(Deming) – The Deming Fire  Department has lowered its Insurance Services Office rating.
    Chief Edgar Davalos  said the rating system ranges from one to 10 – ten being the worst – and  Deming’s rating has dropped from a five to a four. 
    Davalos said the recent  purchase of a three-million gallon water tank and accompanying water  distribution equipment helped lower the rate.   A new ladder truck  helped with the rating drop as well. 
     Also, he said, the department  continues to improve service… including dispatch and firefighter  training.  The lower rate means homeowners  within the Deming city limits may see lower insurance rates.
      Davalos encouraged residents to  mention the lower ISO rating to their insurance provider during annual renewal 
negotiations.   Also, Davalos mentioned acquiring  a Stryker ambulance load assist device as another advance in the  department.
     Deming is the first department in  the state to acquire the lift, which raises the patient to ambulance level  instead of requiring
emergency responders to lift the patient into the  ambulance.  The cost of the device was  32-thousand dollars, and it was
purchased with a Trauma Fund  grant.