Latest news with #InsuranceInstituteforBusiness&HomeSafety
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Protecting homes from Oregon wildfires: Defensible space and how it works
A live-fire demonstration showed even on a cloudy and drizzly Oregon day how defensible space and home hardening can protect against fire while buildings without can burn down quickly. The event, led by the Oregon State Fire Marshal and Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), was held on June 25 at the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training in Salem. The event comes as Oregon faces what could be a challenging wildfire season. Here's what to know about defensible space and how to protect your home from wildfires. During the demonstration, the structure that was wildfire defensible had a 5-foot non-combustible buffer between vegetation, a metal fence, non-combustible roof and a fiber cement board window. The other had vegetation near the house, debris on the roof and no non-combustible features. Firefighters ignited fire near both structures. The structure that was not set up with defensible space completely burned down. The one with defensible space was just fine. Defensible space is a buffer, typically 5-feet, created between a home and the surrounding grass, trees, shrubs or other wildland areas. The purpose of the buffer is to slow or stop a wildfire from burning a structure down. 'The research has shown us that if you can keep that ignition 5-feet away from the structure, you give yourself an amazing chance to be able to survive,' Roy Wright, CEO of IBHS, said. 'Most importantly, the 5-feet closest to it is all non-combustible.' Wright said gravel would work well to surround a house. Instead of a wooden fence, a defensible home would have a metal fence, a non-combustible roof, open eaves and fiber-cement board in the windows. 'With these pieces, all that makes it better, but fundamentally, it's this 5-feet,' Wright said. Oregon State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said more homes are becoming fuel for wildfires. 'It's no longer just a wildfire out in the forest,' Ruiz-Temple said. 'We're actually seeing that when things like this occur, we are seeing fuels and our fencing actually become the fuels that really start these large conflagrations in Oregon.' Ruiz-Temple said the easiest thing Oregonians can do to protect their home from a wildfire is to create a 5-foot buffer space. 'We've had our fourth largest, most destructive fire in terms of loss, and it's only June,' Ruiz-Temple said of this year's Rowena Fire. The fire started June 11 and burned down 56 homes and 91 properties in The Dalles. 'We do expect that conditions are going to continue to worsen over the fire season. If there's anything that we can do now, it's that 0 to 5-foot zone.' Cottonwood Canyon State Park went up in flames due to the Ferry Fire on June 11 that burned more than 10,000 acres. Many of the park's structures would have burned, but the park had gone through training with OSFM on creating defensible space. They cleared vegetation like grass and sagebrush around the buildings, surrounded the structures with gravel and applied metal roofs. That likely saved the park's showers and bathrooms, information center, picnic shelters, historic barn, cabins, residence, boat shed and 'experience center.' The park reopened June 20. Mariah Johnston is an outdoors journalism intern at the Statesman Journal. Reach her at mjohnston@ This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: How to create a defensible home to prevent Oregon wildfire disasters
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Mississippi homeowners advised to mitigate wildfire risks
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Mississippi is not immune to wildfires. In their wake, wildfires can cause erosion and loss of vegetation, which could lead to problems like flooding. Homeowners can reduce their wildfire and flooding risks by retrofitting their homes, clearing debris from their properties, and creating defensible spaces. Mississippi reports increase in whooping cough cases The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) recommends these steps to create a defensible space around your home: Install hard surfaces close to your home, such as a concrete walkway or rock mulch. Regularly water your lawn and plants to prevent dry vegetation. Remove dead plants and tree branches and trim low-hanging tree branches. Find more tips here, 'Homeowners policies usually cover the repair or replacement of the built structure of your home and items damaged by flames, smoke, soot, and ash. However, you should check with your insurance agent to ensure your policy covers wildfires and whether there is a separate wildfire deductible,' said Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney (R-Miss.). 'Homeowners insurance is not designed to cover damages to your car. A comprehensive car insurance policy may insure a car against fire damage. Check with your agent to find out what your policy covers.' If your property is damaged by fire, your insurance company may ask for an inventory of the items in your home at the time of the loss. Use the NAIC's Home Inventory App as a way to prepare. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
18-05-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Fireproofing for the Future: New Wildfire-Resilient Neighborhood May be the New Paradigm
Los Angeles company's Southern California new-home community is built with IBHS's research-backed mitigation strategies to reduce the risk from wildfires L.A.-based KB Home, one of the largest homebuilders in the U.S., has unveiled the nation's first new-home community that meets the home- and neighborhood-level wildfire resilience standards developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), an independent nonprofit research organization dedicated to protecting homes and communities against natural disasters. Utilizing fire-resistant building materials, methods and features based on over a decade of IBHS wildfire research, KB Home's Dixon Trail community in Escondido is designed to IBHS's highest level of protection against direct flame contact, radiant heat and embers, which helps to meaningfully reduce the likelihood of wildfire spread. The Dixon Trail community will have 64 homes upon completion. Each home will be built to the 'Wildfire Prepared Home' plus standard and receive a designation certifying that it has met IBHS's most stringent requirements for homesitelevel fire mitigation. Dixon Trail will receive a provisional neighborhood-level designation based on its design, confirming that the community has implemented preventative measures to reduce the likelihood of initial ignitions from an approaching wildfire, protect against embers that could spark spot fires and slow fire spread if ignitions occur. Dixon Trail is the first applied use of the researched-based, community-level mitigation strategies of structure separation, fire pathway reduction and wildfire-resilient building materials under IBHS's new Wildfire Prepared Neighborhood standard. Once the neighborhood is completed and has passed an IBHS evaluation, a final Wildfire Prepared Neighborhood designation will be issued. 'In keeping with our tradition of innovation, we are pleased to offer today's buyers the ability to choose a wildfire-resilient home and community,' said Jeffrey Mezger, chairman and chief executive officer of KB Home. 'We are proud that our new Dixon Trail community, with its system of mitigation features, is the first in the nation to meet IBHS's wildfire resilience standards at the homesite level and at the neighborhood level.' Research shows that both homesite- and neighborhood- level strategies are key in preventing wildfires from becoming catastrophic. As a model of wildfire resiliency, Dixon Trail has incorporated research-backed mitigation actions into the design of its homesites, including the installation of Class A fire-rated roofs, noncombustible gutters, upgraded windows and doors, and ember- and flame-resistant vents as well as the creation of a five-foot noncombustible buffer around structures. At the neighborhood level, wildfire risk is reduced by separating almost all structures by more than 10 feet and decreasing potential fuels through the use of fire-resistant materials, like all-metal fence systems. 'With fire becoming an increasingly common threat in the West, it's crucial to reconsider how we construct communities in fire-prone regions,' said IBHS CEO Roy Wright. 'KB Home is at the forefront, implementing our research-driven wildfire mitigation strategies for both the parcel and neighborhood levels at Dixon Trail.' KB Home has a long-standing history of bringing innovation to homebuilding and achieving industry firsts. The company was founded in 1957 with the forward-thinking idea of building slab homes to make homeownership more affordable for first-time buyers. In 1976, KB Home introduced its first energy-efficient homes, setting the stage for future sustainability initiatives. Its first ENERGY STAR certified home was built in 2000, and in 2008, KB Home made a broad commitment to design all homes to be ENERGY STAR-certified. The company has continued to push boundaries, becoming the first national homebuilder to offer WaterSense labeled homes in 2010 and unveiling all-solar communities in 2011. More recently, in 2022, KB Home became the first national builder to adopt the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) highest water-efficiency standards in drought-prone regions and pioneered two all-electric, solar- and battery-powered microgrid communities. In 2024, the company accomplished a major milestone by building its 200,000th ENERGY STAR-certified home - more than any other builder in the country. KB Home's Dixon Trail community represents yet another milestone: the first IBHS-designated, wildfire-resilient neighborhood in the nation.
Associated Press
08-04-2025
- General
- Associated Press
IBHS releases Resilient Rebuilding: A Path Forward for Los Angeles, a blueprint for survivable and insurable homes and communities
LOS ANGELES and RICHBURG, S.C., April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety ( IBHS) today released Resilient Rebuilding: A Path Forward for Los Angeles, a blueprint for rebuilding a more survivable and insurable Los Angeles after the devastating Eaton and Palisades Fires. IBHS calls on local leaders to take regulatory action to ensure critical structural and defensible space requirements and specific mitigation actions needed to make the next generation of Los Angeles homes and communities more wildfire resilient are taken during this historic rebuilding. 'We are at a critical point for rebuilding in Los Angeles – one where the survivability and insurability of the next generation of LA's homes and communities is decided,' says Roy Wright, CEO of IBHS and a member of the LA County Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action & Fire Safe Recovery. 'Research-based fire mitigation actions can meaningfully reduce the risk of wildfire now and in the future.' Offering a play-by-play sequence of actions, IBHS addresses the exact wildfire mitigation actions and critical retrofits to strengthen survivability and insurability for homes and communities. The paper provides specific regulatory actions to make these recommendations a reality. IBHS calls on Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles to: Extend Chapter 7A requirements and develop a Zone 0 standard for the entire Eaton Fire footprint. (Zone 0 is the zero-to-five-foot area immediately surrounding a structure that must be free of vegetation and any combustible items.) Develop and apply a Zone 0 standard to the Palisades Fire footprint. Enhance Chapter 7A requirements with additional mitigation actions as required by the IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home Plus standard. Enact local defensible space requirements addressing Zone 0 across all at-risk communities within Los Angeles. Use setbacks to maximize the spacing between structures to the greatest extent possible. Use local planning and financial resources to establish and maintain fuel breaks along the periphery of communities in highest hazard zones. Develop plans to retrofit all surviving homes with baseline wildfire protections, through requirements, incentives and financial support. Resilient Rebuilding: A Path Forward for Los Angeles and additional IBHS wildfire research, including recent reports on the LA County fires, are available at About the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) The IBHS mission is to conduct objective, scientific research to identify and promote effective actions that strengthen homes, businesses and communities against natural disasters and other causes of loss. Learn more at
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs 49 bills into law
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed 49 bills into law on Thursday. The new laws include the routine affairs of the state, alongside bills impacting prescription drug access, a grant program for homeowners, a committee to encourage census participation and 2nd Amendment rights. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders promotes legislation tightening restrictions on social media PRESCRIPTION DRUGS Senate Bill 103, now Act 425, mandates that pharmacy benefits managers accept any pharmacy or pharmacist willing to work within their terms. The act's language states it intends to remove barriers to competition. The act includes an emergency clause, meaning it went into effect with the governor's signature. HOMEOWNER GRANTS Senate Bill 366, now Act 427, creates the Strengthen Arkansas Homes Act. The act allows homeowners and non-profits to apply for a grant administered through the state insurance department to fortify their homes against wind or hail damage. The home must meet FORTIFIED Home construction standards created by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, and an appropriately licensed and certified contractor must do the work. Bill to extend Medicaid post-partum care to 12 months passes Arkansas House, heads for Senate CENSUS PARTICIPATION Senate Bill 403, now Act 449, intends to increase Arkansans' participation in the 2030 census. According to the bill's preamble, Arkansas had the highest undercount rate in the 2020 census of 5.04%. Federal programs allocate to states based on census data, so an undercount means Arkansas is not getting the full federal funding it deserves. The act creates the 2030 Arkansas Complete Count Committee of state officials to increase census participation. Four takeaways from the 12th week of the 95th General Assembly 2ND AMENDMENT Senate Bill 1509, now Act 452, forbids payment processors from using merchant category code 5723. That number was approved in 2022 by the International Organization for Standardization as the listing for gun and ammunition dealers, effective July 1, 2024. Those favoring the code said it was needed to identify suspicious purchase patterns. In contrast, opponents of the code's use said it could lead to privacy violations and unwarranted tracking. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
