GeoTRIVIA April 2005

And the answers are...

1. Homes on the same street can be located in different fire districts — and therefore have different PPC codes. The map below shows a hypothetical example where risks on Carmel Road are located in either the Millville fire district or the Carmel fire district — and each has a different PPC. It's also very common for opposite sides of the same street to have different PPC codes because the boundary line of a fire district can run down the middle of the street.
   

   Here are some of the more common reasons for differing PPC codes:

   • The risks are in a split-class fire district.
   • The risks may or may not be within five miles of a responding fire station.
   • The risks may or may not be within 1,000 feet of a hydrant.

2. In a split-class fire district, an insured risk more than five road miles from the nearest responding fire station automatically gets a PPC of 10, even if it's immediately adjacent to a hydrant. Another risk in the same fire district, within five road miles but not near a hydrant, gets a PPC of 9.

   According to the manual pages (for most states)…

   CLASSIFICATION OF PUBLIC FIRE PROTECTION (PPC)

   • For jurisdictions listed with a single classification number, all properties within the jurisdiction should receive the listed classification number.
   • For jurisdictions listed with multiple classification numbers (e.g., 6/9), known as a "split classification," the classification number applicable to individual properties is determined as follows:
     • Split classification shown as "X/9" or "X/8B" (e.g., 6/9 or 6/8B):
       • For properties located five road miles or less from a responding fire station of a designated recognized fire department indicated in the listing for the jurisdiction, and within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant, the first listed classification number applies (e.g., 6/9, use Class 6).
       • For properties located five road miles or less from a responding fire station of a designated recognized fire department indicated in the listing for the jurisdiction, and with a fire hydrant more than 1,000 feet, Class 9 or Class 8B applies.
       • For properties not qualifying as listed above, Class 10 applies.
     • Split classifications displayed as "X/10" where no hydrants are installed (e.g., 9/10) or where hydrant distance does not apply due to an alternate creditable water supply (e.g., 7/10):
       • For properties located within five road miles or less (unless otherwise indicated in the footnote) from a responding fire station of a designated recognized fire department indicated in the listing for the jurisdiction, the first listed classification applies (e.g., 7/10, use Class 7).
       • For properties not qualifying as listed above, Class 10 applies.
   • For jurisdictions or areas not listed, Class 10 applies.

3. If you query the LOCATION database for all states, you can identify 8,935 unique ZIP Codes with records that have at least five Public Protection Classification (PPC) code combinations. Those 8,935 ZIP Codes represent approximately 21.7 percent of all ZIP Codes in the United States.

4. Unlike other databases that may rely only on addresses recognized by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), LOCATION combines the USPS database with a commercial roadbase from Geographic Data Technologies (GDT) to create one of the most comprehensive geographic-information databases in the market today.

   And ISO takes address searching one step further. LOCATION also includes addresses that may not be in the USPS database or the GDT roadbase. ISO staff members identify additional addresses through ad hoc research, customer inquiries, and bureau input. We verify that the addresses are legitimate and that they have valid PPC codes and protection from recognized fire districts. We then add them to the database through an override function in LOCATION.

   ISO is planning to expand the LOCATION database even further by incorporating the commercial roadbase from NavTeq. LOCATION gives you accurate and up-to-date databases — allowing correct geographic placement of virtually all U.S. streets and addresses — making it the ideal choice for underwriting risks.

5. Fire station #2 is the only one that operates 24x7x365 to fight structure fires. The other fire stations pictured don't meet the national standards in the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule.

   Here are some reasons why ISO doesn't recognize certain fire stations:

   • They're seasonal or used for an exclusive purpose, such as wildland firefighting.
   • They're not actually operational — they may have closed or be out of service, sometimes even with equipment inside.
   • They have apparatus that doesn't contain a pump of sufficient size and reliability to initiate an attack on a structure fire.
   • They're private collections.
   
   

   Although the insured property is less than four miles from a fire station, the responding fire station is nine miles away. Only LOCATION has countrywide information about the nearest recognized and responding fire stations.

Scoring

• 0 correct — You think PPC stands for Public Policy Center.
• 1 – 2 correct — You could use some help. Follow the link for more information on LOCATION.
• 3 – 4 correct — You're ready to try out for the new game show "Who Wants to Be a Fire Chief?"
• 5 correct — Not only does your knowledge rival that of a fire commissioner, but you understand that LOCATION PPC is an essential management tool for up-to-date PPC information representing every address in the United States.