NFPA Journal - March/April 2018 - 72

Wildfire by Lucian Deaton

THE VIEW
FROM NFPA'S
WILDFIRE DIVISION

Impact Players
VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS HAVE THE POWER TO REDUCE COMMUNITY WILDFIRE
RISKS AND HELP ADVOCATES ACHIEVE REGULATORY GOALS

s wildfire educators here

the chance of structural ignition. The
at NFPA, we often advocate
Times article raised this point, noting
vociferously our belief in
that, as a result of fire science, people
the effectiveness of comhave changed their landscaping practices
munity-based wildfire
when they learned of the combustibility
risk reduction programs to minimize the
of juniper plants, and communities have
destruction caused by wildfire. But are we
eliminated requirements for wood shake
kidding ourselves to think that these volroofs, which have been found to be comuntary efforts can really make an impact?
bustible in wildfire events.
Some people think so.
Second, if done correctly, voluntary
In December, a New York Times article
efforts like Firewise are sustainable and
looked at local wildfire mitigation efforts
ongoing, not a fad that disappears once
in Oregon and considered the value of
the next public safety issue grabs the pubcommunity wildfire engagement efforts
lic's attention. Local government buy-in
Volunteer-led risksuch as NFPA's Firewise USA™ Recognition
at the start is necessary so efforts are not
reduction activities
Program. If you aren't familiar, programs
just demonstration projects lacking larger
arm residents with
like Firewise help residents organize and
social change. Firewise requires an annual
information to
sustain volunteer wildfire mitigation
renewal to encourage a recommitment by
manage wildfire risk.
efforts in their communities based on
residents to the ongoing work and updates
the best ways to prevent home ignition
to local action plans so they don't reflect
in wildfires. Some interviewed for the
old assumptions and activities.
Times, however, believed that advocates
A third benefit to the program, one
of such programs are kidding themselves,
that advocates for more regulation should
arguing that the efforts are ineffective and give people the false pay attention to, is that when major wildfire disasters strike,
notion that they'll be safe if a wildfire rolls into town. For these a well-informed and engaged community that is already volcritics, the only valid solution is stricter regulations requiring untarily reducing risks will be more likely to accept sensible
fire-resistant building materials.
regulation for home design and construction-community memWhile I agree that adopting building regulations to reduce bers have a better understanding of why the event occurs and
wildfire risk is necessary and valuable, I disagree that volunteer how it impacts their properties. They also are more knowledgecommunity programs do nothing to help solve the problem. able about their roles in the solution and who else is engaged
That said, I think we can use such criticism as a reminder that in the effort, which helps with evacuation, planning, and other
we constantly need to work to ensure that residents who partic- crucial parts of managing a wildfire event.
ipate in programs like Firewise are not simply hopeful, but well
NFPA and its partners are not advancing a false sense of
informed and active. It's also a great opportunity to consider security. To the contrary, volunteer-led risk-reduction activities
ways, beyond the obvious fuel mitigation efforts, that programs arm residents with the information they need to be proactive
like Firewise dramatically reduce a community's risks to wild- in better managing the risks of wildfire in their communities.
fire and help advocates for more regulation achieve their goals. The solutions they learn are science-based as well as locally
For one, programs like Firewise introduce residents to owned and implemented. Without this understanding of the
important basic fire science, which is part of the information risk and engagement around solutions, residents won't see the
we offer. For instance, when residents learn what an ember is, need for more regulation in the first place.
dispelling the myth that wildfire destruction is caused by a wall
of flame, they better understand what they can do to reduce LUCIAN DEATON is a project manager in NFPA's Wildfire Division.

72 | NFPA JOURNAL * M A R C H /A P R I L 2 0 1 8

MICHAEL HOEWELER

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - March/April 2018