September 12, 2022 – Proven methods to reduce home destruction and community devastation from wildfire exist, yet current policies and programs are largely failing to put these important safety measures into practice. In a newly released report, “Policy Recommendations to Reduce Home and Community Loss from Wildfire: Report on Outthink Wildfire™ Summit,” the National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) summarizes the next steps that dozens of experts agree will help overcome the challenges the nation faces in ending wildfire disasters.

The report reflects outcomes from a recent policy summit hosted by NFPA in Sacramento, CA, which brought together more than 50 representatives (see full list below) who collaboratively worked to identify the most critically important areas needing national focus in light of ever-increasing wildfire losses. The summit was identified as a need within Outthink Wildfire™, a comprehensive NFPA strategy for supporting policy-based initiatives that, over time, significantly reduce wildfire risk to communities.

With millions of existing homes at high risk, and mounting property losses into the tens of thousands of homes destroyed annually, a comprehensive approach to decreasing property vulnerability is desperately needed. The key areas identified by summit participants included education; social and cultural challenges; funding gaps; skilled workforce needs; silos in planning, codes, and standards; and additional research and data to inform risk understanding and codes. The report provides a set of recommended goals and strategies for each of these areas. In addition, it outlines efforts NFPA will pursue in the short term, along with plans for working collaboratively with fellow stakeholders and audiences.

“While the measures needed to substantively lower the risk of structure ignition in wildfire-prone areas are well established, the challenge is to apply those proven methods in communities more widely and consistently,” said Michele Steinberg, wildfire division director at NFPA. “By bringing together leaders in the field at the Outthink Wildfire summit, we were able to create a roadmap for achieving our overarching goal of more systematically reaching and impacting regions at risk to wildfire.”

Summit outcomes included agreement on starting points to better align policies and programs, and to implement new initiatives to help increase the pace and scale of home retrofits and other mitigation measures, ultimately improving community-wide resiliency to wildfire.

As the report states, “With a growing body of research now demonstrating successful wildfire mitigation strategies for homes, it is imperative that this knowledge be put into practice. To generate a community-wide reduction in the vulnerability of the built environment to wildfires, mitigation must be applied at the individual structure and parcel level, and to adjacent properties as well.”

To review the full report, visit www.nfpa.org/outthinkwildfire

Following is the list of attendees who participated in the Outthink Wildfire summit on May 10-11 (in alphabetical order by last name):

• Derek Alkonis, Research Program Manager, UL Fire Safety Research Institute
• Aron Anderson, Wildfire Division, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• Daniel Berlant, Deputy Director, Community Wildfire Preparedness & Mitigation, CAL FIRE
• Frank Bigelow, Staff Chief, CAL FIRE
• Raymond Bizal, PE, Regional Manager, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• Mark Bove, SVP Natural Catastrophe Solutions, Munich Reinsurance America, Inc.
• Richard Brown, California Director, National Volunteer Fire Council
• Chief Butch Browning, National Association of State Fire Marshals
• Anna Buck, Legislative Advocate, California Association of REALTORS®
• Lorraine Carli, VP, Outreach and Advocacy, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• Gwendolyn Carter, Sighted Assistant, National Disability Rights Network
• Alana Cox, Administrator, Oregon Building Codes Division, Dept Consumer & Business Services
• Kevin Day, Staff Services Manager I Specialist, California Building Standards Commission
• Chris Dicus, Professor, Wildland Fire & Fuels Management, California Fire Science Consortium/Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
• Natalie Enclade, PhD, Executive Director, Build Strong America
• Tanner Fairrington, Oregon Fire Marshals Association
• Karl Fippinger, Vice President, Fire and Disaster Mitigation, International Code Council
• Dwight Good, President, NorCal Fire Prevention Officers
• Chief Chad Hawkins, Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office
• Steven Hawks, Asst. Deputy Director, CAL FIRE
• Gary Honold, Regional Director, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• Tonya Hoover, Deputy Fire Administrator, U.S. Fire Administration
• Meghan Housewright, Director, Fire & Life Safety Policy Institute, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• Clay Kerchof, Associate Planner, Wildfire Resilience & Recovery, California Governor's Office of Planning and Research
• Katie Lighthall, Wildland Fire Leadership Council - West
• Alexander Maranghides, National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST)
• Claire McGrew, Chief Deputy, Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office
• Brian Meacham, Brian Meacham Associates
• Birgitte Messerschmidt, Director of Research, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• Mike Morgan, Director, Colorado Division of Fire Prevention & Control
• Sheryl Page, National Community Wildfire Mitigation Program Manager, USDA Forest Service
• Steven Parker, Fire Marshal, Fire Marshals Association of Colorado
• Bob Raymer, California Building Industry Association
• Mike Richwine.,State Fire Marshal, CAL FIRE
• Janet Ruiz, Director, Strategic Communications, Insurance Information Institute
• Caerleon Safford, Department Analyst, Sonoma County Fire Prevention & Hazardous Materials Divison
• Mark Sektnan, American Property Casualty Insurance Association
• Peter Senez, Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Foundation
• David Shew, Wildfire Field Representative, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• Justice Shorter, National Disaster Protection Advisor, National Disability Rights Network
• Michele Steinberg, Director, Wildfire Division, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• Bob Sullivan, Southwest Regional Director, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• Nathan Trauernicht, Fire Chief, UC Davis Fire Department/International Association of Fire Chiefs Wildland Fire Policy Committee
• Yana Valachovic, Forest Advisor and County Director, UC Cooperative Extension - Humboldt and Del Norte Counties
• Andrea Vastis, Senior Director, Public Education, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• Carole Walker, Executive Director Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association
• Tamara Wall, PhD, Facilitator/Deputy Director, Western Regional Climate Center Desert Research Institute
• Michael Wara, PhD, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment
• Jim Webster, Colorado Wildfire Partners
• Roy Wright, President & CEO, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)
• Kim Zagaris, Wildfire Policy Advisor - Ret. Fire Chief, Western Fire Chiefs Association
• Michael Zupko IV, Executive Director, Wildland Fire Leadership Council.

About the National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®)

Founded in 1896, NFPA is a global, self-funded, nonprofit organization devoted to eliminating death, injury, property and economic loss due to fire, electrical and related hazards. The association delivers information and knowledge through more than 300 consensus codes and standards, research, training, education, outreach and advocacy; and by partnering with others who share an interest in furthering the NFPA mission. For more information, visit www.nfpa.org. All NFPA codes and standards can be viewed online for free at www.nfpa.org/freeaccess.
Source: NFPA