Over the past decade, the U.S. has witnessed a steady rise in wildfire activity and experts predict this trend will only continue. Research shows, though, that voluntary individual and community actions continue to be a major component to reducing wildfire risk around homes and neighborhoods. To this end, NFPA is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s Wildfire Community Preparedness Day (Prep Day) funding awards. Each year individuals and communities can apply to receive $500 to help support their risk reduction project on Prep Day. The funding is generously provided by State Farm, a major supporter of our Prep Day event for the past nine years. See the list of winners on our Prep Day webpage. This year, Prep Day takes place on Saturday, May 7. Will you be taking part? If yes, take a moment to notify us of your project by filling out your information on our Prep Day map, then take photos on event day to share with our Prep Day community. With less than two months to event day, there is still time to make homes and communities safer from wildfire. NFPA and State Farm encourage people to get involved by planning a project (even if you didn’t receive an award) and participating.  Congratulations to all our Prep Day award winners! We look forward to seeing the work all our communities will accomplish on this first Saturday of May 2022.

Each year with the start of the application process for grant funding for Wildfire Community Preparedness Day (Prep Day), NFPA receives a lot of great questions from people across the country about how to participate in the event. Last week, NFPA hosted its first “Facebook Live Prep Day Kickoff event,” which gave viewers the chance to ask their questions live and hear from experts about wildfire preparedness. If you missed the event, the video is now on demand! Find it on the Prep Day landing page along with a lot of other great resources including a toolkit, checklists, and social media cards to download and help get you started. Since 2014, community groups and individuals have taken part in the campaign, completing hundreds of wildfire safety projects across the U.S. Will you join us this year? Apply for a funding award and learn how you can participate in a risk reduction or wildfire preparedness activity on Saturday, May 7 and help make your home and community safer from wildfire. For more information about Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, please visit www.wildfireprepday.org. We look forward to your participation!

Research shows risks can be lessened when we invest time in preparing our homes and landscaping to reduce the damage caused by embers during a wildfire. That’s why NFPA and State Farm are pleased to announce the launch of Wildfire Community Preparedness Day (Preparedness Day) on May 7, 2022. Thanks to the generous support of State Farm, NFPA will be able to provide up to 100 applicants from across the country with $500 funding awards to complete a wildfire risk reduction project on event day and we make it easy for you to apply! Learn more about the application process and apply directly on our website. Since the inception of Preparedness Day in 2014, we continue to be inspired by the hundreds of individuals and groups of all ages from across the country who participate every year. Everyone can get involved and have fun, too! If you’re new to the event, or even if you participate every year, we make it easy to get involved. The following can help you get started: Check out information about how you can play a role in wildfire safety at home and download the home improvement project guidelines that apply to any residence and can be accomplished all year long. Learn about the May 7 Preparedness Day event and related information on the Preparedness Day webpage. Check out past success stories to learn how others have participated on event day. Listen to a video interview with residents and firefighters about how their preparedness efforts helped protect their community during a wildfire. Download a home ignition zone checklist and additional related resourcesthat you can use to guide you through your projects on event day and throughout the year. Download the 2022 Preparedness Day toolkit to get project ideas, tips, and ways to share your accomplishments with the community. Apply for a $500 funding awardto help with the cost of your project. There’s so much to learn and ways to get involved that we can’t wait to get started! Won’t you join us! For more information about Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, how to apply for funding awards, and for project ideas and free resources to download, please visit www.wildfireprepday.org.

When it comes to wildfire, direct deaths, property damage, and the number of acres of land burned are most often talked about. But did you know that wildfire, most notably a person’s exposure to wildfire-related fine particulate matter, has a significant impact on people’s health? A study published in The Lancet Planetary Health in September estimates that at least 33,000 people a year die from pollution caused by wildfire smoke, with a disproportionate number of those deaths occurring in Central and South America. The groups most at risk, according to the research, include children up to 9 years old and people over 80 years old. Angelo Verzoni takes a deeper look at the study and lays out some of the more significant findings in his article, “Wildfire’s Widening Toll.” Read this and other related articles in the latest issue of NFPA Journal and share the information with others you know.

In August, the Richard Spring Fire burned more than 170,000 acres of land through southeastern Montana. Cattle ranchers, who often serve as first responders for wildfires on their property, were hit particularly hard during this time. But this was not the first experience these ranchers have had with a wildfire. For decades, farmers, ranchers, and others have worked tirelessly on strategies to mitigate wildfire and the threats they pose to their animals. Weeks after the Richard Spring Fire, Jacqueline Wilmot, a research project manager at the Fire Protection Research Foundation, spoke with Clint McRae, a longtime cattle rancher, about his experience dealing with the Richard Spring Fire. Their conversation is captured in the podcast, Fire on the Ranch. A sobering story, McRae tells listeners what he and other ranchers have been doing to help their cattle survive, and the difficult choices they must often make during and after a wildfire burns through their area. Following McRae’s interview, Jesse Roman, senior editor of NFPA Journal, dives deeper into the topic of wildfire and interviews Michele Steinberg, the director of the NFPA Wildfire Division about this year’s fire season. Together they discuss legislative efforts currently underway to help address the damaging wildfire trends the U.S. has seen over the last five years. Listen to the podcast and read related articles about wildfire in the latest issue of NFPA Journal and share the information with others you know.    

In early August, Meghan Housewright, the director of the NFPA Fire & Life Policy Institute announced the launch of the new Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem Assessment Tool that is helping users identify gaps in their community’s capacity to support safety and draw on the results to advocate for specific changes that will better protect citizens and property. The free tool comes on the heels of a recent report from the Policy Institute, “The Year in Review: A look at the events of 2020 through the lens of the NFPA Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem” and both the tool and the report are helping serve as important resources for safety professionals across the globe to understand and apply the Ecosystem in their daily roles. Last week, Angelo Verzoni from NFPA Journal talked with Meghan about the safety ecosystem, the assessment tool and its benefits, and why the tool was created with communities in mind. The conversation is included in the latest episode of the NFPA Podcast, and is featured in an article, “Eco Assessment,” in the latest issue of the magazine. Read the short article and listen to the podcast (the interview with Meghan and Angelo starts at 30:37) and share it with others you know. Find more information and related resources about the Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem at nfpa.org/ecosystem.