On December 17, Washington Township Fire Department received notification that they had earned the highest possible Public Protection Classification (PPC™) rating, 1 (on a scale of 1-10), from the Insurance Services Office Inc. (ISO). This superior rating may benefit residents and businesses in Dublin and in the unincorporated areas of Washington Township through the reduction of property/casualty insurance premiums. Many insurers use ISO’s Public Protection Classification system when considering the likelihood of loss due to structure fires. In general, premiums for fire insurance in a community with a good PPC™ are substantially lower than those for a community with a poor PPC™, assuming all other factors are equal.
“The Fire Department could not have achieved this distinction without our partnership with the City of Dublin,” said Chief Alec O’Connell. “We rely on the City to manage all emergency communications and maintain more than 3000 hydrants. They do that extremely well.”
To earn the ISO-1 classification, Washington Township Fire Department had to score very well against a set of performance criteria, based on standards recognized by the National Fire Protection Association that are grouped into four categories:
Water flow rate requirements that are necessary for fire suppression purposes throughout the emergency response district.
Emergency communications, including reporting, telecommunications and dispatching
Fire department equipment, staffing, training, geographical distribution of fire companies within the response area, operations, and community risk reduction
Water supply, including hydrant inspection and flow testing, availability of alternative and/or supplemental water supply, and the degree to which the department could access a 3,500 gallons per minute water flow rate, if needed.
“We are thrilled to have partnered with Washington Township in earning this uppermost evaluation of our community’s fire protection capabilities. This ISO rating upgrade supports Dublin’s commitment to service excellence and maintaining a high quality of life for our residents, business owners and daytime workforce,” said Assistant City Manager Michelle Crandall.
Washington Township Fire Department shares the ISO-1 distinction with only three other fire departments in Ohio: City of Stow, Colerain Township, and City of Toledo and with only 270 (0.6%) other fire departments in the United States. Only 57 fire departments in the United States are both ISO-1 rated and accredited by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.
