"Resilient Rebuild Hub" Helps Wildfire-Impacted Homeowners Build Back Stronger

Building with Resilience debuts new online resource at the 2026 Western Cement Summit, drawing on resilient rebuilding approaches championed by fire-impacted communities across California

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- When homeowners in a fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades neighborhood banded together last year to rebuild with fire-hardened materials rather than standard wood framing, they weren't just rebuilding houses: they were rewriting the playbook for how California communities can rebuild after wildfire. Today, the Building with Resilience effort is making that playbook available to every homeowner facing the same decision with the launch of its new Resilient Rebuild Hub for exploring fire resistant, non-combustible construction options.

Tom Tietz, Executive Director of the California Nevada Cement Association (CNCA), unveiled the Resilient Rebuild Hub at the 2026 Western Cement Summit during a panel with resilient rebuilding advocates Steve Crosby, a Pacific Palisades homeowner, and Janek Dombrowa of JTD Architects in Topanga Canyon.

"Families rebuilding after wildfires or building in high fire risk zones shouldn't have to become fire science experts overnight just to make a good decision for their home," said Tietz. "This new resource brings together approaches for proven, noncombustible building systems, in plain language, at exactly the moment homeowners need it. The site also provides information to engage knowledgeable professionals who can help during the build process."

The Resilient Rebuild Hub helps homeowners understand options for fire-resistant, concrete-based construction and connect with architects, engineers, and contractors who can build them. This includes six noncombustible building systems:

• Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF): stackable, high-density foam blocks filled with concrete which save 20-50% on monthly heating and cooling costs, reduce outside noise by up to 80%, offer exceptional earthquake performance and 4-hour fire resistance rating.
• Insulated Composite Concrete Forms (ICCF): similar formwork to ICF construction with composite materials that enhance strength, simplify installation, and improve long-term performance.
• Concrete Masonry: strong, durable wall systems used for decades across California and the U.S.
• Precast Insulated Sandwich Panels: a complete building enclosure system consisting of two layers of concrete separated by a continuous layer of rigid insulation.
• 3D Shotcrete: air-sprayed concrete for strong, fast, and versatile wall systems that enable a high degree of artistic freedom together with unparalleled fire resistance.
• 3D Concrete Printing: the cutting edge of residential construction, a large-scale robotic 3D printer "squeezes" a specialized concrete mixture layer by layer to allow for organic, curved designs that are often too expensive or impossible to build with traditional methods.

Each section explains how the system works, highlights real homes built with it across California, and connects homeowners with experienced architects, engineers, and contractors. The goal is to give families a practical starting point rather than a technical manual.

These resource pages build on the momentum of community efforts underway in fire impacted communities, where residents cited difficulty in finding information and resources as a barrier to resilient rebuilding.

"We cannot simply rebuild; we need to proactively rebuild in a way that slows and prevents future wildfires in local communities from taking hold and advancing," said Crosby, who lost his Pacific Palisades home and a vast repository of memorabilia from his parents and his grandfather, singer and actor Bing Crosby, last year. "I was fortunate to find information on how to accomplish this by using readily available non-combustible materials, and my hope is that this Rebuild Ready Hub makes it easier and more accessible for everyone wanting to build or rebuild in any area impacted by natural disasters."

"Building with resilience is more than building in concrete," added Dombrowa, owner and principal of JTD Architects. "It's about how we design spaces that are safer, more livable, and more aligned with our perceptions of a sustainable home and environmental realities of life in the WUI (Wildland Urban Interface)."

The Resilient Rebuild Hub is available now at buildingwithresilience.com/how-to-build. Each part is free to access and includes case studies, technical resources, and a directory of architects, engineers, and contractors experienced in each building method.

The Building With Resilience effort engages lawmakers, communities, and citizens to increase awareness and education, and consolidate resources for experts seeking information on the highest levels of structural durability, strategies for slowing wildfire spread, and increasing building sustainably. The initiative's mission also includes fostering cross-sector collaboration that advances safer, more sustainable practices for building and rebuilding homes, commercial structures, and infrastructure.

CNCA is a not-for-profit organization committed to developing sustainable and economical construction solutions for California and Nevada with an emphasis on the use of cement and concrete. For more information, visit www.cncement.org.

CalCIMA is a trade association for the construction and essential mineral industries in California, including aggregate, essential and rare earth minerals, ready mixed concrete, and asphalt producers. In all, there are about 70 producer member companies that include 500 production sites in every county of California. Our members also include more than 100 suppliers and service providers to the industry.

Founded in 1930, the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) is the leading industry advocate with a mission to provide exceptional value for our members by responsibly representing and serving the entire ready mixed concrete industry through leadership, promotion, education and partnering to ensure ready mixed concrete is the building material of choice.

SOURCE California Nevada Cement Association