Introduction

 Much of the United States has marginal or inadequate fire protection, placing people and property at risk.

 Even in well-protected areas, growth often threatens the ability of fire departments to keep up with the demand for service.

 Fire departments are under constant pressure to expand or improve their service, and they face many obstacles in doing that job.

 ISO's PPC program helps communities keep up with the demand.

 The PPC program helps insurers market their products and serve their customers with fair, affordable prices.

 When growing communities work to maintain or improve their Public Protection Classifications, everyone benefits.

"In Myrtle Beach, we've made a commitment to excellence in the level of our fire protection. That means keeping pace with rapid growth in our community. Our last ISO PPC survey helped us see where we were and where we needed to go. In a time of tight budgets, we were still able to add fire stations and staffing, and the PPC program helped us justify those expenses. "Since then, we've already identified areas where more protection is needed. So our future plans call for adding three new stations to meet the demand. ISO helped us pinpoint how these investments should help reduce insurance costs. Because of the insurance savings, the improvements will pay for themselves. Everybody wins — the fire department, the businessowners, and the residents. "Myrtle Beach has already annexed several surrounding communities. We use our Public Protection Classification as a tool to sell the benefits of our service in the annexed area. We can point to our achievements as a department and the level of service we offer — as well as the potential savings on insurance premiums. "We've worked extremely hard to earn our PPC rating, and I believe it was worth the effort. We're working even harder to maintain it. Through it all, it's been a great experience to deal with the ISO field representatives. I recommend that other chiefs contact ISO if they want help in further improving their operations." Alvin Payne Fire Chief Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Fire departments are under constant pressure to expand or improve their service, and they face many obstacles in doing that job.

In the 20 years from 1983 to 2002, the total number of fire department calls approximately doubled while the number of mutual-aid calls rose by more than 150 percent. Fire departments are depending more and more on their neighboring communities for help in fighting significant fires. In the same period, calls for medical aid more than doubled, reflecting the growing trend to consolidate emergency response within the fire department.

And in 2002 alone, almost a million calls involved hazardous materials and other hazardous conditions.

Of course, call counts don't capture the full range of services fire departments provide for their communities. Perhaps most important, the counts don't include such fire-prevention activities as inspections, plan reviews, and public fire education.

With all those demands, what are fire departments doing to maintain and improve their core firefighting services?

Among respondents to the ORC survey of fire chiefs, 29 percent said they believe their communities will open one or more fire stations over the next three years; 32 percent anticipate changing the response areas of one or more fire stations; and 43 percent foresee new automatic-aid agreements with neighboring communities.

Seventy-six percent of the chiefs expect to increase training requirements for their firefighters. And 65 percent expect further upgrades to communications systems. Seventy-one percent said their communities will install new hydrants in one or more areas, and 32 percent expect to add hauled-water operations.

New fire stations, improved water supplies, increased training, and all the other necessary improvements come at a high cost. In this era of tight municipal budgets, it's not surprising that most of the fire chiefs and other officials — 91 percent — said obtaining the necessary funding will be a significant obstacle to making improvements.

In fact, 11 percent of the respondents said that, over the next three years, they expect to consolidate fire districts to save money. And 7 percent expect their communities to close fire stations.

Funding is the most important obstacle to making improvements in the fire service, but it's not the only one. Seventy-nine percent of the respondents said that recruiting and retaining firefighters is another obstacle. The survey findings also indicate that the personnel issue hits hardest in small-town volunteer departments.

Three-quarters of the chiefs said that identifying the types of improvements they need to make is a significant obstacle, and 69 percent said that accessing adequate water supplies is an ongoing problem. An alarming 46 percent said that getting cooperation from the local water company is an obstacle to making improvements.

Next Section: ISO's PPC program helps communities keep up with the demand.