Definition
Missing road miles or drive time returns no score so the system avoids a fabricated default.
Place in the method
Distance gates run first: above 7 road miles gives base 10, and above 5 road miles gives base 9. At 5 miles or less, estimated time gives base 1 at 3 minutes or less, 2 at 4, 3 at 5, 4 at 6, 5 at 7, 6 at 8, 7 at 10, and 8 above 10 minutes. A volunteer signal in the public station name adds one, capped at 10. Strong covers 1 through 3, Adequate covers 4 through 6, Limited covers 7 through 8, and Remote covers 9 through 10. Lower is stronger. This term should be used only for its stated part of that sequence.
Illustrative reading
At 2.1 road miles and 4 minutes with no volunteer signal, time gives base 2 and final 2 Strong. At 5.2 miles with no volunteer signal, the distance gate gives base and final 9 Remote. The examples teach polarity and do not report property results.
Limits
Protection excludes hydrants, water supply and flow, building construction, sprinklers, alarms, apparatus, detailed staffing, mutual aid, live dispatch, current traffic, and incident conditions. It cannot predict response or loss. A station name signal is a heuristic and does not certify staffing. An area inventory provides station context and cannot supply a city, county, or ZIP Protection number.
Related
See the methodology, how to read Protection, and examples. Check a US street address for property routing.