MAD RIVER TOWNSHIP – Mad River Township homeowners and businesses may be seeing a reduction in their insurance premiums because of an improved rating the Enon and Mad River Township Fire Department recently received from the Insurance Services Office (ISO).

During the latest Monday, Aug. 3 Mad River Township meeting, Fire and EMS Chief Tracy Young told the township board of trustees that the fire department had received notice that its Public Protection Classification (PPC) from ISO had been updated, and the department’s rating had improved by one point. He noted that the PPC plays an important role in the underwriting process with insurance companies.

“The department’s rating went from a six and six X rating to a five and five X rating,” Young said. “This new rating will go into effect on Nov. 1 and should save homeowners and businesses some money on their annual insurance premiums next year.”

According to Young, the ISO, a third- party independent agency, collects information on municipal fire-protection efforts in communities across the United States based on three areas: receiving and handling alarms, fire department personnel and equipment and the water supply system. ISO then analyzes the data and assigns a PPC from one to 10, with Class one representing exemplary public protection and Class 10 indicating that the municipality’s fire-suppression program does not meet ISO’s minimum standards.

“The township’s investment in fire mitigation is a reliable predictor of future fire losses,” Young said. “That is why many insurance companies use this information when establishing premiums for fire insurance.”

The fire chief further explained that all the areas served by the township fire department are not serviced by fire hydrants. Therefore, the department received a split classification, with Class five representing the areas of the township that are serviced with fire hydrants and Class five X signifying rural areas which do not have fire hydrants.

Also noting that a maximum of 50 points of the overall score is based on the performance of the fire department, Young stated that the fire department continues to focus on ongoing improvements.

“We are maintaining and testing all of the department’s vehicles and equipment on a regular basis, and we are also working on firefighters’ response times to emergencies and the amount of training the firefighters are receiving,” Young said.

The fire chief said he could not predict the percentage of savings homeowners and businesses would receive because the insurance companies take many factors into considering when calculating insurance premiums. Also, homeowners who have a fire hydrant located within 1,000 feet of their home could possibly see a bigger savings than those homeowners who do not. He recommended that local businesses and homeowners contact their insurance providers regarding the possible savings.

In other business, Chief Young reported to township trustees that the fire and EMS department had received a $1,000 donation from the Enon Community Historical Society to help purchase a Lucas Chest Compression System. He noted that the department had already purchased and received the $12,000 system after receiving several donations from the community.

According to Young, the life-saving medical device standardizes chest compressions in cardiac arrest patients and keeps oxygenated blood pumping through the heart and brain for hours.

“It delivers the correct amount of chest compressions per minute nonstop. This allows our medic teams to focus on other life-saving tasks” said Young.

He expressed his gratitude to the local historical society for the $1,000 donation and Seepex Inc. for a $3,000 donation in June. He also thanked township resident Robert Swinehart for his $5,000 donation and Township Trustee President Joe Catanzaro and former township resident Calvin Hahn for pledging $1,000 each towards the purchase of the device.

The next regular session of the Mad River Township trustees is scheduled 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17 at the Enon and Mad River Township Fire and EMS station, located at 260 E. Main St.