Most Arlington Hts. residents won’t see a difference on their insurance bills even though the village’s fire department has lost its top insurance rating.

The Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), which rates municipalities’ fire coverage to help insurance companies set local rates, recently downgraded the Arlington Hts. Fire Department’s rating from a Class 1 to a Class 2.

That could lead to slightly higher insurance rates for some larger properties and businesses, but the majority of residents will not see a difference, according to Fire Chief Glenn Ericksen.

He added that a Class 2 rating was still rare with only a few hundred fire departments across the country achieving such a high score.

Still, Ericksen said the downgrade was disappointing for Arlington Hts. firefighters. The department had held the top rating since 1997.

“It was a point of pride for the community and the department itself,” he said. “When the scores came back it was disappointing because we feel it doesn’t truly reflect the efforts of the village and the departments.”

He said the lower rating was due to a change in how the ISO measures distances from a fire station. They used to draw and 1 ½-mile circle around each station to determine coverage area. Now, Ericksen said the company uses computer generated road distances, which shrinks the coverage area.

The local water system and ability of 911 centers is also taken into account for the rating.

In order to earn back the Class 1 rating, the ISO suggested the department add an additional fire station and firefighters and look more to surrounding communities for coverage aid.

Ericksen said many of the suggestions were unlikely but the department would see what changes were possible before the rating becomes final in the spring.