See figure 1 for a general view of the relationships among these management zones. Background adefensible space is an area around a building in which vegetation, debris, and other types of. General guidelines for creating defensible space 3 february 8, 2006 california department of forestry and fire protection. Prune large trees so that the lowest branches are at least 612 feet off the ground. Kristen nelson, u of minnesota, and martha monroe, u of florida. How to create defensible space zones mutual of enumclaw. It also provides access to your home for firefighters in case of a wildfire. The architects vision of how the 3d floor communal corridor in pruittlgoe would be used. The grass is mowed regularly, and leaves and pine needles are cleared within the defensible space area. Include detached garages, storage buildings, barns and other structures in your plan. The 3 rs of defensible space use these 3 rs as a guide for creating defensible space around your home. Org defensible space is your propertys front line defense against wildfire. This is an area where material capable of allowing a fire to spread unchecked has been treated, cleared or modified to slow the rate and intensity of an advancing fire and to create an area for fire suppression operations to occur. Creating and maintaining defensible space around a housewhile hardening the home against wind or heatdriven embers, flames, and heatwill increase the likelihood that it survives a wildfire.
Overall view of pruittlgoe, a 2,740unit public housing project constructed in st. Combustible materials adjacent to a building create a hazard anchor point group, boulder, co. It also reduces the chance of a structure fire moving from the building to the surrounding forest. Newmans ideas have proven to have significant merit in helping the nations citizens reclaim their urban neighborhoods.
Creating wildfiredefensible spaces for your home and. A visually appealing fireresistive landscape can be achieved with proper planning. Contact your local resource or planning agency officials to ensure compliance. His work as a city planner and architect proposed ideas that could help to keep neighborhoods safe and prevent crime with this theory. Whereas, the board now wishes to adopt a resolution amending the napa county defensible space guidelines for compliance with amended chapter 8. This policy is intended to clarify existing code requirements and standards for creating and managing defensible space brush management zones between development and wildlandurban interface areas. In implementing our designs, the city decided to simplify my gate design, eliminating the pedestrian gate on either side of the road and the fence extension from the pedestrian gate onto the adjacent prop erty. Defensible space and author joy knoblauch the open society. Create a buffer zone by removing weeds, brush and other vegetation. The different defensible space findings and guidelines developed are applied to the programming and design of two new housing developments. Firewise alaska 2003 vegetation guide anchorage, alaska. Specific recommendations are provided in the defensible space management zones, pages 58. This space will help prevent or inhibit wildfires from reaching your building, or other structures on your property, as well as give firefighters the adequate space they need.
If a home is difficult to find, is surrounded by dense. Its the buffer you create between a building on your property and the grass, trees, shrubs, or any wildland area that surround it. Protecting your home from wildfire colorado state university. Creating a defensible space around your home is one of the most important and effective steps you can take to protect you, your family and your home from catastrophic wildfire. Home builders guide to construction in wildfire zones. It pprotects the home from rotects the home igniting due to direct flame or radiant heat. Addendums contain a brief comparison of the construction costs and development costs for building types, and window and door hardware security requirements. The home ignition zone two factors have emerged as the primary determinants of a homes ability to survive a wildfire quality of the defensible space around the. Use these 3 rs as a guide for creating defensible space around your home. Develop defensible space around each building on your property. Defensible space is a properly maintained buffer between your property and the area surrounding it. Department of housing and urban development office of. Defensible space works if you live next to a natural area, the wildland urban interface wui, you should provide firefighters with the defensible space they need to protect your home.
Provide for state law, or local ordinance, rule or regulation to specify requirements of greater than 100. Creating defensible space is essential to improve your homes chance of surviving a wildfire. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the board of supervisors of the county of napa as follows. The firewood is stacked or stored at least 30 feet from the house. Create horizontal and vertical spacing between plants, the amount of spacing will depend on how steep the slope is and the size of the plants. However, a closer look at newmans 1972 book, defensible space. The needles on the dead trees turned red and the stands of trees became tinder boxes. The theory developed in the early 1970s, and he wrote his first book on the topic, defensible space in 1972. For more information on creating defensible space and legal requirements visit.
Defensible space means a defensible space, in the context of fire control, is a natural andor landscaped area around a structure that has been maintained and designed to. Defensible space is the area between a structure and an oncoming wildfire or between a burning structure and wildland vegetation where nearby vegetation has been. This helps keep the fire away from your home and reduces the risk from flying embers. Also, many counties and towns require tree removal permits when cutting trees over a specified size. By creating wildfire defensible zones 738 kb pdf, homes are less vulnerable from this naturally occurring phenomenon and the chance of spreading wildfires is greatly reduced. Create defensible space deefensible space is the space fensible space between a structure and the wildland area that, under normal conditions, creates a sufficient buffer to slow or halt the spread of fire to a structure.
Creating a defensible space around your house can enable your home to survive a wildfire. Creating defensible space is the duty of every resident living in an area at risk for wildfires. For more information on creating defensible space and legal requirements visit readyforwildfire. The city also eliminated the lights we proposed for the tops of the pillars. However, you can help protect your home and other valuables by creating defensible space a safety zone around your home with little fuel for a wildfire and enough space to fight a fire if necessary. The defensible space theory of architect and city planner oscar newman encompasses ideas about crime prevention and neighborhood safety. Defensible space also helps firefighters be safer while protecting property. In most cases, as long as you follow the defensible space guidelines provided in either living with fire in santa cruz county or the general guidelines for creating defensible space you will not need a permit links to these documents can be found at the bottom of this document. Defensible space is the area around a structure that. Creating defensible space defensible space is an area around a structure where forest fuels and vegetation are treated, cleared, or reduced to slow the spread of wildfire towards the structure. Your chosen defensible space inspector will meet with you on the subject property and mark trees. Creating defensible space involves developing a series of management zones in which different treatments are creating wildfire defensible spaces for your home and property az1290 revised 02 tom degomez and chris jones at a glance wildfire will find the weakest links in the defense measures you have taken on your property. Creating defensible space zones what is defensible space. Defensible space is the area around a structure that creates a buffer intended to stop or slow the spread of flames, reduce exposure to radiant heat, limit flammable materials where an ember could land and start a fire, and in the event of a fire, provide space for emergency responders to safely conduct fire suppression operations.
Creating defensible space involves developing a series of management zones in which different treatments are used. Defensible space is required around all structures for any project. Environmental design approaches provide no cutanddried solutions to crime prevention problems. This space will help prevent or inhibit wildfires from reaching your house, or other structures on your property, as well as give firefighters the adequate space they need. In general, it entails creating space devoid of fuels and placing less flammable materials closest to your home. Additionally, we have tried to improve the ease of creating defensible space on private.
Much of the threat to your home comes from the amount of fuel continuity from the wildland surrounding your home. Contact the county to receive a defensible space permit number. Defensible space defensible space is an area between your house and an oncoming wildfire, where the vegetation has been controlled, trimmed, or removed to reduce wildfire threat from embers, flames, and intense heat. Creating defensible space around your home wildfire threatens lives and homes in many parts of alaska. Toprovide information about creating a defensible space to reduce the potential for damage to homesfrom wildfires. Allows insurance companies to require homebuilding owners to. Broken windows and defensible space are linked in popular understanding and in public policy documents.
Guidancepertains to both new and existing buildings. Increase the minimum clearance defensible space requirement from 30 to 100. The report sets out to provide an overview of current work and ideas in the field, presented with the needs of those having practical crime prevention responsibilities in mind. Both assume that combating visual signs of blight can improve a neighborhood and prevent crime. A hose that reaches all the way around the house is. Ladder fuels are shrubs and low branches that allow a wildfire to climb from the ground into the tree canopy. Neighborhoods and subdivisions should work together to create defensible space around homes.
Newman argues that architectural and environmental design plays a crucial part in increasing or reducing criminality. Inventory the vegetation around you and your neighbors homes. A minimum of 30 feet around the home and each structure is needed. Creating defensible space doesnt necessarily mean denuding your property with a barren 30foot swath around your home. Your house is more likely to withstand a wildfire if grasses. Residents can reduce their own fire vulnerability by creating defensible i.