Mariposa Public Utilities District (MPUD) firetruck parked near the Mariposa Museum & History Center during a community bonfire on December 6, 2008.
May 2015 - ISO’s Public Protection Classification (PPC) Program is normally part of the underwriting process at insurance companies. The PPC information is used as part of their decision making when deciding to insure a premises, coverage to offer and prices to charge for personal and commercial property insurance. PPC also provides fire departments with valuable benchmarks when planning budgeting and justification of fire protection improvements.
ISO collects and evaluates information from communities on structure fire suppression capabilities. The PPC is rated primarily through the evaluation of needed fire flows, receiving and handling fire alarms, fire department equipment, staffing and water supply. ISO analyzes the relevant data and assigns a PPC number from 1 to 10. Class 1 represents an exemplary fire suppression program and class 10 indicates the fire suppression program does not meet ISO’s minimum criteria.
MPUD has participated in the ISO PPC program for more than forty years. The Districts fire protection system was classified as a PPC number 7 in 1975. In 1990, the MPUD fire protection system was changed from a class number 7 to number 5. The result of 1990’s improved protection class was lower insurance premiums on average to property owners within the District.
MPUD has been notified that effective June 1, 2015 the Districts fire protection classification will change from class 5 to class 3!
Property owners, business owners and any one that maintains insurance coverage for property within the Mariposa Public Utility District should contact their respective insurance carrier to make sure they are aware of the Fire Protection class rating of MPUD. There may be some savings in insurance premiums and or availability of other insurance programs. The PPC rating for MPUD may also provide for more companies willing to participate in the underwriting of insurance within MPUD.
Some of the major contributory factors in this favorable fire classification include:
The dedicated individuals that volunteer their time to training and emergency response. These individuals under general direction of Chief Jim Dulcich have provided the excellent staffing necessary for the District to provide emergency response to properties within the district as well as aid agreements outside of MPUD.
The water system with major upgrades in 2004 to the distribution system and new water treatment facility completed in 2013.
The dispatch system provided by Cal Fire was reviewed by ISO and received a very high credit as part of the PPC analysis.
Automatic and mutual aid agreements between MPUD, Cal Fire, OES and Mariposa County provided critical additional resources to the fire protection system in MPUD.
The current MPUD fire protection service is funded by monthly service charges to improved properties within the District. The last time the monthly charges were adjusted was November 1992, (23 years ago). These charges result in an annual income of approximately $100,000. The annual income is stretched thin to pay debt service on the fire station, maintain fire engines, replace equipment, support the paid call program and cover administrative expenses. The District Board will soon be evaluating the personnel and financial needs of running the fire department in the future.
The MPUD Fire Department is still desperately in need of additional volunteer/paid call staffing to continue the professional and safe operation of the MPUD Fire Protection System. Contact MPUD for an application at 4992 7th Street if you can help in keeping this important public service operational.
