Wildfire education packets available in Pine Haven

While Pine Haven’s fire department considers the recent class on property safety in the wildfire environment of Pine Haven and Pine Ridge a success, Fire Chief TJ Gideon has gone further, making available free packets with the information discussed enclosed for anyone who could not attend.

This guide is available at town hall to ensure that every home owner may have one so as to utilize the information to mitigate potential dangers to lives and property in the event of a wildfire.

The packet includes an easy-to-understand booklet that takes people through the steps for a safer space around the home.

Among other points, the class starts with a better understanding of fire behavior and the three primary factors that will affect the wildfire situation. Residents are also encouraged to create an emergency plan checklist and a defensible space around the area.

To do this, it encourages imagining the space in question as a bullseye composed of three rings: the center, including the house and the 30 feet of immediate living area as zone one; the next 30 to 70 feet, which is usually cultivated, as zone two; and zone three consisting of the 70 to 100 feet of space around the home. The wild forest area likely starts in this outermost space.

For those who are planning to build, the information includes what to look for to build in a fire-conscious manner and with materials that help create a fire-wise home. The guide also goes over the need for a fire safe ingress and egress for the safety of the firefighters, who can become trapped while trying to save someone’s property.

Area residents, whether short-term or year round, are advised to pick up a copy and become an active protector of their own and, through diligent attention, their neighbors’ homes.