12. Emergency Preparedness - Fire-Prone Zones

Locate buildings out of fire-prone areas

Rationale: Locating facilities out of fire-prone zones and managing for potential fire risks decreases the immediate risk of mortality, injury, and PTSD from wildfires, and mitigates the longer-term risk of degraded indoor air quality from wildfires, which is linked to respiratory conditions such as bronchitis and can also aggravate existing chronic heart and lung disease.

For the most accurate strategy and documentation requirements, please refer to the digital scorecard made available on the Fitwel Platform.

Requirements

Demonstrate compliance with one of the options below:

Option 1 - Fire-Prone Areas (Full Credit):

Demonstrate compliance with all the following requirements:

Low-Rise Residential with shared interior spaces (LR+), Low-Rise Residential with no shared interior spaces (LR)

1. Identify the wildfire likelihood, within the project.

2. Locate all buildings within the project outside of fire-prone areas*.

   Wildfire likelihood may be defined using maps provided by third-party services or local or national jurisdictions such as the below:

   • USDA: The wildfire likelihood can be found at wildfirerisk.org/. USDA defines wildfire likelihood as the annual probability of wildfire burning in a specific location. Fitwel defines fire-prone areas as those identified as having a 90th percentile or higher for wildfire likelihood indicated by the USDA Forest Service Wildfire Likelihood Map.
   • EU EFFIS Wildfire Risk Viewer: Fitwel defines fire-prone areas as those identified under the high-risk classification

Option 2 - Fire-Risk Mitigation (Partial Credit):

The project may achieve partial credit by demonstrating compliance with all of the following requirements:    

Low-Rise Residential with shared interior spaces (LR+), Low-Rise Residential with no shared interior spaces (LR)

1. Identify the wildfire likelihood within the project.

2. Implement a minimum of two of the following qualifying fire-risk mitigation practices for each building within the project.

   • establish and implement a maintenance plan to ensure regular removal of combustible material such as dry leaves and grass from exteriors and roof gutters
   • install class-A metal roofs
   • cover vent openings with 1/8-inch mesh screening
   • replace mulch with crushed stone or gravel instead in the immediate zone (0 to 5 feet around the building)
   • ensure all siding material is fire-resistant, such as brick, fiber cement, plaster, stucco, or dual pane tempered glass."

   Wildfire likelihood may be defined using maps provided by third-party services or local or national jurisdictions such as the below:

   • USDA: The wildfire likelihood can be found at wildfirerisk.org/. USDA defines wildfire likelihood as the annual probability of wildfire burning in a specific location. Fitwel defines fire-prone areas as those identified as having a 90th percentile or higher for wildfire likelihood indicated by the USDA Forest Service Wildfire Likelihood Map.
   • EU EFFIS Wildfire Risk Viewer: Fitwel defines fire-prone areas as those identified under the high risk classification

Compliance Documentation

Design Pathway (LR+, LR)

Option 1: 

• Requirement 1:
  • Upload an annotated site plan or map identifying the fire risk of the project.       
• Requirement 2:
  • Upload an annotated site plan or map identifying the planned location of the buildings within the project.        

Option 2:

• Requirement 1:
  • Upload an annotated site plan or map identifying the fire risk of the project.       
• Requirement 2:
  • Checkbox to certify that the below fire-risk mitigation practices will be implemented (minimum two):       
    • establish and implement a maintenance plan to ensure regular removal of combustible material such as dry leaves and grass from exteriors and roof gutters       
    • install class-A metal roofs       
    • cover vent openings with 1/8-inch mesh screening       
    • replace mulch with crushed stone or gravel instead in the immediate zone (0 to 5 feet around the building)       
    • ensure all siding material is fire-resistant, such as brick, fiber cement, plaster, stucco, or dual pane tempered glass.       
  • Upload an annotated design drawing(s) or product specification sheet(s) of each unique planned fire-risk mitigation practice that will be implemented within the project.       
  • Upload annotated design drawings or plans showing the location of each unique planned fire-risk mitigation practice that will be implemented within the project.

Built Pathway (LR+, LR)

Option 1: 

• Requirement 1:
  • Upload an annotated site plan or map identifying the fire risk of the project.      
• Requirement 2:
  • Upload an annotated site plan or map identifying the location of the buildings within the project.        

Option 2:

• Requirement 1:
  • Upload an annotated site plan or map identifying the fire risk of the project.      
• Requirement 2:
  • Checkbox to certify that the below fire-risk mitigation practices are implemented (minimum two):      
    • establish and implement a maintenance plan to ensure regular removal of combustible material such as dry leaves and grass from exteriors and roof gutters      
    • install class-A metal roofs      
    • cover vent openings with 1/8-inch mesh screening      
    • replace mulch with crushed stone or gravel instead in the immediate zone (0 to 5 feet around the building)      
    • ensure all siding material is fire-resistant, such as brick, fiber cement, plaster, stucco, or dual pane tempered glass.      
  • Upload an annotated photograph(s) or product specification sheet(s) of each unique fire-risk mitigation practice implemented within the project.      
  • Upload annotated plan(s) showing the location of each unique fire-risk mitigation practice implemented within the project.