"Together is Better": Farmers Insurance Group and the California Fire Safe Council Partner to Save Lives and Property

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Farmers Insurance Group and the California Fire Safe Council have partnered to save lives and property through their "Together is Better" Fire Preparedness Workshop series, the first of which was held in Pasadena, California on October 30, 2008. A variety of speakers from the Fire Safe Council, the Angeles National Forest, the UC Cooperative Extension, and Farmers Insurance educated the conference attendees about the lessons learned from past wildfires in an effort to prevent future loss of life and damage to homes and businesses.

One of the goals of the series is to reduce the risk of wildfire damage through preventative measures. Central to this at the Pasadena conference was a study conducted by the Institute for Business & Home Safety, entitled "Mega Fires: The Case for Mitigation". According to Candace Iskowitz of the IBHS, "That survey found that embers, not flame penetration, are really the biggest threat facing homeowners." Iskowitz explained that embers can be carried up to one mile from their source, and in the case of the California wildfires, this commonly happens when there are Santa Ana wind conditions. To mitigate this, homeowners and business owners who attended the conference, were taught about fire-resistant building materials and fire-safe landscaping.

One fire prevention method discussed by Steve Quarles, Ph. D. of the UC Cooperative Extension was the practice of removing the gap between the curves and roof decking on non-combustible Class A roofs. This void is a place where embers often lodge themselves, setting a residence on fire. Quarles explained that homeowners can purchase special stops from roofing manufacturers to plug these holes, or they can simply use mortar to fill them by hand.

Candace Iskowitz stressed the importance of having a comprehensive neighborhood effort in fire prevention because residences that are 15 feet apart are affected by what their neighbors have or have not done to protect their homes. "Cluster Burning", a phenomenon whereby one house can set the house on either side of it on fire, happens when a residence or multiple residences have not taken the proper fire safety measures.

More important than the protection of property is the preservation of life. Farmers Insurance Representative and member of the California Fire Safe Council, Jerry Davies, underlined the magnitude of this saying, "Eventually you can replace your home, your contents…but think about loosing a life." Echoing this, a portion of the workshop highlighted the importance of each residence and business having a fire plan and evacuation routes determined prior to a fire event.

Another portion of the conference explained Farmers Insurance Group's commitment to help business and home owners who have been affected by the tragedy that comes with a disaster such as a wildfire. As part of their nationwide effort to ease the suffering inflicted by a natural disaster, whether it be a fire, flood, earthquake or any event that displaces people from their homes, Farmers rapidly deploys their Customer Care Vehicle to neighborhoods, giving their customers immediate assistance in filing and paying claims to replace and repair their lost and damaged property and belongings, according to long-time San Diego area Farmers Insurance Agent, Marilyn Huntamer. Not only does Farmers help its own customers, but it helps all people in the affected community by providing them with a warm meal, access to a free phone bank to call relatives, and direction on how to start the claims process with their own insurance carrier.

Other topics that were discussed included federal forest fire practices and Cal-Fire response and suppression activities. With the success of the Pasadena event, Farmers Insurance Group and the California Fire Safe Council plan to bring this workshop to San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Jose and Santa Barbara. For more information about Farmer's Insurance Group, please visit www.farmers.com, and to learn more about the California Fire Safe Council, please visit www.firesafecouncil.org.