Minimum Facilities and Practices to Get a PPCTM Rating

Before a community can receive an ISO Public Protection Classification (PPCTM), the community must have at least these minimum facilities and practices:

Organization
The community must have a fire department organized permanently under applicable state or local laws. The organization must include one person responsible for the operation of the department, usually with the title of "chief."

The fire department must serve an area with definite boundaries. If a community does not have a fire department operated solely by or for the governing body of that community, the fire department providing such service must do so under legal contract or resolution. When a fire department's service area involves more than one community, each of the communities served should have a contract.

Membership
The department must have sufficient membership to assure the response of at least four members to structure fires. The chief may be one of the responding members.

Training
The fire department must conduct training for active members, at least two hours every two months.

Alarm notification
Alarm facilities and arrangements must be such that there is no delay in the receipt of alarms and the dispatch of firefighters and apparatus.

Apparatus
The department must have at least one piece of apparatus meeting the general criteria of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 1901, Automotive Fire Apparatus.

Housing
The department must house apparatus to provide protection from the weather.

If the community does not meet these minimum criteria, ISO will assign the community a Class 10.

Other criteria
ISO's Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS) — the manual ISO uses in reviewing the firefighting capabilities of individual communities — lists other minimum criteria for receiving particular PPC ratings:

• Minimum criteria for Class 9
• Minimum criteria for Class 8B
• Minimum criteria for Class 8 or better

For more information . . .
. . . on any topic related to the PPC program or the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule, click Talk to ISO Mitigation, or call the ISO mitigation specialists at 1-800-444-4554.