MARKLEVILLE — Adams-Markleville Fire Protection Territory recently earned an improved score on its latest Public Protection Classification.

The result not only means the area is receiving significantly better fire protection but also could mean reduced insurance rates for property owners, town leaders said.

A review of the department by the Insurance Services Office (ISO) — a statistics and underwriting service used by many insurance companies to determine insurance rates — revealed the department’s public protection score had moved the agency from Class 9 to Class 6.

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The scale for the system ranges from Class 1 to Class 10, with one being the highest and 10 being the lowest.

The classification shift takes township residents out of the high-risk insurance category, which ranges from Class 7 to Class 9.

“It’s kind of unheard of to go all the way to a (PPC Class 6) in a rural department,” said Dan Fesler, president of the fire territory board. “It’s a huge deal.”

Department Chief Jim Chaplin said, “(The ISO) audits you on if you’re servicing your equipment, your training, your manpower, hoses, ladders, all kinds of testing and a lot of documentation. You have to keep track to be able to prove the quality of the department.”

The biggest hurdle, according to Chaplin, is a common one with many rural stations. The township does not have fire hydrants. They had to prove they could consistently shuttle 250 gallons of water per minute for two hours.

A key to passing that portion of the test was new equipment and a 50-year drought study that helped designate 25 ponds in Adams Township as water sources.

The improvement was a long time in the making. It involved conducting training, buying new equipment, working with other fire departments, including ones in Pendleton and Chesterfield, and an improved new dispatch center.

“It’s been a consistent improvement over the last five to 10 years,” Chaplin said. “We’ve continued to work on it. In the last five years, hoses and equipment have been updated and the last three years we’ve made a specific effort to improve the training aspect of it and keep it all in our records.”

The water shuttle, by ISO criteria, puts the township in the same class as if everyone within a five-mile radius of the department has the equivalent of a fire hydrant in their front yard.

“They really had to prove a lot to show they had things in order for the ISO standards,” Markleville town council president Daniel Roseberry said. “This is really a big deal. This will effect everybody in Markleville.”

Sean Kirby, client manager for the Insurance Center of Pendleton, said the change in PPC score is great for the people in Adams Township.

“My father lives in Markleville,” Kirby said. “It’s a huge difference for him pricing wise (for insurance), and from a safety perspective, it gives you piece of mind.

“One of the reasons people do not live in rural communities is the threat of losing everything if there is a fire. Hats off to Adams Township to be able to do it.”

From an insurance standpoint, Kirby said people will save by going from a rural policy to qualifying for a homeowners policy.

By department request, the ISO came out to Markleville for a review last July. Results were received last month.

Chaplin said the ISO is not required to go public with the new score until Sept. 1, but township residents, through their insurance agent, can request it before that.

“It will really help our taxpayers and our businesses,” Chaplin added. “It gives them other options. Now they’re not tied to a writer or high-risk policy.

“We’re pretty fortunate in Adams Township that our taxpayers and board provided us with a great station, great equipment. This was something we were able to do to give back to our community and our taxpayers.”

People in the township can pick up letters about the department’s PPC change at the fire station.

Chaplin said he has been told some residents have already contacted their insurance agents and are getting substantial savings in their rates.

“You can’t do it without the volunteers, equipment, the support from the elected officials and the leadership of the fire department,” said Todd Harmeson, public information officer for Adams-Markleville Fire Protection Territory.

“Chiefs never like to pat themselves on the back, but at the end of the day, it comes down to the leadership of our lieutenants, captains, chief and deputy chiefs to have the direction they want to go with the department to improve it for our township.”