Does PPC Matter?

Fire Department Response and PPC

The public fire department was a key player in controlling fire losses. With legacy furnishings the time to safely apply water was relatively long. The construction of the building was more robust, and the number of interior cut offs was high. This meant that the fire department was a potent force for property protection.

Given the shift in contents heat release rates, lack of interior cut offs and speed to flashover, the role of the fire department has changed.  When you "hit it hard from the yard" the loss reduction is much less effective.

Other duties assigned to the fire department include Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and the expanding role the fire department plays in hazardous materials, terrorism preparations, technical rescue, and active shooters. The fire department has evolved into an all-risk agency.

The fire service has specific training, safety standards and deployment standards. These define what the fire department can do with a given set of resources. When enough responders are not immediately available, interior operations are not undertaken. In suburban and rural areas, it is common to call multiple fire departments on the first alarm to assemble an adequate head count.  ISO PPC rules allow full credit for these mutual aid arrangements, despite the fact that the second and third company may be responding from a significant distance.

The ISO PPC was intended to evaluate preventing conflagrations from building fires. Recent experience with wildland fire overrunning built up areas indicates that large losses are arising from sources other than traditional structure fires. The recent fire In Hawaii indicates the need to more closely evaluate wildland fire suppression as a measure of public protection effectiveness. Structural equipment and tactics are no longer appropriate for the emerging wildfire hazard.

I believe these changes make the PPC grade less significant and the loss reductions associated with fire department responses less important in insurance underwriting. NFPA statistics show that the number of fires is lower, but the dollar amount of loss has risen, and death and injury numbers remain static. Fewer fires are causing the same number of deaths and injuries.  Using historic numbers as a reference point makes these observations less obvious. The PPC was one of the original "scores" used by underwriters. It may have outlived its relevance.