Since the start of the year, the wildfires have been front and center in news cycles. January brought Los Angeles the second most detrimental wildfire in California history, leaving an estimated 16,000 structures damaged or destroyed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all California residents impacted by the disaster.
This past fall, I spoke at the Association of Healthcare Risk Managers Conference in San Diego with Mike Widdekind from Zurich Risk Engineering. We discussed methods and precautions healthcare facilities could take to minimize damage in a wildfire. Wildfires are easily affected by environmental conditions such as wind, humidity, excessive dead brush, topography, etc. Once the fires spread, they can move at excessively high rates of speed and can have flames anywhere from a few feet to over 200 feet high. Embers can travel long distances, up to three miles, and smolder for days before catching fire again.
Neighborhoods and businesses can help reduce their risk of wildfires by implementing strategies that lessen the spread potential. Planning should focus on a few items that could at least offer a sense of doing something to protect buildings and the people they house. Thomas Curwen, a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times, recently wrote, “No longer is it a matter of preventing wildfires but instead preventing points of ignition within communities by employing ‘home-hardening’ strategies — proper landscaping, fire-resistant siding — and enjoining neighbors in collective efforts such as brush clearing.”
Preparedness and Mitigation Measures – Before Wildfire Season Begins
Maintaining the WUI zone – TheWildland-Urban Interface (WUI) is where housing development meets natural, undeveloped land. Communities with WUI zones work together to establish codes and guidelines to reduce wildfire potential. Dry brush is regularly cleared to create a buffer zone, and buildings and homes must be fire-resistant. Building components like roofing, soffit areas, decks, and landscapes require extra planning to prevent them from being too close to the structures. Companies and structures that require fuel tanks must also take extensive measures when planning and building.
Preventing smoke and soot migration through the building envelope – Many buildings undamaged by fire may be directly affected by smoke and air infiltration. Assessing the building envelope is critical in preventing smoke and harmful contaminants from entering a facility. The assessment covers openings like fixed and mechanical louvers, doors, windows, and internally negative pressure rooms.
Communication and Evacuation Plans – Assessing the communication and software tools that provide notifications about projected fire paths is vital. Understanding how and when to activate an evacuation is critical. Some are mandatory, others are for peace of mind and err on caution. Having contingency routes may also be a consideration. Being able to communicate with your people is critical.
Throughout the Wildfire Season
Other measures and precautions can be taken to maintain safe homes and buildings leading up to and throughout wildfire season. Residents and companies in heavy smoke areas should consider adding and/or maintaining HEPA filters and air scrubbers throughout critical areas. Community members should also take steps to protect their bodies throughout the season.
Filtering or closing fixed and mechanical louvers
- Evaluate all air handler units to see which ones currently use HEPA filters and what it would take to upgrade the others in essential locations to HEPA filters.
- Install indoor and outdoor air quality monitors to track particulate matter (PM2.5) and other pollutants.
- Seal and insulate to minimize infiltration of outdoor air. Use weather stripping and caulking to close gaps around windows, doors, and vents.
Preparedness supplies
Similar to Covid Protocols, maintain a supply of:
- HEPA filters with a minimum MERV 13 rating for mechanical and fixed louvers.
- N95 masks to help prevent smoke exposure for staff and visitors is a good practice.
Pay special attention to outside air economizers. Most rooftop units and larger HVAC systems have an outdoor air economizer. To save energy, the economizer uses outdoor air to replace the mechanical cooling system when temperatures allow.
Additional measures to keep wind-borne embers, soot, and smoke from entering a building
- Permanently close building openings where possible. Use tight-fitting, noncombustible materials.
- Provide temporary means to close building openings that cannot be permanently closed.
- Provide means to stop air intake fans automatically upon smoke detection.
- Provide duct-type smoke detectors in all outside air intakes. Interlock the duct-type smoke detectors to automatically remove power from air intake fans and close air intake dampers upon smoke detection.
According to Carlo Kelejian, Managing Director of Continuity Innovations, the growing number of wildfires emphasizes how critical comprehensive resilience planning is to communities.
“While we cannot control the forces of nature, we can help mitigate risks by preparing our facilities and operations to minimize damage,” Kelejian said. “Building resilience is more than just recovery; it’s about reducing risks, safeguarding your people, and protecting your organization.”
So, what else could be done I just left a business continuity conference with many resources available to help assure companies a good response when faced with events like wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. Although the data tells us that natural disasters are increasing, other unplanned events can be equally devastating. With the years of lessons learned by insurance brokers, business continuity professionals, and even local government officials, best practices still show pre-loss planning is critical. Risk Engineering professionals who work with insurance carriers are another resource. GRS Disaster Response can help as well. Help and resources are available.
