Insurance Agency Upgrades Rochester Hills Ratings

The following news was submitted by the City of Rochester Hills:

The has received a Public Protection Classification Class 4 rating from the Insurance Service Office. The previous PPC rating, awarded over 10 years ago, was a Class 5.  The PPC rating is utilized by the insurance industry to help establish fire insurance premiums for the community.  Fire Departments are classified on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the lowest level of service. 

The Rochester Hills Fire Department moved from a Class 5 to a Class 4 fire department, which puts the city in the top 7 percent nationwide and one of only 88 communities in the state of Michigan that have achieved this level of service.

“The new rating demonstrates the Fire Department and Department of Public Services’ commitment to providing exemplary fire protection and water-supply systems to the community,” stated Fire Chief Ron Crowell.

The rating criterion covers three critical elements in a municipal fire protection system.  The Fire Department accounts for half of the rating elements, followed by the municipal water system and the telecommunications-processing center. All three elements of this review procedure made improvements over the former rating evaluation. Some of the improvements include additional staff, training and education, and enhanced communication technologies.

The Department of Public Services continued to improve the water-supply system and processing capacity to support the demanding water flow required to handle fire emergencies. 

A community’s investment in fire mitigation is a proven and reliable predicator of future fire losses. Insurance companies use PPC information to help establish fair premiums for fire insurance — generally offering lower premiums in communities with better protection.

“By offering economic benefits for communities that invest in their firefighting services, the program provides a real incentive for improving and maintaining public fire protection,” stated Mayor Bryan K. Barnett.