Firewise Offers a Framework for Community-Level Wildfire Preparedness 

What Is Firewise Certification?

Firewise is a US-based voluntary recognition program that takes a holistic approach to reduce wildfire risk and make communities a safer place to live. Firewise advances community resiliency to wildfire risk by providing a framework for homeowners and communities to partner and collaborate in taking actions to increase the ignition resistance of their built environments. 

They offer numerous educational materials that guide best management practices in reducing building risk to wildfire. You can use their checklists and grading system yourself to assess your home or hire a knowledgeable natural resource professional to assist you.

In order to get the best guidance on Firewise, assessments are conducted between residents and their state forestry agency or local fire department. Many states offer cost-share programs for homeowners to financially mitigate fire risk after the assessment. Firewise communities can use these programs to fund mitigation measures that reduce community risk to wildfire.

What Are the Pros of Firewise Certification?

Wildfires are processes that keep many types of ecosystems across the world healthy. With planning and cooperation among community members, wildfires can occur without the disastrous loss of human life, property, and resources. Through Firewise guidance, homeowners can access valuable information and resources on how to reduce their home's risk of fire. Losing a house or a loved one to a wildfire can be catastrophic, and any measure to reduce risk is priceless. 

Some insurance providers in the US will offer discounts to Firewise designated sites, as some do for sustainable homes. Insurance companies are beginning to take a hard look at areas with heightened fire risk. Firewise designations can help protect you from increased costs or even removed coverage for high-risk homes.

What Are Firewise's Main Areas of Focus?

Firewise focuses on community planning and cooperation that utilizes fire-resistant building design, materials use, and landscaping. Examples include:

• thinning forests surrounding infrastructures
• clearing brush near buildings to create defensible spaces
• landscaping with fire-resistant vegetation
• choosing fire-resistant building materials
• keeping structures away from slopes, and 
• working on a community evacuation plan.

What Types of Homes Can Get Certified with Firewise? 

Firewise is geared towards homeowners and small communities comprised of between 8 and 2,500 single-family units. As an individual home, one can still use the guidelines and recommendations of Firewise communities to reduce fire danger to their structures without going through the certification process.

How Many Homes Have Been Certified with Firewise?

The Firewise USA Recognition Program has around 1,000 active member communities across 40 states. Over the past decade, it has had a participation retention rate of 80 percent. As wildfires increase in frequency and intensity, Firewise communities will likely become more common out of necessity. 

Is There a Program Similar to Firewise in Canada? 

FireSmart Canada offers a unique self-conducted home assessment app to help homeowners mitigate their fire risks. This program is an excellent option for Canadians or even Americans looking for straightforward guidance on reducing wildfire risk on their own. This program seems to be less of a community-level approach and is most pertinent to individual homeowners.

What Are the Steps to Firewise Certification?

The first step is to organize a group interested in collaborating on fire risk mitigation efforts. The group will then create a committee to represent your community group and identify a leader as the program's point of contact. The group will designate the boundaries of the Firewise site and conduct a community wildfire risk assessment in collaboration with state forestry agencies or the local fire department. Using the risk assessment, the committee will create a multi-year action plan that prioritizes actions to reduce fire risk to homes. When this criterion is met, the group can apply for Firewise designation through the Firewise Portal. Annual wildfire risk reduction activities and education are completed to stick to the action plan's goals. These steps are reported to maintain status as a Firewise site. The application team should update the site's risk assessment every five years.

How Much Does Firewise Certification Cost?

The cost to participate in Firewise certifications is associated with the chosen mitigation measures. There is an annual requirement to spend $24.14 annually to reduce wildfire hazards and risks on your property. This cost is for each participant in the site's certification; however, the investment is cumulative - not every participant needs to spend money individually each year. Don't forget; you can potentially receive state forestry agency-sponsored cost-share grants to do this work.

What is the Projected Value of Firewise Certification?

The value of increasing protection to you, your family, and your community from catastrophic wildfires is priceless. A few US-based insurance providers, like USAA, will offer discounts for residents in designated Firewise USA sites. This trend will likely continue to grow, but currently, most homeowners will not see values reflected in their insurance. Communities with Firewise USA status are more likely to retain insurance coverage and not have their policy canceled as insurance companies identify areas of high wildfire risk.