How To Make Your Home FireWise

Homeowner's Checklist

Outside

1. Design/Construction

□ Consider installing residential sprinklers.

□ Build your home away from ridge tops, canyons and areas between high points on a ridge.

□ Build your home at least 30-100 feet from your property line.

□ Use fire resistant materials.

□ Enclose the underside of eaves, balconies and above ground decks with fire resistant materials.

□ Try to limit the size and number of windows in your home that face large areas of vegetation.

□ Install only dual-paned or triple-paned windows.

□ Make sure that electric service lines, fuse boxes and circuit breaker panels are installed and maintained as prescribed by code.

□ Contact qualified individuals to perform electrical maintenance and repairs.

2. Access

□ Identify at least two exit routes from your neighborhood.

□ Construct roads that allow two-way traffic.

□ Design road width, grade and curves to allow access for large emergency vehicles.

□ Construct driveways to allow large emergency equipment to reach your house.

□ Design bridges to carry heavy emergency vehicles, including bulldozers carried on large trucks.

□ Post clear road signs to show traffic restrictions such as dead-end roads, and weight and height limitations.

□ Make sure dead-end roads, and long driveways have turn-around areas wide enough for emergency vehicles.

□ Construct turnouts along one-way roads.

□ Clear flammable vegetation at least 10 feet from roads and five feet from driveways.

□ Cut back overhanging tree branches above roads.

□ Construct fire barriers such as greenbelts.

□ Make sure that your street is named or numbered, and a sign is visibly posted at each street intersection.

□ Make sure that your street name and house number are not duplicated elsewhere in the county.

□ Post your house address at the beginning of your driveway, or on your house if it is easily visible from the road.

3. Roof

□ Remove branches within 10 feet of your chimney and dead branches overhanging your roof.

□ Remove dead leaves and needles from your roof and gutters.

□ Install a fire resistant roof. Contact your local fire department for current roofing requirements.

□ Cover your chimney outlet and stovepipe with a nonflammable screen of 1/2 inch or smaller mesh.

4. Landscape

□ Create a "defensible space" by removing all flammable vegetation at least 30 feet from all structures.

□ Never prune near power lines. Call your local utility company first.

□ Landscape with fire resistant plants.

□ On slopes or in high fire hazard areas remove flammable vegetation out to 100 feet or more.

□ Space native trees and shrubs at least 10 feet apart.

□ For trees taller than 18 feet, remove lower branches within six feet of the ground.

□ Maintain all plants by regularly watering, and by removing dead branches, leaves and needles.

□ Before planting trees close to any power line contact your local utility company to confirm the maximum tree height allowable for that location.

5. Yard

□ Stack woodpiles at least 30 feet from all structures and remove vegetation within 10 feet of woodpiles.

□ Locate LPG tanks (butane and propane) at least 30 feet from any structure and maintain 10 feet of clearance.

□ Remove all stacks of construction materials, pine needles, leaves and other debris from your yard.

□ Contact your local fire department to see if open burning is allowed in your area; if so, obtain a burning permit.

□ Where burn barrels are allowed, clear flammable materials at least 10 feet around the barrel; cover the open top with a non-flammable screen with mesh no larger than 1/4 inch.

6. Emergency Water Supply

□ Maintain an emergency water supply that meets fire department standards through one of the following:

• a community water/hydrant system,

• a cooperative emergency storage tank with neighbors,

• a minimum storage supply of 2,500 gallons on your property.

□ Clearly mark all emergency water sources.

□ Create easy firefighter access to your closest emergency water source.

□ If your water comes from a well, consider an emergency generator to operate the pump during a power failure.

Inside

1. Kitchen

□ Keep a working fire extinguisher in the kitchen.

□ Maintain electric and gas stoves in good operating condition.

□ Keep baking soda on hand to extinguish stove-top grease fires.

□ Turn the handles of pots and pans containing hot liquids away from the front of the stove.

□ Install curtains and towel holders away from burners on the stove.

□ Store matches and lighters out of the reach of children.

□ Make sure that electrical outlets are designed to handle appliance loads.

2. Living Room

□ Install a screen in front of fireplace or wood stove.

□ Store the ashes from your fireplace (and barbecue) in a metal container and dispose of only when cold.

□ Clean fireplace chimneys and flues at least once a year.

3. Hallway

□ Install smoke detectors between living and sleeping areas.

□ Test smoke detectors monthly and replace batteries twice a year, when clocks are changed in the spring and fall.

□ Install child safety plugs (caps) on all electrical outlets.

□ Replace electrical cords that do not work properly, have loose connections, or are frayed.

4. Bedroom

□ If you sleep with the door closed, install a smoke detector in the bedroom.

□ Turn off electric blankets and other electrical appliances when not in use.

□ Do not smoke in bed.

□ If you have security bars on your windows or doors, be sure they have an approved quick-release mechanism so you and your family can get out in the event of a fire.

5. Bathroom

□ Disconnect appliances such as curling irons and hair dryers when done; store in a safe location until cool.

□ Keep items such as towels away from wall and floor heaters.

6. Garage

□ Mount a working fire extinguisher in the garage.

□ Have tools such as a shovel, hoe, rake and bucket available for use in a wildfire emergency.

□ Install a solid door with self-closing hinges between living areas and the garage.

□ Dispose of oily rags in (Underwriters Laboratories) approved metal containers.

□ Store all combustibles away from ignition sources such as water heaters.

□ Disconnect electrical tools and appliances when not in use.

□ Allow hot tools such as glue guns and soldering irons to cool before storing.

□ Properly store flammable liquids in approved containers and away from ignition sources such as pilot lights.

Disaster Preparedness

□ Maintain at least a three-day supply of drinking water, and food that does not require refrigeration and generally does not need cooking.

□ Maintain a portable radio, flashlight, emergency cooking equipment, portable lanterns and batteries.

□ Maintain first aid supplies to treat the injured until help arrives.

□ Keep a list of valuables to take with you in an emergency; if possible, store these valuables together.

□ Make sure that all family members are ready to protect themselves with STOP, DROP AND ROLL
□ For safety, securely attach all water heaters and furniture such as cabinets and bookshelves to walls.

□ Have a contingency plan to enable family members to contact each other. Establish a family/friend phone tree.

□ Designate an emergency meeting place outside your home.

□ Practice emergency exit drills in the house (EDITH) regularly.

□ Outdoor cooking appliances such as barbecues should never be taken indoors for use as heaters.