Oak Ridge Fire Department has achieved an ISO Class 1 rating, the highest level of fire protection recognized by the Insurance Services Office's Public Protection Classification system, effective September 1. The designation makes Oak Ridge the ninth community in Tennessee to reach Class 1 status, and it places the department among fewer than 1.5% of the more than 45,000 fire departments nationwide that have ever earned the top grade.
The city announced the achievement during a ceremony Monday at Oak Ridge Fire Station 3, one of four active stations serving the city, according to the Oak Ridge Fire Department. Mayor Warren L. Gooch praised the fire protection system as one of the strongest in Tennessee and the country, per the City of Oak Ridge. Fire Chief Travis Solomon said the rating reflects the work of the entire organization, crediting dispatchers, firefighters, emergency response personnel, and water utility staff for contributing to the achievement.
A Decade-Plus Climb Through the Ratings
Oak Ridge's path to Class 1 stretches back more than a decade. The department had held an ISO Class 2 rating since June 1, 2014, after maintaining a Class 3 rating for nearly 15 years before that, according to Oak Ridge Today. That 2014 upgrade to Class 2 had already placed ORFD in the top 1% of departments nationwide at the time. Solomon has led the department since December 2020, when he was appointed chief after serving as fire marshal, bringing over 13 years of prior experience with the Tennessee State Fire Marshal's Office, per BBBTV12.
Reaching Class 1 required coordination across multiple city departments because of how the ISO grading works. The ISO Fire Suppression Rating Schedule calculates Public Protection Classification grades on a 105.5-point scale, assigning 50% of the grade to fire department capabilities, 40% to water supply infrastructure, 10% to emergency communications, and up to 5.5 bonus points for community risk reduction efforts, according to the University of Tennessee's Municipal Technical Advisory Service. A department needs at least 90 total points to qualify for Class 1, which explains why fire dispatch and water utility staff needed to work together toward the goal.
Staffing and Equipment Behind the Score
Two operational factors likely carried significant weight in the fire department portion of the assessment. As of May 2026, Oak Ridge Fire Department operates with 100% career-based staffing around the clock, guaranteeing at least three firefighters on every response vehicle without relying on so-called jump trucks, the department said in a statement. ISO criteria heavily evaluate minimum apparatus staffing during emergency dispatches, making that guarantee a meaningful contributor to the score.
Equipment upgrades also factored in. In July 2025, the department expanded its response capabilities by taking delivery of Tower 20, a new advanced ladder truck designed to assist with elevated firefighting and rescues. Apparatus capabilities account for significant credit points under ISO's evaluation schedule, and the addition came roughly a year before the department crossed the threshold into Class 1 territory.
The vast majority of the department's daily workload looks nothing like a five-alarm fire. During 2024, Oak Ridge Fire Department responded to 4,140 total calls for service across its four stations, with emergency medical calls comprising 60.3% of incidents and fire calls accounting for just 1.8%, according to data compiled by Digital Firehouse. Even so, ISO's rating system strictly evaluates fire suppression readiness regardless of how often that capability gets tested.
What the Rating Means for Property Owners
The practical impact of a Class 1 rating tends to show up most in commercial and industrial insurance costs rather than household premiums. While ISO Class 1 ratings typically provide only minor discounts on residential property insurance, municipal governments note that the primary financial benefit is a significant reduction in commercial and industrial insurance premiums, according to the City of Gallatin, Tennessee. Cities often cite the designation as an economic development recruitment tool for attracting businesses and industrial facilities.
Oak Ridge now joins a short list of Tennessee municipalities that have reached the top tier. Alcoa, Germantown, Franklin, and Chattanooga have also achieved ISO Class 1 ratings, according to the City of Alcoa, out of more than 700 active fire departments across the state. Alcoa was the eighth Tennessee department to achieve Class 1 before Oak Ridge became the ninth.
Oak Ridge's climb mirrors similar milestones Hoodline has recently tracked elsewhere, underscoring just how selective the classification remains nationally.
