ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today announced that the County’s Department of Fire and Rescue Services (HCDFRS) has achieved the coveted Public Protection Classification (PPC) grade of 2/4/10 (metro/rural/more than five road miles from a fire station) by the Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO). The most recent analysis of the County’s structural fire suppression delivery system is an improvement on HCDFRS’s 2015 PPC grade of 3/5/10.
A community's investment in fire mitigation is a proven and reliable predictor of future fire losses. By making impactful investments in our Department of Fire and Rescue Services, my administration continues to take the necessary steps to ensure we are providing our residents and businesses with the best fire protection and response to guarantee their safety and wellbeing.
The ISO collects and evaluates information from communities across the United States on their structure fire suppression capabilities. Its PPC program evaluates communities according to a uniform set of criteria, incorporating nationally recognized standards established by the National Fire Protection Association and the American Water Works Association. Communities are assigned a PPC grade of one to 10, with one representing an exemplary fire suppression program and 10 indicating that the area's program does not meet ISO's minimum criteria. A community's PPC grade depends on:
- Needed Fire Flows – which are representative building locations used to determine the theoretical amount of water necessary for fire suppression purposes;
- Emergency Communications – including emergency reporting, telecommunicators and dispatching systems;
- Fire Department – including equipment, staffing, training, geographic distribution of fire companies, operational considerations and community risk reduction; and
- Water Supply – including inspection and flow testing of hydrants, alternative water supply operations and a careful evaluation of the amount of available water compared with the amount needed to suppress fires up to 3,500 gallons per minute.
In turn, insurance companies use PPC information for marketing, underwriting and to help establish fair premiums for homeowners and commercial property insurance. In general, the price of property insurance in a community with a good PPC grade is substantially lower than in a community with a poor PPC grade, assuming all other factors are equal. Additionally, communities whose PPC grade improves may overall see lower insurance prices The new PPC grade goes into effect September 1, 2024.
A PPC grade also provides fire departments with a valuable benchmark and is used by many departments as a valuable tool when planning, budgeting and justifying fire protection improvements.
The new ISO rating is a collaborative effort between HCDFRS, the office of Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, the Department of Public Works, and other partners in ensuring an adequate public fire protection system for our community. This improvement speaks to the tangible investments the county has made in HCDFRS in the last nine years to enhance public safety services for Howard County.
ISO is an independent company that serves insurance companies, communities, fire
departments, insurance regulators and others by providing information about risk. ISO reviews are typically conducted every five years; however, due the COVID-19 pandemic, reviews have been significantly delayed. HCDFRS’s last review was in 2015 and was due for its review in 2020.
Since taking office, Ball has made historical investments in HCDFRS, authorizing the addition of 94 new positions, compared to 57 in the prior four years. Ball has also opened two new HCDFRS fire stations, with the Merriweather Fire Station in 2019 and the Waterloo Fire Station in 2022. Located at 6025 Symphony Woods Road in Columbia, Merriweather Fire Station was constructed to assist with the growing number of residents and employees in the downtown Columbia area, allowing for even faster response times.
Bringing the County to 14 fire stations, the Waterloo Fire Station located at 7645 Port Capital Drive in Jessup, primarily serves Howard County’s Jessup, Elkridge, and East Columbia communities. Built with personnel safety in mind, the Waterloo Fire Station features intuitive zones to reduce the transmission of carcinogens between working and living spaces as part of HCDFRS’s award-winning Carcinogen Reduction Program. Additionally, just last year, the station was awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for its eco-friendly elements and key environmental features.
Finally, Ball’s recent Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget includes funding to support the hiring of four additional firefighters to staff two new peak load ambulances. These additional positions are vital as incidents and hospital wait times have increased. The budget also provides funding for PFAS (Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) free gear and vehicle replacements, including engines and ambulances. Funding has also been allocated for equipment and uniforms for 38 new firefighter trainees in classes that began in spring 2024.
Additionally, Ball’s FY25 Capital Budget includes $3 million for the North Columbia Fire Station, which will continue site and building design, and $4.9 million to advance the land acquisition, planning and design efforts for the replacement of Banneker Fire Station #7.