Fire insurance grades have been determined for the vast majority of built-up communities in Canada. When no fire insurance grade exists, but a fire protection service has been developed, the Chief Administrative Officers (CAO) or Fire Chief should contact the offices of Fire Underwriters Survey to be evaluated for possible recognition for fire insurance grading.
Fire protection services that are recognized for fire insurance grading purposes typically result in increased competitiveness in the insurance market and improved fire insurance rates/premiums for property owners.
Chief Administrative Officers and/or Fire Chiefs should contact Fire Underwriters Survey in writing to determine when the last Survey was conducted and what the results were. You may wish to request a re-survey or re-grade to ensure that the fire insurance grades assigned to your community fully credit all apparatus and fire protection systems that are in place.
One of the fire insurance classifications we establish and convey to FUS member companies is the Dwelling Protection Grade. The D.P.G. is a numerical system scaled from 1 to 5. One (1) is the highest grading possible and 5 indicates little or no recognized public fire protection. This grading reflects the ability of a community to handle fires in small buildings (e.g. single family dwellings).
Survey costs
The costs associated with collecting data, calculating and publishing the fire insurance grading index are largely funded by the subscribing property and casualty insurers. However the funding provided by the subscribing insurers includes only the fire insurance grading and does not include deliverables such as reports, analyses, optimization options, etc. Funding provided by subscribing insurers is limited and communities are prioritized based on the length of time since they were last evaluated and the extent to which changes have occurred. Communities that wish to receive additional information and consulting deliverables may request these items separately through Fire Underwriters Survey managing corporation, Risk Management Services.
Scheduling the survey
FUS relies on several sources of information to prioritize communities for re-evaluation and re-calculation of the fire insurance grades:
FUS Community Outreach Program
Every two years, Fire Underwriters Survey requests that all communities complete a Community Outreach Questionnaire and provide and updated map of the fire protection service area. The questionnaire is used to determine if there have been significant changes in fire-risk and/or fire-protection capabilities since the last comprehensive survey. On the map, changes in fire-district boundaries, locations of fire stations, and other relevant items should be clearly indicated. FUS carefully reviews the information your community provides to determine whether a comprehensive survey would result in a change to your PFPC or the geographic area covered by your PFPC. If so, the appropriate officials will be contacted to schedule a comprehensive survey.
Community Officials Contacting FUS
If a community makes changes that might affect the fire insurance grades, a Community Outreach Questionnaire can be downloaded and submitted without waiting for a request from FUS. Alternately, community officials may contact the appropriate regional FUS offices to request additional information.
Miscellaneous info sources
Fire Underwriters Survey monitors various news sources for announcements about issues related to fire protection. FUS also receives fire risk and fire protection information from insurance companies, agents, and local citizens. When changes occur that might affect a community's PFPC or DPG, the appropriate officials in the community are contacted for confirmation of published statements. If appropriate, a comprehensive survey is scheduled.
If no information about changes to a community's fire risk and fire protection capabilities is available, Fire Underwriters Survey will periodically perform a survey to confirm or update fire insurance grades and the geographic area to which they apply.
When FUS initiates a survey, the appropriate officials are contacted and an acceptable time frame is set up to conduct the survey field work. FUS representatives greatly appreciate the cooperation of public officials and recognize the time constraints of public officials. Fire Underwriters Survey representatives make every effort to conduct surveys as efficiently as possible.
Preparing for the survey
Prior to conducting a complete survey, a pre-survey packet containing several forms and other information will be sent to the community. Completing the forms and submitting to Fire Underwriters Survey prior to the field survey improves the efficacy of the process and reduces the amount of time required to complete the survey.
Community risk assessment
A community wide risk assessment is an important part of a comprehensive Fire Underwriters Survey. The purpose of the Community Risk Assessment is to determine a benchmark against which fire protection facilities should be measured. The cornerstone of the risk assessment is the Required Fire Flows. FUS has prepared a guide to estimating Required Fire Flows. The publication is only a guide and requires knowledge and experience in fire-protection engineering for its effective application. The Fire underwriters Survey Water Supply for Public Fire Protection is available for download.
Required Fire Flows are used to determine a benchmark level of resources that should be available to provide a benchmark level of property protection against fire if delivered at an appropriate intervention time (or earlier).
Fire department assessment (40%)
During the fire department survey, a FUS representative will interview the fire chief and/or other responsible official(s). The representative will also visit each fire station and other facilities, such as training grounds, to conduct a comprehensive review of all items relating to the capacity to suppress fires in structures including:
Pumper Companies
Ladder Truck Service
Distribution of Companies and Type of Apparatus
Pumping Capacity
Design, Maintenance and Condition of Apparatus
Number of Line Officers – Fire Suppression
Total Fire Force Available
Pumper and Ladder Company Unit Manning
Master and Special Stream Devices
Equipment for Pumpers and Ladder Trucks
Hose Inventory
Condition of Hose
Training and Qualifications
Response to Alarms
Fire Ground Operations
Special Protection Required and Available
Pre-Fire Planning
Administration
Miscellaneous Factors and Conditions
Items reviewed will be considered with respect to appropriate current standards, reliability, redundancy and effectiveness in terms of the overall capacity to deliver fire suppression services.
Fire safety control assessment (20%)
The Fire Safety Control Assessment is used to determine the extent to which fire risk is reduced through codes, standards and fire prevention programs including public education.
The Fire Underwriters Survey representative will evaluate the following in relation to structural fire risk:
Bylaws, Codes and Standards
Implementation and Enforcement
Fire Prevention Inspection Programs
Public Education Programs
Water supply assessment (30%)
During the water supply survey, FUS representative will interview the official(s) responsible for the water department, water utility, or private water companies that supply the community. The representative will also:
review various documents and records
visit pumping facilities
witness or conduct hydrant flow tests
examine representative hydrants
The FUS representative will review details and records of all water supply facilities and operations. The representative will examine a current water utility map to identify the locations of:
new supply or storage facilities
mains
pressure zones
closed or check valves
hydrants
new streets
Due consideration will be given to redundant capacity to deliver required fire flows throughout the serviced areas and overall reliability of the water supply system. Single, dual and triple point failure scenarios will be considered with respect to pumping, storage and distribution arrangements.
Pump facilities
The FUS representative will visit pump facilities to examine the water pumping equipment and the power supplies.
Hydrant flow tests
To determine the adequacy of the water supply, FUS normally witnesses hydrant flow tests at selected locations. FUS will select the locations considering:
geographic layout of the community
topographical differences (elevation changes)
the range of required fire flows for the buildings in the community
Hydrants
The FUS representative will evaluate the condition of each hydrant used during the flow testing.
Emergency communications assessment
During the Emergency Communications Assessment, a FUS representative will interview the official(s) responsible for receiving and handling fire alarms and will visit the communications center and other relevant facilities, such as 9-1-1 centers.
The FUS Certified Fire Protection Specialist will request info on:
alarm dispatch circuits
radio and telephone facilities
overall system operation
The FUS Certified Fire Protection Specialist will review:
operating procedures
equipment for power supply
alarm facilities
The representative will examine records of testing for emergency power facilities and call detail reports. The representative will verify alarm answering and dispatch times.
Other facilities
The FUS representative will examine call detail recording reports for the previous 12 months to verify the time between the initial phone ring and the operator answering the emergency call. The representative will also review computer-aided dispatch (CAD) reports to verify dispatch times.
After the survey
After FUS has completed the survey, FUS will then review and analyze the information and calculate the PFPC and DPG.
Fire Underwriters Survey will notify community officials of the resultant PFPC and DPG.
With the letter, FUS will include:
a summary of the grading results
Optionally, FUS can also provide:
a summary of hydrant flow tests
a detailed breakdown of the features reviewed
suggestions for improvements
other consulting services related to fire protection delivery and urban planning.
Optional available services are available at a cost to the community.
