The Robbinsville Township Fire Department recently participated in a Public Protection Classification Survey with the Insurance Services Office (ISO). ISO’s Public Protection Classification Program plays an important role in the underwriting process with insurance companies. In fact, most U.S, insurers – including the largest ones – use PPC information as part of their decision making when deciding what business to write, coverage’s to offer, or prices to charge for personal or commercial property insurance.
PPC is important to communities and fire departments as well. Communities who improve their PPC rating may benefit from lower insurance prices. PPC also provides fire departments with a valuable benchmark, and is used by many departments as a valuable tool when planning, budgeting, and justifying fire protection improvements.
Following an assessment, ISO assigns a Public Protection Classification (PPC) from 1 to 10. Class 1 generally represents superior property fire protection and Class 10 indicates that the area’s fire-suppression program doesn’t meet ISO’s minimum criteria.
In a split classification, the first number is the class that applies to properties within five road miles of the responding fire station and within 1,000 feet of a creditable water supply such as a fire hydrant or suction point. The second number is the class that applies to properties within 5 road miles of a fire station but beyond 1,000 feet of a creditable water supply.
The Robbinsville Township Fire Department has worked diligently over the past several years to improve in as many areas as possible. The department was recently notified that due to these efforts our rating was improved from a 5/9 (after over 20 years) to a 4/4Y as a result of our recent PPC survey. We will continue to seek areas of improvement to pass on the value of a well equipped and staffed fire department to our community.
