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IAFC President Endorses New ISO Fire Suppression Rating Schedule
IAFC President Jeff Johnson Endorses ISO’s Revised Fire Suppression Rating Schedule
The president and chairman of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), Jeff Johnson, has endorsed the upcoming revisions to ISO’s Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS).
The FSRS is a manual containing the criteria ISO uses in reviewing the firefighting capabilities of individual communities. The schedule measures the major elements of a community’s fire-suppression system and develops a numerical grading called a Public Protection Classification (PPC™).
“The FSRS incorporates nationally accepted standards developed by such organizations as the National Fire Protection Association, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials and the American Water Works Association,” said Mike Waters, vice president of Risk Decision Services at ISO. “When those organizations update their standards, the ISO evaluation changes as well. So, the PPC program always provides a useful benchmark that helps fire departments and other public officials measure the effectiveness of their efforts — and plan for improvements.”
After engaging in discussions with a variety of stakeholders in organizations that deal with water, fire, and emergency communications, ISO recently embarked on a project to review and update the content of its FSRS.
“We have developed a list of potential modifications and additions to the current FSRS and will beta test the revisions and additions to assure reliability and consistent application,” said Waters. “Following the test process, ISO will confer with stakeholders before finalizing the document and filing it in each state.”
Updates include revisions to the FSRS emergency communications section, possible revisions to the fire department and water-supply sections, and references to community risk-reduction programs.
“ISO has recently set the stage for a new era of connection to the fire and emergency service and the communities it serves by completing a much-needed upgrade of its Fire Suppression Rating Schedule,” said Chief Johnson in his year-end message to IAFC members. “The IAFC congratulates the leadership at ISO for this update and, more important, for their commitment to continuous quality improvement. The ISO thread will continue to link fire departments to each other and their communities. It’s evident that ISO’s goal is to work with the fire service to weave a stronger position of protection for our communities.”
The new rating system recognizes accredited departments and will include recognition of a science-based standard of cover that measures a department’s operational performance in time-based fractile percentages, where sufficient data exists, or use of the traditional distance-based method of coverage. The system also provides points of credit for fire prevention, an updated technology section, and many other meaningful improvements.
“The fire and emergency service will be well served by having ISO lead the way with a progressive rating system that pulls our industry forward,” added Johnson. “The new rating system goes a long way toward these goals.”
For more information about ISO’s FSRS, visit http://www.isomitigation.com
The president and chairman of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), Jeff Johnson, has endorsed the upcoming revisions to ISO’s Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS).
The FSRS is a manual containing the criteria ISO uses in reviewing the firefighting capabilities of individual communities. The schedule measures the major elements of a community’s fire-suppression system and develops a numerical grading called a Public Protection Classification (PPC™).
“The FSRS incorporates nationally accepted standards developed by such organizations as the National Fire Protection Association, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials and the American Water Works Association,” said Mike Waters, vice president of Risk Decision Services at ISO. “When those organizations update their standards, the ISO evaluation changes as well. So, the PPC program always provides a useful benchmark that helps fire departments and other public officials measure the effectiveness of their efforts — and plan for improvements.”
After engaging in discussions with a variety of stakeholders in organizations that deal with water, fire, and emergency communications, ISO recently embarked on a project to review and update the content of its FSRS.
“We have developed a list of potential modifications and additions to the current FSRS and will beta test the revisions and additions to assure reliability and consistent application,” said Waters. “Following the test process, ISO will confer with stakeholders before finalizing the document and filing it in each state.”
Updates include revisions to the FSRS emergency communications section, possible revisions to the fire department and water-supply sections, and references to community risk-reduction programs.
“ISO has recently set the stage for a new era of connection to the fire and emergency service and the communities it serves by completing a much-needed upgrade of its Fire Suppression Rating Schedule,” said Chief Johnson in his year-end message to IAFC members. “The IAFC congratulates the leadership at ISO for this update and, more important, for their commitment to continuous quality improvement. The ISO thread will continue to link fire departments to each other and their communities. It’s evident that ISO’s goal is to work with the fire service to weave a stronger position of protection for our communities.”
The new rating system recognizes accredited departments and will include recognition of a science-based standard of cover that measures a department’s operational performance in time-based fractile percentages, where sufficient data exists, or use of the traditional distance-based method of coverage. The system also provides points of credit for fire prevention, an updated technology section, and many other meaningful improvements.
“The fire and emergency service will be well served by having ISO lead the way with a progressive rating system that pulls our industry forward,” added Johnson. “The new rating system goes a long way toward these goals.”
For more information about ISO’s FSRS, visit http://www.isomitigation.com
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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What bears mentioning here is that understand the benefits of improved PPC ratings for residents and businesses is really important, regardless whether you are a full-time career or volunteer fire department.
ISO’s PPCTM information plays an important part in the decisions insurers make affecting the availability and price of property insurance. In fact, virtually all U.S. insurance companies — including the largest ones — use PPC information.
Insurance companies — not ISO — establish the premiums they charge to policyholders. The methodology a company uses to calculate premiums for property insurance may depend on the company's fire-loss experience, underwriting guidelines, and marketing strategy.
ISO does not know how each company incorporates PPC information into its pricing structure, so it's difficult to generalize how an improvement or deterioration in PPC will affect individual policies.
Key Points about improving your communities Public Protection Classification (PPC™):
• PPC may affect availability and/or pricing for a variety of personal and commercial insurance coverages, including homeowners, mobilehome, fine-arts floaters, and commercial property (including business interruption).
• Assuming all other factors are equal, the price of property insurance in a community with a good PPC is lower than in a community with a poor PPC.
Take the time to understand the significance of this and make upgrading your PPC part of your department future goals and direction. It's all about not only protecting the public, but working toward saving them money when it comes time to paying for insurance.
TCSS,
CBz
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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on
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More Key Points:
Public Protection Classification (PPCTM) Program
What is the PPC program?
ISO collects information on municipal fire-protection efforts in communities throughout the United States. In each of those communities, ISO analyzes the relevant data using our Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS). We then assign a Public Protection Classification 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.
FSRS Overview
The Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS) is a manual containing the criteria ISO uses in reviewing the firefighting capabilities of individual communities. The schedule measures the major elements of a community's fire-suppression system and develops a numerical grading called a Public Protection Classification (PPCTM).
Fire department
Fifty percent of the overall score is based on the fire department. ISO reviews the distribution of fire companies throughout the area and checks that the fire department tests its pumps regularly and inventories each engine company's nozzles, hoses, breathing apparatus, and other equipment. ISO also reviews the fire-company records to determine things such as:
* type and extent of training provided to fire company personnel
* number of people who participate in training
* firefighter response to emergencies
* maintenance and testing of the fire department's equipment (emphasis added)
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Permalink Reply by Brian Cohen on
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ISO has been updating the test for a couple years now, doing pilots in different parts of the country. Please do not be misled to thank ISO is giving you all the information. Look at their site and they advise what you can do to become a class 8 at best. If you are not scoring class 6 or better even in rural America you need to gain help. When they send out the FSRS it contains about 30 pages. When ISO grades you their books contain a couple thousand pages.
We provide assistance to FD to help lower the ratings. ISO is not your friend but they are fair. Understanding what they are looking for helps you to be more cost efficient. We assist in over a hundred inspections a year for the last 17 years and understand what ISO is looking for and the best way to get the most bang for the dollar. Just understand each FD response area is different and what works for one department doesn’t always work for another.
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