Ruhrpumpen's Fire Campus: January 2025

To curb the growing losses caused by wildfires, the U.S. must implement significant policy changes at all levels of government. In 2021, the National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) introduced Outthink Wildfire™, a comprehensive strategy aimed at reducing community risk over time. The approach is based on two fundamental truths: wildfires are inevitable, and the fire service cannot extinguish them quickly enough to protect people and property in their path. Anticipating increased wildfire activity in the future, Outthink Wildfire calls for collaboration across diverse U.S. organizations and disciplines to create and enforce policies that better safeguard vulnerable neighborhoods, residents, and first responders. 

The five tenets of Outthink Wildfire must be supported by all levels of government: 

• Require all homes and businesses in the wildland urban interface (WUI) to be more resistant to ignition from wildfire embers and flames.
• Current codes and standards, as well as sound land use practices must be in use and enforced for new development and rebuilding in wildfire-prone areas.
• Fire departments for communities in the WUI must be prepared to respond safely and effectively to wildfire.
• Government must increase resources for vegetative fuel management on public land.
• The public must understand its role and act to reduce wildfire risk.

In May 2022, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) held a one-and-a-half-day summit in Sacramento, California, to generate ideas and recommendations for implementing property mitigation measures on a scale that matches the wildfire risk faced by residential areas near wildfire-prone landscapes in the United States. The summit brought together participants from diverse backgrounds, knowledge, and expertise to discuss the challenges faced by individual property owners, communities, and policymakers at all levels of government. They also identified the necessary actions to address and overcome these challenges.