attorney.
Sources: Oregon Secretary of State, Restrictions on Political Campaigning by Public Employees, May 2024; Washington Public Disclosure Commission, guidelines for local government agencies in election campaigns, checked November 1, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.
Learn more
- Residents: ISO rating (Oregon) · WSRB protection class (Washington)
- Fire departments: improving your ISO rating · improving your WSRB class · insurance and rating resources
- Find your local fire department in the directory.
Know of a community whose insurance changed with its fire protection, with a published source? Let us know.