Community Property owners may save money on insurance

MENDOCINO, CA >> Ed O’Brien, Board President of the Mendocino Fire Protection District, announced an upgrade in the district’s fire suppression rating, which may save money for property owners. As of December 1, fire insurance companies had access to the new Public Protection Classification (PPC) grade issued by the International Organization of Standardization (ISO). Insurance companies use this rating to determine the cost of a property’s insurance policy.

The Mendocino Fire Protection District earned a 05/10 rating which indicates higher fire suppression capabilities for outlying structures. The first number of 05 applies to any structure or residence within five miles of a Mendocino fire station, regardless of the location of the nearest fire hydrant or other water source.

The second number of 10 means that structures and residences lying outside the five-mile radius of a fire station and more than 1,000 feet from a hydrant or other water source have no change in their fire suppression rating. Notably, the fire district does have emergency water tanks set in the more outlying areas.

The Fire District plans to complete the construction of a secure storage barn for vital fire-fighting equipment at a location approximately four and a half miles from Hwy 1 on Comptche Road. This structure will meet the criteria of a station and may change insurance costs for residents living within its five-mile radius.

O”Brien believes that this addition will put the vast majority of the fire district’s residents within the five-mile radius of a station. Currently, there are three operating fire stations on Little Lake Road, Lansing Street, and Road 409. When completed and storing a 500-gallon per minute pumper, the Comptche structure will push the five-mile radius farther out and include more residences.

O’Brien explained, “Being close to a fire department is very, very important mainly

because a truck with two or three trained people on it can stop a fire before it gets big enough to need ten trucks, forty people, and 50,000 gallons of water.”

He continued, “If you can go to the source of the fire and get it done quickly and efficiently, you can save a building with a few hundred gallons of water.” As an example, O’Brien noted that the fire department had demonstrated its fire suppression ability when it saved the historical Gallery Book Store building in Mendocino, although it did suffer water and smoke damage.

Assistant Fire Chief John Pisias embarked on the plan to challenge the fire district’s previous rating when he heard that a new resident on Highway 1 was denied fire insurance due to the insurance company’s evaluation of the area as high risk for fire suppression. He wrote a letter describing the fire department’s suppression ability, but the insurance company insisted on a qualifying ISO rating.

Using data recorded from the Larry Fuentes fire in the Comptche area and a few other recent fires within the fire district, Pisias was able to validate the fire department’s ability to pump the standardized ideal number of gallons per minute to suppress the fire. Other criteria showed improvement as well. Pisias said, “We can delivery water anywhere in the district without loss of flow.”

According to Assistant Fire Chief Pisias, if a resident wants a reassessment of the cost of an active fire insurance policy, call the insurance company or your broker. The agent should be able to see the new ISO rating if that insurer uses the ISO grade in its cost calculations. Ideally, the upgraded rating should lead to lower insurance costs for the policyholder.