The Bay District Volunteer Fire Department is proud to announce that we have received notification of our Public Protection Classification (PPC®) (ISO classification) changed from a Class 3 to a Class 2. Insurance Services Office (ISO), has a system for determining the price of fire insurance in a community through a 1 to 10 classification system. This classification change will take effect March 1, 2019.
Bay District, in cooperation with the St. Mary’s County Department of Emergency Services and MetCom (St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission) has worked as a team since the last inspection in 2014 to enhance our services to the community to lower the Public Protection Classification (PPC®). As of December 7, 2018, there is only five (5) class 2 ISO rated fire departments in the state of Maryland.
The Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS) is a manual containing the criteria ISO uses in reviewing the fire prevention and fire suppression capabilities of individual communities or fire protection areas. The schedule measures the major elements of a community’s fire protection system and develops a numerical grading called a Public Protection Classification (PPC®).
Our FSRS employs nationally accepted standards developed by such organizations as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the American Water Works Association (AWWA), and the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International. When those organizations update their standards, the ISO evaluation changes as well. The PPC program always provides a useful benchmark that helps fire departments and other public officials measure the effectiveness of their efforts — and plan improvements.
The FSRS considers three main areas of a community’s fire suppression system: emergency communications, fire department (including operational considerations), and water supply. In addition, it includes a Community Risk Reduction section that recognizes community efforts to reduce losses through fire prevention, public fire safety education, and fire investigation.
