Firewise Communities

Create A Firewise Community
“Be Wise, Be Very Wise, Be Firewise”-A slogan adopted by several states and many communities throughout the country as part of an outreach and awareness effort to educate residents of the benefits of wildfire preparedness.

Wildfire planning and preparedness is at the core of a new national initiative -The Firewise Communities/USA program. This effort, sponsored by the National
Wildfire Coordinating Group, is designed to facilitate and provide information and resources to towns, municipalities, developments and communities that need to adopt long-term, proactive solutions to protect homes and natural resources from the risk of wildland fire.

In addition to working closely with communities to achieve these few simple steps to enrollment, the NJ Forest Fire Service will also assist communities in obtaining grant funding to implement firewise concepts, and wildfire prevention and education events.

Agencies and organizations responsible for wildland fire management agree: we can reduce the loss of lives, property, and damage to natural resources from wildfire, by building and maintaining communities that are compatible with their natural surroundings.

 

There is no single solution, however, to achieving this common goal. The Firewise Communities concept is successful because it emphasizes local decision-making and encourages community representatives, including homeowners to develop their own plan for achieving a set of common goals. In general, the most successful wildfire mitigation programs are driven by the individuals that will benefit most from their efforts: the residents.

GREG MCLAUGHLIN (732) 833-4847
NJ FIREWISE COMMUNITIES LIAISON
New Jersey Forest Fire Service
Division of Parks and Forestry
Department of environmental Protection

for more information on Firewise Communities/USA

www.firewise.org