NFPA video in which wildfire researcher Jack Cohen explains that embers (firebrands), not the flame front, are the main cause of homes igniting in wildfires. He shows how landscaping and removing debris around the home reduce risk.
Why Hacker News points people here: HN commenters cite it as a source for the research showing that simple home-ignition-zone measures raise a house's chance of surviving a wildfire.
“the fire scientists at (e.g.) the USDA Forest Service have been doing research on this for many years”HN comment, 2020
Simple property measures that raise home survival in wildfires.
Full comment
I have no experience with wildfires, having lived all my life in an urban environment where concrete and asphalt are everywhere. However, during large fires last year that were in the news, I did some digging on the subject. Seems that there are a few simple things that one can be done to one’s house and property to reduce the risk of a house going up: * link * this video * link * link By eliminating the kindling that's with-in 2m of one's house, and reducing/removing fuel sources that are with-in 10m (ideally 30m), then the home survival rate seems to go up dramatically. Can anyone in a wildfire area comment on the practically of these recommendations?
Cites itthrow0101aOct 2019
Cited as part of the case for home owners reducing fire risk.
Full comment
> Or, to look at it another way, the chances of a catastrophic fire starting were increased dramatically by all the poorly-maintained cables. As well as building homes / subdivisions in areas with high risk of fires, and individual home owners not maintaining their properties to reduce risk: * link * link * this video Just like with plane crashes, there is rarely a single event that causes catastrophe, but a chain of events, avoiding anyone one of which could break the path to the disaster.
Cites itsmileypeteAug 2020
“There's plenty of youtube vidoes featuring his research too”
Video featuring Jack Cohen's research on protecting homes from wildfire.
Full comment
Protection of housing from wildfires is somewhat a solved problem thanks to the pioneering research of Jack Cohen, and this excellent episode of the 99% Invisible podcast is well worth a listen: link There's plenty of youtube vidoes featuring his research too: this videolink Perhaps a good way to encourage the work to be done is through the offering of lower insurance premiums for housing so protected.
Cites itthrow0101aOct 2020
“the fire scientists at (e.g.) the USDA Forest Service have been doing research on this for many years”
Fire science research on how embers ignite homes.
Full comment
The trees were alive and had moisture, whereas the buildings had dead leaves and pine needles that were dry, so when fire brands/embers landed on them they had lots of kindling. I'm not sure why firefighters would be shocked as the fire scientists at (e.g.) the USDA Forest Service have been doing research on this for many years: * this video
Cites itthrow0101cJan 2025
NFPA source on making homes survive wildfires.
Full comment
Greg Chasen, the architect interviewed, also mentioned in this Matt Risinger video, "Lessons From Two Surviving LA Fire Homes": * link Some video sources in the description: * "CAL FIRE / IBHS Demonstration Burn Timelapse": link * "Your Home Can Survive a Wildfire" (from NFPA): this video It's fairly well-known how to deal with wildfires: * link We just have decades-old housing stock that can kind of be viewed as kindling. So new builds are probably better, but old ones can be renovated to improved methods. There are also things as a homeowner one can do to improve your odds (e.g., cleaning gutters, clearing dry brush, for vented attics have better screens).
