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| FP&S Success Stories |
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| about risk factors, such as the amount of combustible vegetation around the house, the type of materials used in roof and building construction, means of access, placement of utilities, and availability of fire protection. The public responded positively to having representatives of the fire department conduct the "walkthroughs" or fire assessments. In January 2006, the Web site for the home fire risk assessments was launched at http://map.ci.berkeley.ca.us/home_fire_risk/. Residents can visit this Web site to discover how their properties were rated in terms of fire risk. If a resident makes the changes recommended in their risk assessment, the resident can ask the fire department to reassess their property. Berkeley Fire Department Deputy Chief David Orth believes the home fire risk assessments and corresponding Web site are likely to have a long-lasting and beneficial effect on fire prevention and safety in the Berkeley Hills. "We'd never had a good analysis on a house by house basis before," says Orth. "The information collected has been revealing. For example, the assessments showed we have fewer houses with wooden roofs than we thought we had." Computer analysis and modeling of evacuation routes The grant also supported a geographic information system (GIS) for creating an integrated, three-dimensional "egress network" model. This model enabled the Department to model evacuation routes accommodating large numbers of people with consideration of possible traffic conditions on emergency ingress and egress routes. The data from the home fire risk assessments also helped to create a street-level imager of the Berkeley Hills area, thereby increasing the Department's ability to prepare for emergencies in that area. Pathway improvements More than 50 publicly owned paths crisscross the Berkeley Hills area, some of them taking the place of cross-streets. During the 1991 wildfire, one of these pathways was the only route available to firefighters to reach the buildings on Tunnel Road. The grant paid for improvements to several pathways, including two in particular--Upper Glendale and Upper Berryman pathways--that were identified as critical emergency ingress and egress routes. Concrete steps and handrails were built as well as other improvements to make it easier for pedestrians and emergency workers alike to use the pathways. Fire fuel reduction and fuel chipper programs The grant boosted efforts to clear out excessive vegetation from public property and along pathways. The fuel chipper programs received extra support through the grant, which allowed the expansion of that service and the elimination of more dry brush and vegetation that could serve as fuel for wildfires. Outreach and education The Department collaborated with the Berkeley Fire Safety Commission to develop a fire prevention and safety outreach and education program. Dr. Frank Beall from the Wood Science and Technology program at the University of California visited the community and spent two days walking through neighborhoods and talking to residents about controlling vegetation and making properties safer from wildfire. Many people followed Dr. Beall's suggestions and cut vegetation away from the outer walls of their homes. The Department also created an educational DVD about the grant-funded program, Fire Safety in the Hills of Berkeley, California--2005. The DVD contains information that can help other fire departments and communities develop similar fire prevention strategies. It describes the different phases of the program, the planning that was done, the steps taken to implement it, and the results of the different activities. What They Bought With The Grant: |
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