Rick Dirr, Nederland Fire Chief.  Wildfire preparedness is a bit like eating an elephant.  Likely, you worked mitigating trees, getting rid of beetle kill, low limbing the trees close to your house and disposing of slash. Perhaps like me you have done that for several years and are starting to feel good about your efforts only to find out that you need to be in a Fire Adapted Community, be “Ember Aware”, have a personal wildfire action plan, etc… The amount of information on fire preparedness is overwhelming, so as the adage goes, “one bite at a time”.  Nederland Fire continues to try to consolidate some of this information on our website: WWW.NFPD.ORG;: look at the CWPP and Wildland Fire Preparedness page.

NFPD is actively promoting The Ready, Set, Go! Program, which is the result of a nation-wide discussion on how to protect homes and lives in what the fire service calls the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). WUI is where development meets natural vegetation and the ember zone. An ember zone is an area where the wind driven ember fall-out from a wildland fire can threaten property and lives.

The RSG! Program works to help create Fire Adapted Communities (FAC). A fire-adapted community is a community of local residents, fire and emergency responders, business owners, builders, civic groups and leaders who take steps to increase their safety, reduce property loss and become prepared for the threat of wildland fire. Visit IAFC.org/FAC to learn more about what you can do to help your community become fire-adapted.

Follow the simple steps of the program below:

    •    Ready – Be ready.  Take personal responsibility and prepare long before the threat of a wildland fire so your home is ready. Create defensible space by clearing brush away from your home.  Use fire-resistant landscaping and harden your home with fire-safe construction measures.  Create your Personal Wildland Fire Action Plan.

    •    Assemble emergency supplies and belongings in a safe place.

    •    Plan escape routes and make sure all those residing within the home know the plan of action and practice it regularly.

•    Set – Situational awareness.  Pack your emergency items. Stay aware of the latest news and information on the fire from local media, your local fire department, and public safety.

•    Go – Act early!  Follow your Personal Wildland Fire Action Plan. Doing so will not only support your safety, but will allow emergency responders to best maneuver resources to combat the fire.

Join with us and be a part of the wildland fire solution today!

Please visit WWW.NFPD.ORG or go to www.wildlandfireRSG.org for more information. Nederland Fire has hardcopies of some of the RSG information, please stop by the fire station to pick some of this info and perhaps talk with us regarding the need for additional volunteer emergency responders to help protect our community.

Wishing you the best in wildfire preparedness!