We have made a significant revision to the Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS), the manual we developed to evaluate municipal fire protection in communities around the country. We filed the revision with state insurance departments in December 2012, and a majority of states have approved it. The schedule measures a community's fire suppression system and develops a numerical grade called a Public Protection Classification (PPC®).
The FSRS incorporates nationally accepted standards developed by such organizations as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the Association of Public Communications Officials (APCO), and the American Water Works Association (AWWA). When those organizations update their standards, our evaluation changes as well, allowing the PPC program to provide a useful benchmark that helps fire departments and other public officials measure the effectiveness of their efforts — and plan for improvements.
The revised schedule focuses on areas that have a proven effect on fire suppression and prevention as well as revisions that align the FSRS requirements with those of nationally accepted standards. The schedule recognizes proactive efforts to reduce fire risk and frequency.
The FSRS evaluates the three major categories of fire suppression: fire department, emergency communications, and water supply. In addition, it now includes a Community Risk Reduction section that recognizes community efforts to reduce losses through fire prevention, public fire safety education, and fire investigation.