Fire Department
​The Sleepy Eye Fire Department is dedicated to serving our community and surrounding area through the protection of lives and property by providing public safety education and professional emergency response.
The Fire Department provides excellent fire protection for all Sleepy Eye property owners. The Insurance Service Organization has assigned Sleepy Eye Fire Department an excellent fire protection rating of 4, which earns lower insurance premiums for residents and businesses.
IF THIS IS AN EMERGENCY CALL 911
To call Fire Department: 507-794-6652 (no voicemail @ this time)
Aaron Schauman - City of Sleepy Eye Fire Chief

Sleepy Eye Fire Department's ISO Rating: 4

What Is an ISO Fire Rating?
A company called the ISO (Insurance Services Office) creates ratings for fire departments and their surrounding communities. The ratings calculate how well-equipped fire departments are to put out fires in that community. The ISO provides this score, often called the "ISO fire score," to homeowner’s insurance companies. The insurers then use it to help set homeowners insurance rates. The more well-equipped your fire department is to put out a fire, the less likely your house is to burn down. And that makes your home less risky, and therefore less expensive, to insure.
An ISO fire insurance rating, also referred to as a fire score or Public Protection Classification (PPC), is a score from 1 to 10 that indicates how well-protected your community is by the fire department. In the ISO rating scale, a lower number is better: 1 is the best possible rating, while a 10 means the fire department did not meet the ISO's minimum requirements.
According to the ISO's Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS), there are four main criteria to a fire rating score:
  • 50% comes from the quality of your local fire department including staffing levels, training, and proximity of the firehouse.
  • 40% comes from availability of water supply, including the prevalence of fire hydrants and how much water is available for putting out fires.
  • 10% comes from the quality of the area's emergency communications systems (911).
  • An extra 5.5% comes from community outreach, including fire prevention and safety courses.
  • Any area that is more than 5 driving miles from the nearest fire station is automatically rated a 10.
Depending on your state, it's possible to get a maximum score of around 106% on the survey, although any fire department that scores above 90% receives the highest ranking, a 1. Very few fire departments receive that ranking--only 0.71% of all communities surveyed have a 1. A rating of 5 is both the median and most common rating fire departments received. In general, urban areas tend to have better PPC scores than rural areas, as urban fire departments are closer together and often receive better funding.
 

Carbon Monoxide Information

A new law went into effect on August 1, 2009 that requires carbon monoxide (CO) detectors to be installed within 10 feet of rooms used for sleeping.

Features to look for when purchasing a CO detector include:
  • A unit with a digital readout
  • A memory feature (peak level indicator)
  • Units that use an electrical plug-in power source and battery back-up
  • The Underwriters Laboratory (UL) standards known as UL-2034
Manufacturers recommend CO detectors be replaced every five years from the date of manufacture, located on the back of the detector.
What is CO?
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and toxic gas produced as a byproduct of combustion. Examples of CO-producing devices include:
  • Gas appliances and pilot lights
    • Furnaces
    • Stoves
    • Dryers
    • Water heaters
  • Fireplaces and wood stoves
  • Charcoal grills
  • Lawnmowers, snow blowers, and other yard equipment
  • Automobiles
Signs of CO Poisoning
The following symptoms may signal CO poisoning:
  • Breathing difficulty
  • Cherry red skin
  • Nausea
  • Unconsciousness
The following signs may signal dangerous levels of CO:
  • Excessive humidity indicated by heavily frosted windows
  • Stale odor
  • Burning eyes
How to Prevent CO Build-Up
  • Supply adequate fresh air to all fuel-burning appliances
  • Never use a grill indoors, not even in the garage
  • Don't warm up a vehicle inside the garage
  • Perform annual maintenance checks on:
    • Fireplaces (gas and wood)
    • Home ventilation systems
    • All gas appliances
    • Chimneys

For more information on preventing CO poisoning in your home, visit:
Minnesota Department of Health or the State Fire Marshal Division online.
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