TCFD/CAL FIRE officials meeting with residents

Friday, April 4, 2008

TCFD/CAL FIRE officials meeting with residents

Tehama County fire/CAL FIRE officials to canvass county meeting with residents - 100-foot clearance

Starting Monday, April 8, CAL FIRE and the Tehama County Fire Department personnel will conduct a county-wide canvas of neighborhoods, meeting with residents to discuss how to make their homes safe from fire and how to comply with the state law requiring a 100-foot clearance from buildings.

The personnel will be driving a state vehicle and wearing a "Volunteer In Prevention" or CAL FIRE uniform so they will be easily identified. They are trained and are going to homes to offer advice and suggestions on how to protect property.

The law requires 100- foot clearance around all structures to protect your home from wildfires. It will also make it safer for your evacuation and firefighter safety.

Here are some tips to help make homes fire-safe:

Remove all flammable vegetation (dry grass) 30 feet from all structures;
Additional 70 feet to create a reduced fuel zone by spacing trees and plants;
Clear all needles and leaves from roofs, eaves and rain gutters;
Trim branches 10 feet from the ground or one-third the height of the tree.
Remove branches 10 feet from all chimneys;
Landscape with fire resistance plant.

CalFire and Tehama County Fire Department personnel want to help residents do everything possible to comply with the state law of 100-foot clearance from buildings and to protect their valuable property.

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Friday, April 4, 2008