Public Protection Class Grading 9A vs. 10 | WSRB Blog

Prior to 2010, for a dwelling property to avoid receiving a protection class (PC) 10, it had to meet certain criteria:

1. It had to be within the boundaries of a fire district or city AND.
2. It had to be within five road miles of a recognized responding fire station.

Any dwelling property more than five road miles from a recognized responding station, but in the boundaries of a district, would receive a PC 10, meaning it was treated as though there were no fire protection at that address.

However, this system didn’t reasonably reflect the response capabilities of the fire district to which a homeowner was paying taxes. Homeowners often had difficulty getting insurance, and fire chiefs found the process frustrating.

Effective Jan. 1, 2010, after multiple meetings and discussions with the Washington Fire Chiefs, WSRB introduced a new PC: 9A, which addressed many of the issues residents were facing.

Any home receiving a PC 9A is:

1. More than five road miles from a recognized responding fire station AND
2. Within the boundaries of a fire district or city.

From 2010 onward, if your insurance company uses this filing, a home within the legal boundaries of a fire district can receive a PC 9A to recognize that the fire department will respond to a call and accurately reflect that the property is more than five road miles from that station. Please keep in mind that this filing is for Washington state only. (Reference Circular 2009-14)