On Monday afternoon, Aug. 29, Van Buren Township received the latest Public Protection Classification from Insurance Service Office, Inc. (ISO) — and it was good news that could mean reduced property insurance rates for township residents.
According to the ISO, based on a scale of 1-10, “Class 1” represents an exemplary fire suppression program and “Class 10” represents an area’s fire suppression fails to meet ISO’s minimum criteria.
Prior to Monday’s announcement, the township earned its most recent ISO rating in December 2012. In that 2012 review of the township’s water, 911 communication, and fire departments the township earned a Class 6 which was the same rating it had earned in a March 1992 review.
“Today, we are very proud and honored to announce that Van Buren Township’s rating has been upgraded to a Class 4,” said Fire Chief Dan Besson.
The ISO is an independent company that serves insurance companies, communities, fire departments and others by providing information with regard to risk. ISO has evaluated and classified approximately 48,000 communities nationwide. According to the ISO of the over 48,000 fire protection areas rated only about 4,600 of them rated better than a Class 4.
Source: https://www.isomitigation.com/program-works/facts-and-figures-about-ppc-codes-around-the-country.html
A community PPC rating is dependent upon:
• Needed Fire Flows (the amount of water necessary for fire suppression)
• Emergency Communications (911 call taking and incident dispatching)
• Fire Department (equipment, staffing, training, geographic distribution of fire trucks, operational considerations and community risk reduction)
• Water Supply (inspection and flow-testing of hydrants, alternative water supply operations and careful evaluation of the amount of available water compared with the amount needed to suppress fires up to 3,500 gallons per minute)
The report is comprised of 3 sections:
• Emergency communications account for 10% of the classification;
• Water supply system is 40% of the classification; and
• Fire department is 50% of the total classification.
The ISO’s Public Protection Classification evaluates communities according to a uniform set of criteria and national recognized standards developed by the National Fire Protection Association and the American Water Works Association.
According to Dominic Santanna, ISO’s Manager of the National Processing Center in Mt. Laurel, NJ, “Most U.S. insurers – including the largest ones – use the Public Protection Classification information as part of their decision-making when deciding what businesses to write, coverage to offer, or prices to charge for personal or commercial property insurance.” It also “provides fire departments with a valuable benchmark, and is used by many fire departments as a valuable tool when planning, budgeting, and justifying fire protection improvements.”
Although ISO reviews take place minimally every five years, Fire Chief Dan Besson and Jim Taylor, Director of Public Works, felt the township had made significant improvements to their respective areas that they invited ISO in for an early audit.
Besson, Taylor, and Sergeant Louis Keele, supervisor of the township’s 911 Communications Center, provided a significant amount of data, statistics, and documentation. In a letter to Township Supervisor Linda Combs, Santanna added “ISO appreciates the high level of cooperation by local officials during the entire PPC survey process…and we wish to thank you…for your cooperation.”
The new ISO classification takes effect Dec. 1, 2016.
Information provided by VBT Fire Chief Dan Besson