Houston County Fire Department receives improved ISO-PPC rating 

HOUSTON COUNTY — The Houston County Fire Department received an improved rating. Effective on June 1, 2025, the HCFD will now have a Class 3 ISO-PPC. 

Houston County Fire Chief Christopher Stoner said the department is audited every four or five years through ISO and they issue departments a Public Protection Class (PPC) rating. 

“[PPC] rating is on a scale of one to ten, one being the best and ten being the worst. It’s basically an aggregate rating of a bunch of different categories,” he said. “They come in and assess pretty much every aspect of the fire department and our response system.” 

The rating can stem from the 911 center, including how quickly they process the fire department’s calls to their response time, and also to the water system as a whole. Stoner said their rating also includes the department’s prevention, investigation and public education efforts. 

“It’s pretty much every aspect of the department and the service we provide to the community is evaluated,” he said. 

Stoner said the majority of insurance companies utilize the PPC rating to determine insurance premiums. 

“The lower that rating is, the more money is saved on insurance premiums because it reflects a higher level of fire protection for that property,” he said. 

According to Stoner, the HCFD had a Class 6 PPC rating for many years. They have since made strides over the years to improve this rating. 

“It’s awesome for us. We made [Class] 4 our last rating and improved to a [Class] 3 this time, so it just shows that continuous improvement cycle that we’ve been working for,” he said. “The lower or better you get in the ratings, the harder it is to move to an improved classification because the grading gets more severe. It takes more to improve, and for us to move from a 4 to a 3 speaks volumes of the work that’s being done both administratively and in the field by our staff to improve the service that we provide.” 

Some improvements of note, Stoner highlighted, include: 

• Personnel
• Response times 
• Infrastructure, such as improved water supply to areas in the county that did not have water before
• Equipment and department usage
• Prevention 
• Public Education

Another aspect of this improved rating is how the HCFD conducts business inspections and pre-fire plans. 

“We go out to the businesses before they have any type of emergency, meet with them and gain basic information about their business and the hazards associated with it,” he said. “That allows us to formulate ways to combat fires in their building if it were to occur and we can formulate those plans ahead of time.”

Hydrant maintenance is another big improvement made by the HCFD. Stoner said ISO requires them to physically touch every hydrant in their jurisdiction annually. They also must flow test the hydrants occasionally. 

“Us having accurate data with completing these flow tests and preventative maintenance on those hydrants and the water system in general has been a drastic improvement for us,” he said. 

Stoner is very proud and grateful for the efforts of the personnel of the HCFD for putting in the work to gain this accomplishment. 

“When ISO comes in, it’s not just a review of last year, it’s a review of the last three years of efforts, so if you had two great years and a year that was not so good, that would impact your rating,” he said. “For us to improve shows that continual growth and improvement and that consistency to meet that standard. This goes to show their dedication and commitment to this community and the department to ensure that we are providing the best services we can to citizens.” 

With the HCFD’s improved PPC rating, Stoner encouraged those to contact their insurance providers when it is time for renewal to see if there will be any cost savings. 

“I would remind [your insurance provider] that our fire department has improved and what would that do to my premiums and see if there are some discounts available,” he said. “The biggest thing to remember is that we don’t control any of that as there are a lot of contributing factors to what makes that insurance premium. The majority of them do use that PPC rating as a component of that, so there should be some savings there, but cannot necessarily guarantee the exact amount.”