The Insurance Services Office (ISO) is an independent company that serves insurance companies, communities, fire departments, insurance regulators, and others by providing information about risk. The ISO collects information about municipal fire suppression efforts in communities throughout the United States. The ISO’s Public Protection Classification (PPC) program evaluates each of these communities according to a uniform set of criteria. Incorporating nationally recognized standards developed by the National Fire Protection Association and the American Water Works Association. A community’s PPC grade depends on:
• Needed Fire Flows: which are representative building locations used to determine the theoretical amount of water necessary for fire suppression purposes.
• Emergency Communications: including emergency reporting, telecommunicators, and dispatching systems.
• Fire Department: including equipment, staffing, training, geographic distribution of fire companies, operational considerations, and community risk reduction.
• Water Supply: including inspection and flow testing of hydrants, alternative water supply operations, and a careful evaluation of the amount of available water compared with the amount needed to suppress fires up to 3,500 gallons per minute (gpm).
In each community, ISO analyzes the relevant data and assigns a Public Protection Classification (PPC) grade – a number from 1 to 10. Class 1 represents an exemplary fire suppression program, and Class 10 indicates that the area’s fire suppression program does not meet ISO’s minimum criteria.
On January 13, 2015, the ISO conducted a survey of the City of Irondale. This survey resulted in the City of Irondale improving their classification from a Class 4 to a Class 3. This improvement in classification translates into potential insurance savings for businesses and homeowners. The City of Irondale and the Irondale Fire Department would like to encourage all residents and business owners to contact their insurance carriers and inform them of the new ISO Class 3 rating.
The Irondale Fire Department would like to take this opportunity to thank Mayor Tommy Joe Alexander and the Irondale City Council for their continued support and dedication to public safety.