Fire Safety and Prevention

Lake Shannon Association seeks fire protection from HDT (MI) December 8, 2024
Concerned about diminished coverage and longer response times when Tyrone Township exits the Hartland-Deerfield-Tyrone (HDT) Fire Authority on April 1, the Lake Shannon Homeowners Association in a letter requested a proposal for costs to contract independently for fire coverage from HDT. Read the article…………………………….
Multifamily Fire Safety: Prevention, Detection, & Communication December 5, 2024
Among the many hazards that can threaten any multifamily building, fire ranks right at the top. Local news is replete with stories about the property loss, structural damage, and even death that a fire can cause. While horrific in small properties, fire can be even more dangerous in multifamily buildings. High-rises in particular can pose unique challenges when it comes to fire safety—and meeting those challenges can literally be a matter of life and death. Read the article…………………………….
Holiday Fire Safety Checklist for Your Home and Community December 2, 2024
As the holidays approach, festive decorations, flickering candles, and cozy fires warm our homes—but they also bring heightened fire risks. Each year, decorations cause a significant number of household fires, especially during December. This season, keep safety top of mind for yourself and your community with our holiday fire safety checklists to protect both your home and shared spaces. Download our printable fire safety checklists to easily inspect your surroundings, making sure every area is ready for a safe, festive ...
Multifamily Fire Safety: Prevention, Detection, & Communication November 27, 2024
Among the many hazards that can threaten any multifamily building, fire ranks right at the top. Local news is replete with stories about the property loss, structural damage, and even death that a fire can cause. While horrific in small properties, fire can be even more dangerous in multifamily buildings. Read the article…………………………….
Fire Safety & Building Materials November 26, 2024
Fire safety is a critical aspect of homeownership, especially in regions prone to wildfires like Colorado. By selecting fire-resistant m aterials and implementing specific construction techniques, you can significantly increase your home’s resilience to fire. Ongoing maintenance and fire hazard awareness are critical to protecting your community from fire hazards. In this article, we’ll explore key strategies and materials that can help you strengthen your home against fire risks. Read the article…………………………….
Honolulu Condos: City Might Water Down Fire Safety Law Again (HI) November 19, 2024
Seven years ago, after a deadly condominium fire, the Honolulu City Council moved to mandate sprinklers in every residential high-rise, with the premise that sprinklers save lives. Then came outcry from condo owners and associations, who said the requirement would be prohibitively expensive. The council acquiesced, and under a compromise, buildings could either install sprinklers or pass a fire safety inspection that looks at things like exit routes and the presence of an alarm system. Read the article…………………………….
Australia: Charging danger: Every Strata Building Needs an EV By-law November 13, 2024
Enclosed spaces like underground car parks increase the risk of deadly fires. Heat and toxic fumes become trapped, making fires more intense. As more electric vehicles fill these spaces, the risk of fire grows, especially with the addition of more and more charging stations. Read the article…………………………….
Fire Sprinkler and ELSS Deadlines Extended by Florida Fire Prevention Code (FL) November 7, 2024
For those of you who own a condominium unit in a high-rise building, you are keenly aware of the many changes through the years to the fire safety requirements for high-rise buildings. The Condominium Act, in Section 718.112(2)(n), Florida Statutes, currently states that all high-rise buildings had to retrofit with either a fire sprinkler system or an engineered life safety system by January 1, 2024. Read the article…………………………….
Fire Sprinkler and ELSS Deadlines Extended by Florida Fire Prevention Code October 31, 2024
For those of you who own a condominium unit in a high-rise building, you are keenly aware of the many changes through the years to the fire safety requirements for high-rise buildings. The Condominium Act, in Section 718.112(2)(n), Florida Statutes, currently states that all high-rise buildings had to retrofit with either a fire sprinkler system or an engineered life safety system by January 1, 2024. Read the article…………………………….
FireSmart program, City of Vernon and local strata working together on fire prevention project (BC) October 31, 2024
A Vernon strata is getting the full FireSmart treatment – one the first and largest stratas in B.C. to take advantage of the program. The Spruce Landing Strata Complex, 2504 41st St., is having all of the shrubbery and cedars removed from the complex. Read the article…………………………….
Verdes rely on Firewise for protection (AZ) October 20, 2024
As National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) certified Firewise Communities, Rio Verde and Tonto Verde work year-round to mitigate the threat of wildfires. To maintain certification as Firewise Communities there is a requirement to annually maintain community boundaries that interface with open desert to reduce fuels that could feed the spread of fires. Annual Firewise Day for the Verdes is Saturday, Nov. 9. Read the article…………………………….
Wildfire Risks and Costs for California HOAs: Financial, Legal, and Insurance Implications October 14, 2024
As California continues to grapple with the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires, homeowners associations (HOAs) face significant challenges in protecting their communities from the risks and costs associated with these natural disasters. HOAs are tasked not only with safeguarding their properties and residents but also with navigating complex financial, legal, and insurance implications. Wildfires can impose severe financial burdens on HOAs, affecting budgets, reserve funds, and homeowner dues, while also posing substantial risks to property values and the overall ...
Fire! Before Your Building Is Under Threat of Fire or Smoke Damage, Here are Some Ways to Plan Ahead and Be Prepared (CO) October 5, 2024
Fire safety is a critical aspect of building design and construction. Understanding fire ratings for building materials and adhering to best practices can significantly reduce the risk of fire-related incidents and enhance occupant safety. Read the article…………………………….
‘Shocked at the response’: Black Forest neighborhood funds its own fire hydrant (CO) September 21, 2024
When a fire engulfed a house in the Black Forest neighborhood of Wissler’s Ranch in 2017, the development’s three 10,000-gallon water cisterns built in the 1990s were tested and failed in a real-world situation. Rather than draw from the cisterns, which were unpressurized and would have required time and special equipment to pump water from, firefighters traveled five miles away to a pressurized fire hydrant. The 45-minute drive and fill up made fighting the blaze difficult and ultimately unsuccessful. Read ...
Verdes rely on Firewise for protection (AZ) September 19, 2024
Through the Firewise effort, the communities work with the Rio Verde Fire District, McDowell Mountain Regional Park, Tonto National Forest and Cave Creek Ranger District to coordinate border maintenance efforts on their property. Additionally, there is cooperation with the HOAs and individual homeowners to maintain properties and further reduce the risk of fire. Read the article…………………………….
Californians will soon say goodbye to wood fences, plants near fire-prone homes September 1, 2024
California is chipping away at developing new statewide rules to remove plants, mulch and other flammable materials within 5 feet of buildings and structures in fire-prone areas, the Board of Forestry confirmed this month. This proposed set of guidelines would also forbid that ubiquitous backyard feature — a wooden privacy fence. This rule lumps existing flammable fences into the same category as new construction. Read the article…………………………….
Glen Cove celebrating its Firewise USA designation (CA) August 22, 2024
“Glen Cove residents teamed up with Solano Resource Conservation District and staff from Wildland Res Mgt. to conduct a comprehensive survey of all 2,443 buildings in the community. Those results – covering features like construction materials, vegetation clearance around structures, and open space features – were then incorporated into a Community Action Plan outlining the steps Glen Cove will take over the next three years on its journey toward fire resilience,” organizers state. Read the article…………………………….
Hawaii Has Done Little To Shore Up Neighborhoods Against Fire. Some Are Doing It Themselves August 22, 2024
A group of residents at The Island and Bluffs at Maui Lani recently explored the pill-shaped subdivision on the western edge of Kahului, backyard by backyard….The residents walked with firefighters and staff from the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, looking at fence lines, roofs, gutters, windows and walls. They pondered the preened lawns and foliage. They eyed each home’s characteristics and surroundings. Read the article…………………………….
Colorado HOAs partner with Castle Rock Fire: “Creating balance between beauty and fire” August 13, 2024
In the wake of fires in other parts of the state, the Castle Rock Fire Department is teaching residents and homeowners associations to be proactive and create defensible space in their own communities. Castle Rock fire crews worked on the Alexander Mountain, Stone Canyon and Quarry fires in Colorado. And now, firefighters from the department are in California, fighting fires there. Read the article…………………………….
Oahu Condo Owners Are Debating Best Way To Limit Fire Safety Costs (HI) August 6, 2024
Automatic fire sprinklers are great — but not, some condominium unit owners say, when installing them means uprooting their entire lives and spending thousands of dollars. At Kahala Towers, a high-rise residential building in Honolulu, the condo’s board of directors is pushing ahead with the installation, saying it’s needed to mitigate soaring insurance costs. Owners, many of whom are elderly, say that the sprinklers are unnecessary and that the installation means big bills that the retiree residents can’t afford — ...
On Hawaii Island, government and citizens are joining forces to better prepare for wildfires July 26, 2024
In the year since the Lahaina wildfire disaster, the head of Hawaii County’s Civil Defense Agency says he’s implemented additional training for emergency management staff with a focus on messaging and the use of the public alert warning system. Read the article…………………………….
How to protect your home from wildfires – here’s what fire prevention experts say is most important July 16, 2024
Extreme heat has already made 2024 a busy wildfire year. More acres had burned by mid-July than in all of 2023, and several communities had lost homes to wildfires. As fire season intensifies across the West, there are steps homeowners can take to make their homes less vulnerable to burning and increase the likelihood that firefighters can protect their property in the event of a wildfire. Read the article…………………………….
Liability, Responsibility…and Lint: Who’s in Charge of Your Laundry Room? July 11, 2024
On the long list of building-related issues that multifamily boards and residents have to be concerned about, dryer lint is not likely uppermost. A leaky roof? Definitely. A boiler on the fritz in mid-January? Absolutely. But dryer lint, not so much – and that’s actually a problem, because when allowed to accumulate in heavily-used machines, it can cause fires, and the resulting liability creates a potentially dangerous situation. Read the article…………………………….
It’s a perfect storm for fire insurance June 29, 2024
Westerners have begun looking at their homes differently these days. Are those trees too close? Should I move all that firewood stacked up next to the deck? Meanwhile, in California, some fire insurers have lost so much money they’ve pulled out of the state. Overall, fire insurance is becoming as expensive and unpredictable as the natural disasters — not just wildfires but also hail and windstorms — that are driving up rate increases. In some places, increases are as much ...
Nuns Fire inspires student’s award-winning fire-safe landscape design (CA) June 21, 2024
In 2017, Grace Diebel’s parents nearly lost their Glen Ellen home in the Nuns Fire, which tore through the upper Sonoma Valley on the same night as the Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa, destroying 1,355 structures in the valley and killing three people. While it can’t be known for certain, the lack of big trees within 30 feet of the house and a well-irrigated yard may have helped their home escape destruction when all the other homes around it burned. ...
It’s a perfect storm for fire insurance (CO) June 11, 2024
Westerners have begun looking at their homes differently these days. Are those trees too close? Should I move all that firewood stacked up next to the deck? In Colorado, Tiffany Lockwood said she was dropped twice by fire insurance carriers over the 10 years she’s lived in Evergreen, a heavily forested exurb of Denver. Read the article…………………………….
Q&A: Regulating Risk May 30, 2024
Q. During the warmer months, owners in our condominium building have noticed a few e-bikes/scooters with lithium batteries around our community. At night these e- bikes/scooters seem to be housed in owners’ or renters’ dwellings. Based on some news stories we’ve seen (although I’m sure they are pretty isolated incidents), we have concerns that these vehicles could explode and cause a fire. Read the Q&A………………………………..
Greater Cincinnati condo owners battle being forced to leave amid proposed safety upgrades (OH) May 29, 2024
A group of condo owners in a College Hill building are trying to prevent themselves from being forced out of their units for half a year or longer. It’s related to two fires that happened at the building over the past few years and the repairs and safety fix the condominium association said is needed. Read the article…………………………….
Ban on gas grills rolling through Colorado mountain HOAs: “These changes affect all of us” May 28, 2024
More and more homeowners associations in Colorado’s mountain communities are rewriting their policies to ban the use of gas grills by residents as insurance companies increasingly say they won’t insure HOAs that allow residents to use gas grills on their decks or balconies. “It is going to impact tens of thousands of people who live in condo associations,” said David Firmin, an attorney whose law firm represents some 2,500 HOAs, primarily in the mountains. Read the article…………………………….
Hawai?i Residents Fighting Wildfires Before They Happen May 9, 2024
Seven years ago, Erin Peyton made her home on this small island known for its Hawaiian culture, its broad sandy beaches, and high cliffs. Despite Moloka?i’s natural beauty and rural charm, Peyton understood that the dry grasses and wild foliage surrounding her townhome complex could also fuel destructive wildfires. Read the article…………………………….
Homeowners fund their own fire prevention efforts using an aggressive team of goats in a volatile canyon (CA) May 6, 2024
Homeowners in the Eucalyptus Hill Improvement Association (EHIA) have brought in a herd of goats to begin reducing the fire dangers in a canyon that could be explosive in a wildland fire. The EHIA said its 700 members want to get ahead of the wildfire dangers this year as they have before, in this very rugged area. If humans were in there, they would have to contend with poison oak and steep hills to remove the weeds and brush. Read ...
Storing e-bikes, e-scooters in your condo? A handful of B.C. strata councils say no March 21, 2024
Faced with growing concerns about e-bike and e-scooter battery fires, a small but growing number of strata councils in the province are banning them from buildings. “The number of strata corporations, … probably 15 or 20, have in the last year taken the position, ‘We’re not going to permit them at all,’” said Tony Gioventu, executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association of B.C. Read the article…………………………….
New law means an HOA can’t stop you from hardening your home against wildfires (CO) March 15, 2024
A new state law voids homeowners’ association rules that prevent residents from using building materials that are more resistant to wildfires. Gov. Jared Polis signed the legislation this week. In a statement, he said the new law should help homeowners safeguard their homes and save money on insurance. Read the article…………………………….
Green Valley HOAs get Firewise ball rolling (AZ) March 9, 2024
Three communities in Green Valley have become designated Firewise USA sites, and are encouraging homeowners associations to do the same to help protect Green Valley from wildfires. The Firewise USA award is given to communities that have put in a lot of time, effort and planning to educate homeowners in wildfire safety and mitigate the impact of wildfires. Read the article…………………………….
Some Colorado HOAs ban using fire-resistant building materials. This proposed law could overrule that February 22, 2024
A Colorado Senate committee on Tuesday advanced legislation that would block homeowners’ association rules that prevent residents from using fire-resistant building materials, a change that firefighters and insurance experts say would give communities more options to harden properties against climate-fueled wildfires. Read the article…………………………….
Lawmakers advance bill that would void HOA rules that block wildfire-hardening (CO) February 21, 2024
A Colorado Senate committee on Tuesday advanced legislation that would block homeowners’ association rules that prevent residents from using fire-resistant building materials, a change that firefighters and insurance experts say would give communities more options to harden properties against climate-fueled wildfires. Read the article…………………………….
Many Colorado HOAs have rules that make homes more vulnerable to wildfires. New legislation could block those. February 2, 2024
Colorado lawmakers on Friday advanced new legislation that would make it easier to build or upgrade homes to harden them against wildfires. The legislation would void language in existing homeowners’ association bylaws, deed restrictions or property contracts that prevent residents from installing or using fire-resistant building materials. It would also prohibit new restrictions.Read the article…………………………….
How To’s & Quick Tips Fire Sprinkler System Cost Factors and Considerations: Why It’s Worth It December 21, 2023
A residential fire sprinkler system is well documented to save lives and protect property. Fire sprinkler system cost typically falls between $0.80 and $7 per square foot with a national average of $2 per square foot. Read the article……………………………….
Canyon Lake POA completes sale of fire station to City of Canyon Lake (CA) December 8, 2023
In a historic move, today marks the culmination of 11 months of negotiations as the Canyon Lake Property Owners Association completes the sale of the fire station to the City of Canyon Lake. Escrow is expected to close today, December 8. Read the article……………………………
Powering E-Devices Safely: There Are Fires … And There Are E-Device Fires December 7, 2023
All over the news, from coast to coast, reports of fires and explosions caused by lithium-ion batteries describe blazes that are out of control, difficult to extinguish, and excessively smokey. Tragically, many have resulted in fatalities and serious injuries, and certainly all have caused extensive damage to properties and the environment. Read the article………………………..
Condo Tower Fire Is Reminder Of Lack Of Sprinklers In Older Buildings (HI) December 1, 2023
There were no sprinklers when a fire broke out Thursday, shooting flames and black smoke from the 14th floor of a condo tower in Ala Moana, but the residents knew what to do. Recently installed fire alarms and a public address system called on them to evacuate, and so they did. Read the article………………………….
Why Fire Prevention Emphasis is More Important Than Most Boards Think November 29, 2023
“CONDO FIRES ARE RARELY CONTAINED TO ONE UNIT” This site has tracked condominium fires for over 18 years now. The initial reason we started the tracking is because a fire in a condo unit usually takes out more than one home. For that reason, we created an entire separate category for Fire Safety & Prevention. Why is this more important now than it was in the past? 4 reasons:We are seeing forest and brush fires take out entire communities more ...
Half of home heating fires occur in December, January and February — How to stay warm and safe November 29, 2023
With the arrival of the cold temperatures, Wilmerding Fire Marshal Alvin Hussey is warning homeowners to be careful while trying to stay warm. Read the article…………………………..
Fireplace Safety November 22, 2023
As the colder weather sets in, many people are rushing to light their fireplaces to create a cozy and warm ambiance. If you have a woodburning fireplace in your home, it’s crucial to keep fireplace safety in mindto ensure the well-being of your household and your neighbors in your HOA community during the winter season. Here are a few tips to help you stay safe and warm during the winter! Read the article………………………..
Water gushed for 72 minutes after Reno high-rise fire was put out. What went wrong? (NV) October 28, 2023
After a kitchen fire was put out last year on the top floor of a downtown Reno high-rise, water continued to pour from a hallway sprinkler. It took 49 minutes from the time the sprinkler triggered an alarm until the Reno Fire Department arrived at 1200 Riverside Drive and knocked down the fire on the 11th floor. Read the article………………………………
Los Robles Estates Homeowners Association has become a nationally recognized Firewise USA community. “What that means” (CA) October 27, 2023
Residents of a Thousand Oaks neighborhood have come together to lower their wildfire risk. In so doing, the Los Robles Estates Homeowners Association has become a nationally recognized Firewise USA community. “What that means is that we have now received national recognition for having a framework for this community to be able to lower their wildfire risk Read the article…………………………..
Smoke Alarms and Fire Prevention Systems in Illinois Community Associations October 18, 2023
…….discusses legal updates impacting smoke alarms and fire prevention systems in Illinois condominium, homeowner (HOA), and townhome community associations. Listen to the podcast………………………………
Convenient clean up in Lakeview Meadows (BC) October 15, 2023
Knowing that the best way to fight wildfire is to do the necessary work well in advance, homeowners in the new Lakeview Meadows community in Windermere decided to evaluate the landscaping around their properties. Residents of the community made a mutual goal to improve their resilience to potentially disastrous wildfires. Read the article………………………………..
Fire Safety Tips For Homeowners Associations And Managed Community Leaders October 6, 2023
Fire danger is something all communities face. These fire prevention tips can help promote safety in condo buildings and neighborhoods. Read the article…………………………………..
A battle is brewing over a bill that would require sprinklers be added to older condos (PA) October 5, 2023
Fire safety experts agree that sprinklered buildings are safer, but opponents to a new mandate say that requiring them in old buildings will be too expensive and disruptive to the lives of occupants. Read the article……………………….