Community Risk Reduction for Wildfire: Voluntary Programs and Regulatory Approaches

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Description

[PART OF THE 2023 CAS WILDFIRE VIRTUAL SEMINAR]

If structures do not ignite during wildfire, they can’t burn. This simple statement of fact is the science at the core of the only nationally available standardized program for community-based wildfire mitigation, Firewise USA®. Developed by the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) in 2002 in partnership with federal and state government agencies, Firewise USA teaches community residents about how to change wildfire outcomes by modifying the vulnerable elements of their homes and immediate surroundings. Today, there are more than 2,300 communities participating in this program, which requires long-term, sustained action across neighborhoods. This seminar will introduce participants to the concept of the Structure Ignition Zone and will demonstrate the effectiveness of wildfire mitigation practices across adjacent parcels to prevent community-wide conflagrations during wildfire events. Explore how the success of the voluntary Firewise USA program can be bolstered through the use of sound building codes and standards addressing wildfire ignition potential.

Contributors

Michele Steinberg

Michele Steinberg (she/her) is the Wildfire Division Director at the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA®). NFPA’s wildfire-related projects cover a broad spectrum of safety education, advocacy, and training and certification. Since 2002, she has guided the development and growth of the Firewise USA® recognition program, the Wildfire Community Preparedness Day campaign, and Outthink Wildfire™, a policy initiative to end the destruction of communities by wildfire. She authors the wildfire column for NFPA Journal. Most recently, Michele was selected to serve on the presidential Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission tasked with forming federal policy recommendations and strategies on better ways to prevent, manage, suppress and recover from wildfires.

Michele served on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Wildland Fire (2017-2022) and co-founded the Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Recovery Membership Division of the American Planning Association. She holds a Master of Urban Affairs degree from Boston University and has served as an adjunct professor of emergency management at Trine University, Angola, Indiana, and as a guest lecturer at the University of North Carolina, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Purdue University, North Carolina State University, Cornell University, UCLA, Imperial College London, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Connect with her on Twitter @Michele_NFPA.

Thank you

Description

Contributors

Michele Steinberg