004: Home Hardening Best Practices to Mitigate Wildfire with Stuart Mitchell

"It's really based on how people maintain their properties. They're all the homes that look identical but they're actually different." -Stuart Mitchell

Episode Description: 

Fire is one of the most destructive disasters that can happen to a home. It can take just minutes for a fire to completely destroy everything you have worked so hard for. Therefore, fire mitigation practices should start in our homes. This means that we need to be prepared for the worst and have a plan in place.

This week, Jennifer interviews Fire Mitigation Advisor, Stuart Mitchell. Jennifer and Stuart discuss how we can make our homes self-defended, what tools and resources can help us be better prepared for fires, what we should know about landscaping and fires, what we can do to minimize the effect of ember casts, how we can turn our pools into assets, how we can be organized as a community to help each other in times of need, and more!

Connect with After The Fire USA: 

Website: https://afterthefireusa.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RebuildNorthBay/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/erTheFireUSA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afterthefireusa/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/atf3r

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuTefxZgWUJkDVoZGZQpxgQ

Highlights:

04:59 Where Mitigation Begins

12:26 Redundancy of Alert Notifications

18:42 Landscaping Habits and Fire 

28:58 How to Deal with Ember Casts

36:44 Make Your Pool an Asset

43:04 How to Prepare for Evacuation

50:27 When Communication Breaks Down

55:15 When Asked to Leave, Leave

58:47 Home Hardening and Insurance

01:03:20 It All Comes Down to Maintenance