Check out Fire Chief McLaughlin's interview about fire safety topics on "Hometown Conversations with Sharon & Jenny," a new program on Peters Township Community TV.

Learn more about the employees of Peters Township! We talked with Tim Liedl from the Peters Township Fire Department about his role in the Township. Check it out!

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The Peters Township Fire Department is comprised of both career and volunteer firefighters. Community members that choose to volunteer often begin their public safety career with little or no training. Our organization works to support these individuals through in-house training and receiving external training that is recognized by the state. 

Being named as an "Interior Firefighter" is kind of a big deal here at PTFD! Understanding that our obligation to provide the absolute best in emergency service to our community is not taken lightly. Therefore, our department requires that firefighters obtain a professional board certification as Firefighter I and complete a number of in-house competencies before they are named an interior firefighter. Once these criteria have been met, Fire Chief Mike McLaughlin will highlight their accomplishments at a monthly department meeting, and present them with their black helmet. 

We are proud to recognize the following firefighters for being named interior firefighters:

Braden Dernoshek 

Braden joined the department in 2019, looking for an outlet to help others. 

He felt that volunteering with PTFD would be a great option! 

Adam Gray

Adam Gray was a graduate of PTFD's Citizen's Fire Academy in 2019. We were 

lucky to have peaked his interest to join our team long term and he joined shortly

after!

Everett Kleffman

Everett started his public safety career at PTFD in 2015 as a Junior Firefighter.

After graduating college, he joined the Air Force, where he worked as a firefighter.

Everett Recently returned home after his time with the airforce, and rejoined!

Mark Krzywicki

Mark came to use with previous experience from Upper St. Clair VFD. After moving

to Peters Township, Mark just couldn't stay away from the fire service!

Alek Kunz

Alek also began his service here as a Junior Firefighter back in 2015 and has 

remained with the organization since then!

Peters Township Fire Department Renews EMS Licensure

April 23, 2021

The Peters Township Fire Department is one of few fire departments in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that is certified under the Department of Health as an Advanced Life Support Quick Response Service (QRS). Every three years, the department undergoes a rigorous recertification through the PA Department of Health to maintain its licensure. A QRS certification allows the department to respond to emergency medical calls when an ambulance has a delayed response or there is a high priority call such as an unconscious patient. 

PTFD has three fire apparatus certified as Advanced Life Support QRS vehicles, meaning they carry almost all of the equipment that an ambulance has, with the exception of being able to transport a patient. This equipment allows our personnel who are cross trained in both fire and EMS as EMTs and Paramedics to administer life-saving medications and interventions prior to the arrival of an ambulance. These capabilities coupled with our strong relationship with Peters Township Police and EMS cultivates a team approach when caring for critically ill and injured patients and contributes to positive patient outcomes.

The Peters Township Fire Department is staffed 24/7/365 by career and volunteer firefighters operating out of two fire stations in Peters Township. For more information about PTFD, visit our ABOUT section.

What is ISO?

The Insurance Services Office, or "ISO" provides ratings used by insurance carriers in order to evaluate the risk associated with property and casualty insurance. Through their Public Protection Classification (PPC) Program, each community in the United States is issued an ISO rating ranging from 10 to 1, with ISO class 1 being the best. 

According to ISO, A community's investment in fire mitigation is a proven and reliable predictor of future fire losses. So insurance companies use PPC information to help establish fair premiums for fire insurance — generally offering lower premiums in communities with better protection”. Many communities also use this rating as a benchmark to measure the effectiveness and investments made in their fire-protection services. 

Many communities also use this rating as a benchmark to measure the effectiveness and investments made in their fire-protection services.

What is Measured and How?

 The maximum obtainable value for ISO is 105.5 points, based on the following categories: 

            Fire Department (50 points)

A number of factors play into this general fire department score including location and coverage of fire stations, testing of fire apparatus including pumps and ladders, and inventory of equipment per the National Fire Protection Association. Additionally, fire department records are reviewed to determine type and extent of training provided to fire personnel, firefighter response to emergencies, and maintenance of apparatus and equipment.

Emergency Communications (10 points)

This category evaluates how well fire departments receive and dispatch emergencies. Areas of focus include the emergency reporting system, communications (911) center, and computer-aided dispatch (CAD) abilities.

Water Supply (40 points)

Water supply focuses on the ability of the community’s water supply to provide sufficient fire suppression beyond routine daily consumption. This category includes evaluation of fire hydrant inspections, frequency of flow testing, and locations of fire hydrants. 

Community Risk Reduction (5.5 points)

This area is currently considered an “extra point” category, and evaluates programs that include fire prevention, fire safety education, and fire investigation.

What this Rating Means for Peters Township

 Our decrease in ISO is an accomplishment to be celebrated by our community from both a financial and life safety perspective. This achievement reflects a number of evidence-based improvements made over the past four years by the Peters Township Fire Department in conjunction with township officials. These improvements have a direct impact on the public safety of all who live, work, and visit Peters Township. Additionally, this improvement has the potential to decrease insurance premiums of residents and businesses.

Moving Forward

 While we are excited about this improvement for our community, we also recognize areas in which there is room for improvement. In the coming years, our organization will place an emphasis in the following three areas:

Deployment Analysis 

Over the past 18-months, department and township officials have realized the need for a third fire station in the Venetia District in order to better disperse department resources and reduce response times to a heavily populated area. Once this station is constructed and staffed, it will have a significant effect on response times and resource allocations evaluated in the ISO process.

Training

While our organization's training has shown steady improvements in all areas in recent years, we aim to continue this trend, diversify certifications and class-types, and improve the way in which training is documented. 

Water Supply

The department plans to continue updating hydrant allocation in established neighborhoods to meet current standards. Additionally, we plan to strengthen our relationship with PA American Water in order to ensure hydrant maintenance and flow testing are completed annually.

The Peters Township Fire Department has been selected by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to participate in the second phase of a pilot program to build a digital community risk assessment (CRA) tool. Aligned to NFPA 1300, Standard on Community Risk Assessment and Community Risk Reduction Plan Development, the tool, or “dashboard,” enables community leaders to gain valuable insights and make data-informed decisions around fire prevention and other risk-reduction activities in their communities.  

 According to NFPA, the concept of community risk reduction (CRR) - a process that identifies and prioritizes risks and ensures impactful mitigation initiatives- has been gaining traction across North America for more than 20 years. Innovative technology, access to data, and a shifting focus on prevention have resulted in new energy around this process. Reflecting that momentum, NFPA’s CRA tool works to help fire departments aggregate and disseminate data that pinpoint where risks exist within a given community.

 “Access to accurate data will allow CRR leaders to use insights and make informed decisions about where to focus efforts and resources,” said Karen Berard-Reed, community risk reduction strategist at NFPA. “While many fire departments have struggled to work with data sets, NFPA’s CRA tool will do the complex work behind the scenes to compile relevant data allowing stakeholders to create effective community risk reduction plans that incorporate five priorities - education, engineering, enforcement, economic incentives, and emergency response - in the most impactful ways possible.”

 The first phase of the pilot project, which included participation from 50 fire departments across the country, helped identify features of the digital dashboard that will work effectively and those that need fine-tuning. During the second phase of the program, which involves participation from 250 departments nationwide, the (NAME OF FIRE DEPARTMENT) will provide insights around the use of dashboard through June of 2021 to help continue refining and enhancing its effectiveness.

 “Participation in this project allows each fire department to provide important feedback that will be used to improve future versions of the dashboard, positions the community among CRR leaders in the United States, and signals an interest in leveraging technology to drive high-quality community safety initiatives,” said Berard-Reed.

 As a participant in the pilot program, the Peters Township Fire Department will have free access to the dashboard, which includes customized visualizations (maps, charts, graphs) that illustrate each community’s risks and hazards across a variety of categories such as demographics, geography, building stock, economics, infrastructure, and event loss history. The dashboard also provides a snapshot of local capacity for risk reduction activities with information about public safety response agencies and community service organizations. In addition to dashboard access, participants will be provided rich networking and professional development opportunities with other communities engaged in CRR.

 “We are thrilled to be participating in this important project,” said Peters Township Fire Chief Mike McLaughlin, Jr.. “Not only will access to the tool give us invaluable information about our community’s needs, but it’s rewarding to know that using the tool will increase its effectiveness and help other fire departments in the long run.”