County Fire District Implements Neighborhood Fire Protection Program

The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District announced this week the implementation of a program to help neighborhood groups within its district protect their communities from devastating wildfires.

According to the fire district, Firewise USA, a voluntary program sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association, provides a collaborative framework to help neighbors in a geographic area get organized and take action to reduce wildfire risks at the local level.

The city of Lafayette, with many of its neighborhoods lying in very high fire severity zones, provided much of the impetus for Contra Costa Fire to usher in the Firewise program.

Mayor Susan Candell made Firewise a top public safety priority in 2021, as city officials complained that local fire prevention measures needed a boost in high fire-risk neighborhoods and asked for a commitment to the program from the fire district.

Last week, Contra Costa Fire made the commitment. assigning Taylor King of its Fire Prevention Bureau to coordinate Firewise programs throughout the district.

King conducted his first Firewise organizational meeting with residents of Lafayette’s Glen Road neighborhood.

“They had familiarized themselves with the Firewise program requirements prior to our arrival,” King said. “While conducting the neighborhood assessment they asked questions, they were open to new ideas and by the end of the assessment they were obviously excited to get to work.”

A neighborhood of at least eight properties that desires Firewise designation will typically contact its fire agency, which sends a representative to a community meeting to help do a written wildfire risk assessment of the properties. The assessment is included in an application to the NFPA, and once the application is approved, the community is awarded its Firewise designation.

In order to maintain the designation, Firewise communities must spend a minimum of one volunteer hour for each residential dwelling per year to complete the items in the wildfire mitigation action plan, such as removal of debris in gutters or cutting low tree branches. If 50 homes comprise the neighborhood group, then 50 hours of volunteer work must be recorded for each year.

Though pleased with the news from the fire district, Candell stressed the need for cooperation between local neighborhoods and their fire agencies. “I encourage Contra Costa Fire to expeditiously expand their outreach and support to communities to gain Firewise certification,” Candell said.

Fire district officials said they plan to phase in the Firewise program with other district communities as the fire season approaches.

County Supervisor Candace Andersen, who serves on the Contra Costa Fire board of directors, praised Firewise groups for making a difference in preventing wildfires.

“We all need to get ready for fires and take additional steps to keep our homes safe,” Andersen said. “I’m very excited about having Firewise groups throughout the county!”

The latest NFPA figures show Contra Costa County with 23 Firewise groups, nearly all within the purview of the Moraga-Orinda Fire District. In addition to the Glen Road neighborhood group, one Firewise community is forming in Alamo and one Morgan Territory group is working toward Firewise recognition.

The insurance company USAA gives homeowners insurance discounts to its members who live in Firewise communities.