Fire Protection and the Environment

Monica King

A diverse environment provides special challenges for first responders. Typical residential developments cropping up along the Narcoossee Road and Moss Park area consist of waterways, green spaces, play areas, and often, swimming pools. Neighbors are not always of the two legged variety. Preservation efforts have maintained the habitats of long time residents such as turtles, alligators, boar, deer, raccoons, a variety of birds, and opossums.

The methodology behind the area’s development has fostered an environment that lowers the potential for large fires. Although there is an abundance of light fire fuels such as grass, leaves, and shrubs; heavy fuels such as limbs, logs, and stumps have been minimized. Fuels, weather, topography, and human behavior are the primary elements influencing the likelihood of fire. Weather cannot be controlled and topography may change just slightly. To to reduce the threat of fire, the greatest opportunity lies in the management of the environment and changing human behavior.

The Southeast area of Orlando will soon see the addition of two new fires stations; one at the entrance to the East Park Community, less than a half mile south of Moss Park Road, and the other off of Lake Nona Boulevard. No, the increase in staff will still not afford a method of filling your new pool with water but the new stations will act as a foundation for achieving an ISO rating of “1,” affording residents and business owners alike the opportunity to experience a huge impact in regard to faster response times. In addition, Southeast Orlando’s two new state of the art facilities reflect the community’s commitment in a monumental investment in fires mitigation also translating into insurance companies offering lower rates for both residential and commercial customers.

In a nutshell, an ISO rating affects insurance rates. The Fire Suppression Rating schedule is the manual ISO relies on for the review of firefighting capabilities. Measuring major elements within the community’s fire suppression system, a numerical rating referred to as a Public Protection Classification Program is assigned. ISO evaluates municipal fire protection efforts in communities throughout the United States employing methodologies which are proven, reliable predictor of fire losses.

The three major components under evaluation are fire alarms, engine companies, and water supply. Ten percent of the rating scale is based on how well alarms are received and the dispatching process. Grading of engine companies and the amount of water a community requires to fight a fire comprises another fifty percent of the rating scale.

The final forty percent reflects an assessment of the community’s water supply. Does the community have a “sufficient water supply for fire suppression beyond the daily maximum consumption?” The components of the survey include evaluation the water supply system, pumps, filtration, storage, and flow rate.

Requiring the submission of information pertaining to alarms and equipment, the greatest challenge that could face fire departments in the South Florida Water Management District may be the ISO application questions regarding the rate of water flow through hydrants. SFWMD, as one of the state’s oldest management districts oversees resources from Orlando to the Keys and is currently experiencing significant drought conditions. Says Kevin McCarty, SFWMD Chair, in a recent interview, “South Florida is a different place than it was just 30 years ago, and our water resources are not unlimited.”

With the formalization of the Regional Water Availability Rule, requiring future developments to be coordinated with water supply, shortfalls in meeting water needs should be minimal. Alternative water supplies are constantly being pursued. Water recycling to using reclaimed water to recharge aquifers, as well as increased desalinization initiatives are a few examples of potential methods to preserve our water resources and our personal safety.