Live burn demonstrations show effectiveness of research-based mitigation actions in Wildfire Prepared Home

Officials gathered for side-by-side look at fire behavior impacts on mitigated and unmitigated structures

RICHBURG, S.C., Sept. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) recently conducted two live wildfire demonstrations in California showing the effectiveness of the research-based wildfire mitigation actions in its Wildfire Prepared Home designation program, including maintaining a noncombustible five-foot buffer around a home – Zone 0 – to help reduce its risk of ignition. 

Held in collaboration with the California Department of Insurance, CAL FIRE – Office of the State Fire Marshal, Orange County Fire Authority and Sacramento City Fire, this was the first time IBHS held live fire demonstrations in the field similar to testing it conducts in its state-of-the art Research Center in South Carolina.

The side-by-side look at fire behavior showed how embers – the leading cause of home ignitions during a wildfire – attack and eventually burn an unmitigated structure while the mitigated building did not ignite.

"Where we see a beautiful bush or wood mulch, an ember sees fuel," said IBHS CEO Roy Wright. "Homeowners spend hours selecting countertops, flooring and paint colors, yet may be unaware that the choices for groundcover and vegetation in the first five feet out from their home can be the difference in having a house to come home to after a wildfire or having to look somewhere else for shelter." 

Based on the latest wildfire research, IBHS created Wildfire Prepared Home, a system of actions addressing the three most vulnerable areas of a home – the roof, specific building features such as gutters and vents and Zone 0 – homeowners can mitigate to meaningfully reduce their home's risk of ignition. California homeowners can receive a designation that may help with insurance availability.

IBHS urges homeowners to get started now. Most roofs are rated Class A, meeting that component of the designation requirements. Mitigation actions for building features include ensuring a home's vents are ember resistant, gutters are debris free and the last six inches of vertical space on exterior walls are noncombustible material.

Creating a non-combustible five-foot buffer around the home involves removing combustible items and vegetation, replacing groundcover like wood or rubber mulch with materials such as river rocks or gravel and replacing the first five feet of combustible fencing attached to the home. Items on top of or underneath attached porches and decks must also be non-combustible and any deck four feet or lower to the ground should be enclosed with 1/8 inch or finer metal mesh. Keeping Zone 0 free of debris build up over time is critical.

"Developing a combustible free zone around your home doesn't mean taking away its curb appeal," said IBHS Chief Engineer Anne Cope. "There are great choices for decorative décor and hardscaping that are not only attractive, but also low maintenance."

During a wildfire, embers may collect in Zone 0, also known as the home ignition zone, and smolder, ultimately igniting and spreading to the home. Once a home ignites in a wildfire, it is almost always a total loss without firefighter intervention.

About the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) 

The IBHS mission is to conduct objective, scientific research to identify and promote effective actions that strengthen homes, businesses and communities against natural disasters and other causes of loss. Learn more at ibhs.org.

About Wildfire Prepared Home

Wildfire Prepared Home is the first-ever wildfire mitigation designation program. Based on the latest wildfire research conducted by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), it offers California homeowners a path to take the system of science-based actions shown to meaningfully reduce a home's wildfire risk. Learn more at wildfireprepared.org.

SOURCE Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)