Fire protection in the City of Platte City recently received an improved Public Protection Classification (PPC) rating from the Insurance Services Office (ISO).
The City of Platte City, in an inter-agency effort with the Central Platte Fire District, has announced that effective April of 2009 its fire protection classification was reassessed and rated as Class 4, according to the Insurance Services Office (ISO). ISO classifies communities from 1 to 10.
Improvements in the water distribution system, fire department equipment, firefighting personnel and fire notification facilities helped the agencies to improve the rating from the previous designation of 6/9 split class rating.
A PPC rating can affect the cost of property insurance for homes and commercial buildings in the community. Only 262 out of 1784 departments in Missouri hold the distinction of a class 4 PPC or better.
The new insurance rating is the result of years of effort by local insurance professionals, fire department members and the City of Platte City water and sewer department.
“The mayor and board of aldermen have long recognized the economic benefits of maintaining a good PPC rating,” said Mayor Frank Offutt.
“We continue to be committed to maintaining the city’s infrastructure to assure the continuation of at least a Class 4 designation for our fire defenses as part of our overall goal of providing a quality service to our citizens.”
The Insurance Services Office’s Public Protection Classification program evaluates communities according to a uniform set of criteria defined in the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule. This schedule incorporates nationally recognized standards developed by the National Fire Protection Association and the American Water Works Association.
The Fire Suppression Rating Schedule allocates the scores by assigning 10% of the total weight to the community’s fire alarm and communication system, 50% of the total weight to the fire department and 40% to the water supply system.
The Insurance Services Office completed the re-rating as part of a multi-agency request. The last time the department was evaluated was June of 1999.