FIRE SAFE COUNCILS
Fire safety for the San Diego region has many dimensions. The San Diego Regional Fire Foundation’s support of all San Diego County Fire departments helps extinguish fires quickly, minimizing the loss of life and property from wildfires. Equally important is preventing fires in the first place. Fire Safe Councils (FSCs) are community based organizations that do just that. There are 40+ FSCs in San Diego County, which is more than any other county in California.
We have established a partnership to provide financial support to these local FSCs. Over the past three years, the San Diego Regional Fire Foundation has provided almost $320,000 to these FSCs thanks to the generosity of SDGE, the San Diego River Conservancy, and the Fire Safe Council of San Diego County.
Fire Safe Councils – Boots on the Ground – At Work!
Individual and community fire prevention programs are crucial to keeping San Diego safe from wildfires. That is what our grants to our county fire safe councils accomplish as these citizen volunteers take these funds, educate our residents, and do the hard work of clearing dead trees, bushes, and other debris from our roadsides, canyons, and anywhere a fire might start. These “boots on the ground” volunteers provide community-based support to reduce both the number and severity of fires in the following ways:
Neighborhood
Education
Fire Safe Councils provide neighborhood education including evacuation preparedness, property clean up, home fire prevention, and home hardening, which is the use of building materials and installation techniques that increase resistance to heat and flames.
creating
defensible
space
FSCs perform brush clearance and chipping, creating defensible space around homes and on private property for those who are unable to do so on their own (seniors, disabled, low-income individuals, and veterans).
COMMUNITY CLEAN UP
FSC sponsored community clean up events collect tons of metal, electronics, and appliances, which might otherwise get dumped in fields or along roadways, creating significant environmental hazards.