Fire chief announces improved PPC ratings

June 23--Emergency Services District No. 1 Fire Chief Stephen Watson, speaking to the Aledo Lions' Club Tuesday, announced that the Aledo area recently received much better Public Protection Class ratings.

Watson also said the ESD hopes to complete the two new fire stations it has planned in the next 18 months.

PPC ratings

A PPC rating is established on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the best. It is assigned by the Insurance Services Office.

ESD No. 1 this month received a Public Protection Class 5 rating for the cities of Annetta and Annetta South and the nearby unincorporated areas, Watson said, with much of the area upgrading from a rating of 9. The new rating becomes effective in December.

In May, the ESD received a Public Protection Class 2 for the City of Aledo, an upgrade from the current rating of 7. It will be the best rating in Parker County when it becomes effective in November, he said.

When area residents report the improved PPC ratings to their insurance companies they will receive lower premiums, Watson said, offsetting the ESD's 10 cents/$100 assessed value property tax rate.

The new ratings will not apply to locations more than five miles from a fire station.

A major reason for the rating improvements in the cities of Annetta and Aledo is the availability of fire hydrants and muncipal water supplies, Watson said.

Annetta South, part of Annetta North and a large unincorporated area were upgraded based on a "hauled water supply study" using the ESDs fleet of six tankers.

In addition, since Aledo VFD joined ESD No. 1 in 2013, the district has increased staffing, purchased new fire engines and acquired a tanker.

Hiring a fourth full-time position in December of 2014 allowed the Aledo station to begin 24/7 staffing.

New fire stations

ESD No. 1 retained Schwarz-Hanson Architects of Fort Worth last month and began a design-build procurement process for the two new stations, one to be located on at the intersection of FM Road 5 and Thunder Head Lane in Annetta South, the other off Bailey Ranch Road in Aledo across from Aledo ISD's Daniel Ninth Grade Center.

"We hope to have both done and operating in 18 months," Watson said, adding that the district may be able to decrease costs by building the two stations at the same time.

"We're ready to pull the trigger in Annetta South," he said, "but there are constraints on getting water and power to the Bailey-Ranch Road site."

Watson said there were too many variables to comment on the cost of the facilities, but added that the one in Aledo will have more storage space and be slightly bigger.

Fire Station No. 34, on Mesquite Street in Aledo near the grain elevator, will probably be liquidated when the new stations are built, he said.

Mobile data devices

Watson said mobile data devices related to the county's new dispatching system will soon be installed on the ESD's frontline apparatus, giving firefighters more information on their way to fire calls.

"We'll have more details," he said, "It's a map-based format with information on occupancy and where the utilities and gas meters are.

"We can also integrate other data, like the flow capabilities of a hydrant. It helps avoid surprises."

Service calls

Watson said ESD No. 1 responded to 3,300 calls for service districtwide in 2014. Of those, 60 percent were medical calls, and 120 were structure fires.

The Aledo station responded to 1,000 of the 3,300 calls, he said.

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