The January 2007 FireWise Home of the Month belongs to Jeff and Karen Westbrook of Tull. Photos of the home were used during the risk assessment training on January 16, 20007, at the Tull Fire Station. The exercise was to see if all would come up with the same score after the training. Since all attending knew the area, access and location of the home, the assessment went fast and was completed in five minutes. The home scored 39 points — a "low" hazard rating.
Jeff Westbrook is the chair of the Tull Planning and Zoning Committee, and had just recently worked to extend the defensible space east of his outbuilding as a result of attending a Firewise presentation in December 2006.
Tull is surrounded by pine forests — mostly industry land — and has many large tracts of forested areas within the city limits. Four homes were recently threatened by wildland fire, and the fire department feels that the assessments will increase awareness among homeowners.
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