SAVE ON YOUR HOMEOWNER’S FIRE INSURANCE PREMIUMS
Public Protection Classification (PPC) 03/0Y:
Your Homeowners fire insurance is based upon several factors, one being the Insurance Services Office’s Public Protection Classification. It is extremely important that you confirm that your residence is properly identified as Fire District: Mendham Township. Often, with the many mailing addresses of our Township your residence can be mistakenly identified as Mendham, Chester, Far Hills, etc. Your PPC for Mendham Township is the best rating in the area and this should reduce your annual fire insurance premium.
Fire Hydrants and Water Supply:
If your home is within 1000 feet of an approved fire protection water supply i.e. public fire hydrant or fire cistern, you should be receiving the lowest insurance premium possible for a single-family home of PPC 03/0Y.
If your home is greater than 1000 feet from an approved fire protection water supply, your rating will be PPC 03/0Y and this provides you with recognition of the fire protection provided by Ralston Engine Company and our 4000-gallon Tender 12. Also be aware that our Ralston Engine 11 carries 3,000 feet of 5” Large Diameter Hose (LDH) and 1000 gallons of water on board. The Township Fire Department has the ability to lay over one mile of 5” LDH hose to reach distant water supplies. On the fire apparatus we are carrying more than 7,000 gallons of water.
In Mendham Township approximately 68% of the residences have an approved fire protection water supply within 1000 feet and therefore have the superior rating PPC 03/0Y. The remaining 32% of residences hold a rural rating of PPC 03/0Y for the areas of the community without a public fire hydrant or fire cistern. In 2014 this rating was re-classified from a split rating of PPC 3/9 to 03/0Y reflecting changes in the rating schedule designations for rural fire protection capabilities (the latter portion of the rating classification). This 0Y rating lowers homeowner’s insurance rates with many insurance carriers.
If you are unsure about how your insurance company is classifying your home’s fire protection coverage, contact us to review it at [email protected]. Our fire protection services are also recognized by several large NJ fire insurance companies with a special rating as you are covered by the Ralston Engine Company and Mendham Township Fire Department.
ISO Survey:
Every 5 years the NJ Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) conducts a survey of fire services of the community. The Township of Mendham has been awarded by the Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) a split rating of Class 03/0Y Public Protection Classification. The Mendham Township Fire Department has been rated in the top 8% of all fire departments in the nation. The Mendham Township Fire Department has held this 03 rating classification for the past 25 years.
The rating, established by Insurance Services Office (ISO), evaluates our municipal fire suppression capabilities. The Township rating schedule consists of 3 main areas: receiving and handling of fire alarms (provided for by the Morris County Communications Center), the personnel, apparatus and operations of the Fire Department, and water distribution and supply (fire hydrants and fire cisterns). The ranking of these items leads to an overall public protection classification (PPC), which is an element used to determine fire insurance rates by member insurance companies.
Personnel:
The Mendham Township Fire Department consists of 2 fire companies (Ralston Engine Company #1 and Brookside Engine Company #1) operating out of 2 firehouses and over 40 volunteer firefighters. There are no firefighters normally manning the firehouses. Consider volunteering and serve your community, you can find more information on our VOLUNTEER page.
Each fire company has a Fire Chief and various Fire Officers as well as Apparatus Captains. The organization is totally volunteer and is notified of an emergency via firehouse sirens, pagers, and text messages. Fire Officers respond to the emergency locations while other members respond to the fire stations to respond with the fire apparatus. Volunteers are responding from home, work, and other locations, please yield to the courtesy blue lights as they respond to an emergency.
Depending upon the incident one or both fire companies may respond to an emergency incident. If an incident warrants Mendham Borough and additional communities are immediately dispatched to assist. Mutual aid can be requested from adjoining communities based upon the location and type of incident. There is a Box Alarm assignment for assistance that is dispatched by the Morris County Communications Center.
Fire District Coverage:
The Mendham Township Fire Department covers all 17.6 square miles within the Township that encircles the Borough on the east, north and west sides.
The Ralston Engine Company # 1 primary response fire district is the western portion of the Township from Calais Road west to Chester Township, north to Randolph Township and to the south adjoining the Somerset County communities of Peapack-Gladstone Borough and Bernardsville Borough. The primary service area serves approximately 566 residences including the Oak Knoll and Brookrace neighborhoods. In many incidents the Mendham Township Fire Department is dispatched with both the Ralston Engine Company # 1 and Brookside Engine Company #1 responding to provide the necessary fire apparatus and firefighters.
Ralston Engine Company #1 is an active and charter member of the Northern Mutual Aid Association consisting of 16 fire companies in southwest Morris County and northwest Somerset County. The fire officers also participate in the Morris County Active Fire Chiefs Association, Morris County Fire Chief’s Association, and the New Jersey State Fire Chief’s Association.
The Mendham Township FD operates under the NJ Fire Service Resource Emergency Deployment Rules and Ralston has/will respond to our neighboring communities as well as long distance responses for providing water on wheels (Ralston Tender 12) to urban cities such as Jersey City and Elizabeth when their city water systems have been compromised. Local mutual aid has recently been provided to Mendham Borough, Town of Dover, Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, Bernardsville Borough, Peapack-Gladstone Borough, Bedminster Township, Chester Borough and Township, Washington Township, Tewksbury Township, Morris Township, Harding Township, Mount Olive Township, and Mine Hill Township.
Mutual Aid is also provided to the Ralston area and recent responses from our neighbors to assist us has come from Mendham Borough FD, Chester VFC, Peapack-Gladstone FD, Far Hills-Bedminster FD, Bernardsville FC, Warren Township FD, Randolph Township – Ironia FC, Washington Township – Fairmount FC, Bedminster Township – Pottersville FC, New Vernon FD, and Morristown FD.