Alachua County Fire Rescue primary mission is to protect the lives and property of the citizens we serve. One of the biggest advantages to a well organized fire service is seen through the reduction in insurance premiums. The Insurance Industry looks to control costs by determining the risk associated with insuring property owners across the nation.
One of the most common means that the insurance industry utilizes to determine the risks associated with insuring a property is the use of a public protection classification (PPC). The Insurance Service Organization (ISO) is a private company that measures risks associated with property and casualty insurance. The Insurance Service Organization utilizes a large number of factors to determine the risks associated with insuring an improved parcel. To determine this rating the Insurance Service Organization evaluates most fire service providers every four years.
A parcel's Property Protection Classification is usually expressed in a scale of 1 to 10. There are also a number of communities which have a "split rating". (This rating is explained below.) The best Public Protection Classification rating is a 1 and the least desirable is a 10. Some communities have a split rating such as a "3/9". For these communities the Insurance Service Organization (ISO) looks at the distance of the parcel to both the closest fire station and the closest fire hydrant. Parcels which are within 5 road miles of the jurisdiction's closest fire station and within 1000 feet of a fire hydrant usually qualify for the lower rating. Parcels which are within 5 road miles of the closest fire station but outside the 1000 feet of the closest fire hydrant usually receive the upper rating.
If you have the parcel's address you can click here to see a link which will provide for you road mileage to our closest fire station.
Alachua County Fire Rescue was rated as an ISO Class 3/9 in the Spring of 2015. This was an improvement in our communities rating from years past. Another major improvement in our community's' Public Protection Classification came after Alachua County Fire Rescue was successful in completing a "Hauled Water Certification".
The provisions of the Hauled Water Certification requires the department to demonstrate the ability to provide a minimum of 250 gallons of water per minute uninterrupted for a minimum of two hours within 5 minutes of the first arriving apparatus. The Certification went into effect October 2015. This certification removed the requirement of parcels to be within 1000 feet of a hydrant. For hundreds of Alachua County Residents this may equate to a significant savings on their insurance premiums.
It is our understanding that if you live within unincorporated Alachua County or any of the municipalities to which Alachua County Fire Rescue provides direct fire suppression services you may qualify, depending on your insurance carrier for the single public protection classification of 3.
In addition to the unincorporated portions of Alachua County, Alachua County Fire Rescue provides direct fire suppression services for the Cities of Alachua, Archer, Hawthorne and Waldo. It is also our understanding that if you live in unincorporated Alachua County and live within a fire station of another department which provides tanker support in an automatic aid agreement, you too may qualify for Alachua County's Public Protection Classification rates.
Each Insurance Company determines if or how data provided by the Insurance Service Organization is applied to the residents within Alachua County. If you need assistance with questions about your Public Protection Classification you can contact us and we will do our best to assist you.