CFP News

Anaheim Fire & Rescue (AFR) has earned a very rare status. First, in March 2014, AFR received accreditation from the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI), a distinction less than 1 percent of 30,000 fire agencies internationally have received. Next, ISO’s Public Protection Classification (PPC®) program designated AFR’s fire district a Class 1, a rank only 287 cities nationally (30 in California) have earned.

When a fire department attains a high Public Protection Classification (PPC®), it’s a source of pride and accomplishment. It acknowledges that the fire department provides exemplary community fire protection. Many departments publicize the fact when they earn a Class 1, 2, or 3 rating. They understand that letting people know their community has exemplary fire protection can have a positive effect on residential and commercial insurance rates, community reputation, and quality of life.

When you ask children what they want to be when they grow up, you will hear fantastic, limitless dreams. They want to be professional athletes, the President of the United States, a doctor, a teacher, a police officer, an astronaut, a zoo keeper, a veterinarian, and maybe even a firefighter. Regardless of what they dream of being, they are focused on the positives of that job and the endless possibilities lying before them.

ISO is a Verisk business, and we at ISO Community Hazard Mitigation believe very strongly in delivering Verisk’s core values: Serve. Add Value. Innovate. One of the most significant ways in which we do that is to partner with communities throughout the United States to help make them safer.

The fire service has long worked with ISO Community Hazard Mitigation—and with our Public Protection Classification (PPC®) and Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS®) programs. But ISO is part of a larger company called Verisk, a leading data analytics provider to customers in insurance, natural resources, and financial services.

Last year, 2017, proved to be a very active year for ISO Community Hazard Mitigation. ISO field analysts conducted 185 presentations in 41 states. Large and small audiences—totaling more than 4,500 participants in all—attended the presentations.

According to a Moody’s Analytics article this past September, the total cost of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma could reach $200 billion. In addition, the economy could suffer another $20 billion to $30 billion in lost output. Moody’s previously estimated the total cost of Harvey between $86 and $108 billion and Irma between $64 and $92 billion.

In today’s world, we’re all consumers of data. We look at data in our everyday life to find out how different items compare to one another, and we don’t have to search very far to get inundated with information. We compare one car to another, one brand of vitamins to another, one cereal to its competitor—and so forth.

How do you demonstrate to the people and community you serve that you’re doing a good job? Do you have a clear, definitive method to show you provide quality service with the resources you have? What data points are appropriate for a true peer review and accurate comparison of your service delivery?

While driving around a typical tree-lined residential neighborhood, have you ever wondered how much water is needed to protect that area from fire? Did you know that greater emphasis is often placed on the rate of flow for commercial and mixed-use areas, even though residential areas generally occupy more space and have greater population density? Do you ever consider how the distance between hydrants could cause a delay in fire department operations?