GeoTRIVIA Fall 2004

The following GeoTrivia quiz questions appear in the fall 2004 issue of OnLocation. What's your score?

1. Main Street is the most common street name. What are the remaining "Top 10" street names?
2. How many fire stations in the U.S. will respond to home fires on first alarm, 24x7x365?
3. What three counties in California have the greatest exposure to wildfires?
4. How many of the 25 largest U.S. convention centers are in neighborhoods with a high likelihood of crime?
5. How many fire protection areas in the U.S. have achieved an ISO Class 1 rating?

And the answers are . . .

1. After Main Street, the most popular street names ranked as follows:
   1. Washington (including ISO's Home Office address in Jersey City, N.J.)
   2. Park
   3. Broadway
   4. Maple
   5. Lincoln
   6. Walnut
   7. Oak
   8. Central
   9. Elm


2. Through its formal on-site fire district assessments, ISO has verified approximately 51,000 fire stations that contain equipment and personnel responding to structure fires on first alarm, 24x7x365. LOCATION® identifies each of those stations. However, not every U.S. fire station is adequate. Many fire stations that outwardly appear capable of effective response are actually unable to initiate a response to a structural fire.

   Unrecognizable stations exist because:

   • equipment in the station doesn't contain a pump of sufficient size and reliability to initiate a structural attack
   • the fire station is seasonal or used for an exclusive purpose, such as wildland or industrial firefighting
   • the fire station isn't actually operational — it may have closed or been rendered out of service, sometimes even with equipment inside
   • the fire station is a private collection, not for firefighting
   • the fire department lacks sufficient personnel, equipment, or training to initiate a structural attack

   With ISO information, you can count on fire stations in LOCATION being "on the job."

3. The three highest wildfire-risk areas for property insurers are Los Angeles County, Alameda County, and San Diego County.

   FireLineTM identifies all risks exposed to the wildfire hazard.

4. Twenty-two of the 25 largest U.S. convention centers are in neighborhoods with a high likelihood of crime (from three to more than five times the national average). The table below shows those locations from highest to lowest risk.

   	Site	City
   1	McCormick Place	Chicago
   2	Cobo Conference/Exhibition Center	Detroit
   3	Washington Convention Center	Washington, D.C.
   4	Jacob K. Javits Convention Center	New York
   5	Miami Beach Convention Center	Miami Beach
   6	San Diego Convention Center	San Diego
   7	Los Angeles Convention Center	Los Angeles
   8	Seahawks Stadium & Exhibition Center	Seattle
   9	Ernest N. Morial Convention Center	New Orleans
   10	Georgia World Congress Center	Atlanta
   11	Reliance Center	Houston
   12	Minneapolis Convention Center	Minneapolis
   13	National Western Complex	Denver
   14	Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex	Harrisburg
   15	Dallas Convention Center	Dallas
   16	Pennsylvania Convention Center	Philadelphia
   17	Reno/Sparks Convention Center	Reno
   18	Sands Expo & Convention Center	Las Vegas
   19	Indiana State Fairgrounds	Indianapolis
   20	Las Vegas Convention Center	Las Vegas
   21	Anaheim Convention Center	Anaheim
   22	Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center	Louisville

   Highest risk: The likelihood of crime in the area around Chicago's McCormick Place is 13 times the national average.

   The area around Chicago's McCormick Place, the country's largest convention facility, has the highest risks — 13 times greater than the national average. The risk in areas outside convention centers in Detroit and Washington is ten times greater than the national norm.

   Those statistics don't indicate the level of safety within a convention facility, which may be well protected. The crime risk predicts only the likelihood of crime in surrounding areas.

   LOCATION Crime Service provides the crime index scores for any address in the United States. Those scores can help you make important underwriting decisions.

5. Of about 46,000 fire protection areas in the LOCATION PPCTM database, only 43 have achieved a Class 1 rating — representing exemplary fire protection. The map below shows those communities.

   

   Visit the ISO Mitigation Online website at www.isomitigation.com for up-to-date information on community mitigation efforts in the United States.

Scoring

• 0 correct — You think GIS stands for get in step.
• 1 – 2 correct — You could use some help. Follow the link for more information on LOCATION.
• 3 – 4 correct — You're ready to try out for the new game show "Who Wants to Be a Geonaire?"
• 5 correct — Not only does your knowledge rival that of Rand McNally, but you understand that LOCATION is an essential management tool for address-specific information.