The Millsap Volunteer Fire Department had the Insurance Service Office (ISO) conduct a survey of our fire protection to determine the proper Public Protection Classification (PPC) for the City of Millsap and our protection area outside the city limits.

 

    ISO is the premier source of information, products, and services related to property and liability risk. For a broad spectrum of commercial and personal lines of insurance, ISO provides statistical, actuarial, underwriting, and claims information and analyses; consulting and technical services; and information about specific locations. In the United States and around the world, ISO serves insurers, reinsurers, agents, brokers, self-insured, risk managers, insurance regulators, fire departments, and other government agencies. 

     In the battle against fire loses, one of the insurance industries most important weapons is the Public Protection Classification (PPC) program from ISO. ISO’s PPC program evaluates communities according to a uniform set of criteria, incorporating standards developed by the National Fire Protection Association and the American Water Works Association. So, the PPC program provides a useful benchmark that helps fire departments and other public officials measure effectiveness of their efforts and plan for improvements.

 

      Virtually all US insurers of homes and businesses property use ISO’s PPC in calculating premiums. In general, the price of fire insurance in a community with a good PPC is substantially lower than a community with a poor PP, assuming all other factors are equal.

 

A communities PPC Depends on:
         1. Fire alarm and Communications System
         2. The Fire Department
         3. The water supply system.

 

     The PPC program develops a rating from 1 to 10, with 1 being the best and 10 being no recognized fire protection. The Millsap VFD was last evaluated in 1997 and has a PPC 7/9. The split class grading is due to the lack of hydrants in our area. If you live within 5 miles of the fire station and 1,000’ of a fire hydrant, you have the PPC 7. If you live over 1,000’ from a fire hydrant and within 5 miles of the fire station you would have a PPC 9.

     The Millsap VFD has replaced all apparatus that was here during our last grading in 1997. We have increased our training, and now have a majority of our firefighters certified.  The Millsap Water Supply has added hydrants and the Parker County Sheriff’s Office has made improvements in the Fire Communications. We feel that we have made enough improvements for our department to improve our PPC by at least one or two classes. This improvement could mean a reduction in your homeowner’s insurance premiums.

 

     The Millsap VFD will have a second evaluation in the Fall of this year to try to improve our PPC in areas that are over 1,000’ from fire hydrants. ISO recognizes alternative water supplies; the Millsap VFD has two tanker trucks that will be used in this project. The fire department will also use tankers from other fire departments that were purchased by Parker County in 2002. We feel that we can improve on the current PPC 9 score in these areas with the tankers. The Greenwood VFD lowered their PPC 9 to a PPC 6 using the tankers.

     If you would like more information on ISO you may look at www.isomitigation.com
You may also look at the State Fire Marshal’s website for Texas information at www.tdi.state.tx.us/fire/fmppcfaq.html

 

Please check back on our website over the next couple of months to find the results of our survey.