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ISO (INSURANCE SERVICES OFFICE)
ISO collects data for more than 47,000 communities and fire districts throughout the country. The
data is then analyzed using a proprietary Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS). This analysis
then results in a PPC (Public Protection Classification) score between 1 and 10 for the
community, with Class 1 representing "superior property fire protection" and Class 10 indicating
that an area doesn't meet the minimum criteria set by the ISO. On July 1, 2013, the revised FSRS
was released; it adds an emphasis on a community's effort to limit loss before an incident occurs
(fire prevention).
In developing a PPC, the following major categories are evaluated:
■
Emergency Communications: Fire alarm and communication systems, including telephone
systems, telephone lines, staffing and dispatching systems.
■
Fire Department: The fire department, including equipment, staffing, training, and geographic
distribution of fire companies.
■
Water Supply: The water supply system, including the condition and maintenance of hydrants
and the amount of available water compared to the amount need to suppress fires.
■
Fire Prevention: Programs that contain plan review; certificate of occupancy inspections;
compliance follow-up; inspection of fire protection equipment; and fire prevention regulations
related to fire lanes on area roads, hazardous material routes, fireworks, barbecue grills, and
wildland-urban interface areas.
■
Public Fire Safety Education Programs: Fire safety education training and programs for schools,
private homes, and buildings with large loss potential or hazardous conditions and a juvenile
fire setter intervention program.
The City of Morgan Hill and the SSCCFD each have separate reviews and ratings by ISO. Morgan
Hill was last reviewed in April 2014 and received a 3/3X rating. The 3/3X rating is an outstanding
achievement for a community the size of Morgan Hill, particularly considering its contracted
service relationship with CAL FIRE. SSCCFD was rated in June 2014 and received a 4/10 rating
which is also a very good review. In a split classification for a community the first number is the
class that applies to properties within five road miles of the responding fire station and 1,000 feet
of a credible water supply, such as a fire hydrant, suction point, or dry hydrant. The second
number is the class that applies to properties within five road miles of a fire station but beyond
1,000 feet of a credible water supply.
In both reviews the actual scoring was at the lower end of the rating scale for the respective
class. Morgan Hill received a 72.11 score and the minimum rating for Class 2 is 80. SSCCFD
received a 61.93 rating; a score of 70 would be needed to improve to a class 3 rating. In both
instances, however, the more significant point loss was related to the water system, personnel
staffing, and deployment. Morgan Hill received 29.10 points for its fire department out of a total
of 50 points available. SSCCFD received 28.13 out of the 50 points available. In the water supply
category, Morgan Hill received 33.72 of a possible 40 points and SSCCFD received 20.29 out of
the 40 points available. It is important to note that the SSCCFD received minimal points for fire
hydrant inspection and flow testing: only .01 out of the total 7 points available. In Morgan Hill,
however, this same category was rated as 6.4 out of the 7 possible points available. CPSM
believes that this scoring could be improved in the District, but the ultimate level of improvement
would not be significant enough to jump the overall rating from the current Class 4 rating to a
Class 3.