Recent wildfires clearly indicate the need for cooperation among public and private firefighting services, along with property owners, to avoid and minimize loss of life and damage to homes and businesses.
The most recent wildfire that began north of Los Angeles, Calif., destroyed over 75 homes and claimed the lives of two firefighters as it spread across more than 250 square miles.
Wildfires are unavoidable–especially in dry, wooded areas of the West–but there are several steps homeowners can take to help protect their homes and families. With the hot, dry Santa Ana winds scheduled to make their annual return to Southern California, it's not too late to take action.
This year, public firefighters have not been working alone in their efforts to protect homes in California. Several property and casualty insurers have begun providing wildfire protection services to their customers, and some of these services have been called into action as growing, fast-spreading flames strain public resources.
But the burden doesn't, and shouldn't, rest with the firefighters alone. Homeowners can take measures to prepare for wildfires and help firefighting services do the best they can to save property.
For example, homeowners can eliminate fuel on their properties by removing brush and cleaning out leaves from gutters or under the deck. This will decrease the risk of embers igniting a new blaze.
Experts also recommend families create an evacuation plan that outlines where they will go and how they will get there in the event a wildfire threatens their home. They should try to make two escape routes out of the home and neighborhood, and remember to plan for pets.
If there is an approaching wildfire, firefighting experts from CalFire–the state firefighting agency–requests that homeowners turn on a light in each room to increase the home's visibility through thick smoke. (For more information, go to www.fire.ca.gov.)
Homeowners should also remove any combustible curtains from the windows and close all doors and windows–but be sure to leave them unlocked. Also, they should put any combustible outdoor furniture in a garage or inside the home.
If homeowners do their part to mitigate wildfire damage by staying alert, evacuating quickly, minimizing combustible fuel for the flames and flying embers, and keeping their homes visible, public and private firefighters will have a much easier job both putting out the fire and saving property in the area.
Some in the public firefighting arena remain skeptical about working alongside privately funded firefighters during an emergency, and would prefer that private firefighters be banned from evacuation zones in the event of a fire.
But it's critical to note that private firefighting services, working in conjunction with public resources, can play an important role in protecting lives and property.
When fully integrated in the battle against wildfires, private firms can help ensure the safety of firefighters and homeowners, as well as bring additional credentialed resources to the response effort at no additional cost to the public.
At a time when state budgets (particularly in California) are extremely strained, cost is an important consideration. As of press time, the Los Angeles County fire had cost the state as much as $45 million, excluding property damage and the invaluable lives lost to the blaze.
As state and local communities struggle to balance their budgets, some may consider reducing funds for firefighters. CalFire recently faced an $80 million cutback that would have resulted in the layoffs of 600 full-time firefighters and 1,100 seasonal firefighting positions.
While the federal government can offer some fiscal assistance via FEMA, local publicly funded firefighting agencies are stretched thin by budget cuts, and they soon may no longer have the manpower or the money to travel statewide to help fellow departments in need. In the event that public fire departments are depleted, private resources become even more valuable to homeowners.
An important role that private firefighters play is educating homeowners. When these entities are not actively protecting homes from encroaching wildfires, they are available to visit policyholders' homes and help educate them about how to make their homes more resistant to wildfires.
Most firefighters would agree that homeowners should take more responsibility for making their homes more fire-resistant, and privately funded firefighting services can help make this happen.
Firefighting services funded by insurance carriers are not first responders and, therefore, are not on the scene trying to contain or extinguish a spreading wildfire. That job is left to the publicly funded firefighting crews.
The primary role of private firefighters is protecting the homes of policyholders, which can include monitoring the approach of wildfires, creating defensible space around homes or, as a last resort, spraying a home with fire-resistant gel to prevent the home from igniting.
But the role they play is an important one, which is why private firefighting services need to work closely with incident command and get permission to work within the evacuation zones.
Regardless of how a wildfire was ignited–a lightning strike, a camp fire or arson–there are important roles for everyone involved that can help mitigate the loss of lives and property brought on by the raging flames. If homeowners, public departments and private firefighting services can all work together, wildfires will take less of a toll on affected residents as well as state and local budgets.
Scott Spencer is a senior vice president at Chubb & Son, as well as worldwide appraisal manager at Chubb Personal Insurance in Whitehouse Station, N.J. He can be reached at srspencer@chubb.com.
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