Springfield Fire Department insurance rating slips

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Springfield Fire Department's insurance rating has dropped a notch.

Mayor Mike Houston says that's because of longer response times in rapidly growing parts of the state capital.

The Insurance Services Office lowered the rating from Class 2 to Class 3.

Houston tells The (Springfield) State Journal-Register (http://bit.ly/YazKzw ) that the change is expected to have "very little impact" on the community.

To earn back its Class 2 rating, the city would have to increase the number of fire stations.

Houston says there are no current plans to add to the city's 12 stations.

Before 2003, Springfield had a Class 1 rating, the highest possible from the Insurance Services Office.

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Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com