Minimum Criteria for Class 8B

Class 8B is a Public Protection Classification (PPC®) for communities that provide superior fire protection services and fire alarm facilities but lack the water supply required for a PPC of Class 8 or better.

To compensate for limited water supplies, many communities have improved their firefighting equipment, training, and management techniques, as well as their fire alarm systems. Class 8B will recognize those improvements.

How it works

To be eligible for Class 8B, a community must meet the fundamental requirements for a classification better than Class 9. The community must have:

  • an adequate number of well-organized and properly trained firefighters
  • reliable emergency communications
  • adequate fire station facilities
  • operational records
  • the capability to deliver an uninterrupted flow of 200 gpm for 20 minutes beginning within 5 minutes of the first arriving engine

The fire department must have one suitably equipped engine that responds to all first alarm structural fires. The pump capacity must be at least 750 gpm at 150 psi. The engine must have a water tank in accordance with the general criteria of NFPA 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, “Pumper Fire Apparatus.”

The community does not need to meet the water supply requirement of 250 gpm for 2 hours necessary for PPC Class 8 or better.

For more information on any topic related to the Public Protection Classification (PPC®) program or the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule, Contact us, or call our mitigation specialists at 1-800-444-4554.