Firewise best practices

Firewise, a project of the National Fire Protection Association, educates residents of high fire risk areas about wildfire, and encourages best practices to protect homes. Its guidelines are based on research dating back to the 1960s that revealed two major risk factors for homes during wildfires: flammable roofs vulnerable to flying embers and vegetation close to a house that generated enough heat or flames to ignite siding or other parts of the home.Three concepts underscore Firewise guidelines, which are intended to make a home more resistant to wildfire and ensure firefighter access and safety during a wildfire:

• Keep large flames at bay by clearing a modest amount of vegetation.
• Ensure small flames in grass or shrubs cannot touch the home.
• Use nonflammable roofs to minimize the damage that embers can cause.

ìA Guide to Firewise Principlesî (available at http://firewise.org recommends the following:

• Zone 1 (30 feet on all sides of the structure, including decks and fences): Keep vegetation well-irrigated and maintained (mowed, trimmed, pruned, etc.); provide space for fire apparatus; limit plantings to carefully spaced low-flammability species; and consider using non-flammable mulch in fire prone areas.
• Zone 2 (30 ñ 100 feet from the home): Use low-flammability plant materials and low-growing plants; extend irrigation into the zone; limb up shrubs and trees; space trees to prevent the crowns of trees from touching.
• Zone 3: (100 ñ 200 feet from the home): Use low-growing plants; ensure trees are well-spaced; keep the volume of vegetation (fuel) low.
• Zone 4: This furthest zone from the structure is a natural area. Selectively prune and thin all plants and remove highly flammable vegetation.

Additional recommendations:

• Do not use flammable plants and mulch within 5 feet of the homeís perimeter. (A list of fire-resistant plants is available at the Firewise website.)
• Use non-flammable or low-flammability construction materials ñ- especially for roofs, siding and windows ñ- for new homes and retrofits.
• Prune low-hanging limbs to reduce ladder fuels.
• Clean roofs and gutters of pine needles and dead leaves.
• Screen or box in areas below patios and decks with wire screening no larger than 1/8-inch mesh.
• Sweep decks and porches clear of fallen leaves.
• Move woodpiles away from the home during non-winter months.