The Cicero Town Board’s plan to outsource our ambulance service risks 12-18 minute response times (vs. 6-8 min local), threatens FD jobs, and won’t guarantee ISO gains. We demand EMS stays with Cicero Fire Department to protect our community. A 5 minute delay raises cardiac death risk 10%. 

Town of Cicero residents:

This may be a long read, but I implore you to take five minutes before this directly affects your household finances.

Back in March, the town underwent an ISO audit. What is ISO? ISO (Insurance Services Office) is a third-party organization that evaluates how well a local fire department can protect homes and businesses in the event of a fire. ISO reports these ratings directly to insurance companies, which use them to assess risk when determining homeowners and business insurance premiums. Simply put: the better the rating, the lower the premiums.

During this audit, Cicero received a score of 5—the most common score nationally. This is a slight decrease from the 4 we previously held, which only about 15% of fire departments in the U.S. achieve. This downgrade was largely due to unfortunate timing: the audit occurred while the new ladder truck was still being placed in service. That issue has since been resolved.

Here’s the bigger problem: ISO requires that at least 4 firefighters respond on the initial call for all fires in a department’s primary coverage area. This requirement does not include mutual aid, and if the department also staffs an ambulance, 2 firefighters are automatically subtracted. If the requirement is not met, the coverage area is automatically rated a 10, which translates to “no fire coverage.”

Last year, Cicero’s average fire response was 3.2 firefighters per call. That makes our effective rating a 10. The only way to fix this is for Cicero to hire more firefighters.

How does this affect homeowners and businesses?
ISO ratings directly impact insurance premiums. Based on information I’ve gathered and conversations with insurance providers:
 • Home and business premiums could increase 2–3x current rates.
 • Some insurers will refuse to cover properties in an ISO 10 area altogether, meaning residents could lose coverage completely.

What can be done?
When a municipality’s ISO rating decreases, there is a regression process that gives time to fix the issues before the new rating is enforced:
 • 30 days to submit a letter of intent (already completed).
 • 60 days to submit a written plan to fix the deficiencies (we are currently 46 days in, with only 14 days left).
 • 1 year to fully implement the plan once approved.

The Town Council must approve the plan. The last council meeting before the September 17 deadline is on September 16. Multiple solutions have already been presented, yet nearly three months have passed with no meaningful public discussion on how to remedy this. 

I am not speaking on behalf of the Cicero Fire Department. I am speaking as a homeowner who is terrified that this issue will be ignored, leaving me unable to afford to live in the community where I’ve raised my family. My homeowners insurance could soon cost more than my mortgage.

This is not an attack on the council. I respect and appreciate our council members. This is also not fearmongering—it is a factual account of what’s at stake. I am a concerned homeowner asking my community to make this a priority before it’s too late.