What Is Defensible Space? | SERVPRO® of NW & SE Dutchess County

7/22/2021 (Permalink)

If your home is damaged by fire or any other reason, SERVPRO of NW & SW Dutchess is ready and able to repair any damage.

To come home and see your home in any kind of disarray is disheartening, but to see it up in flames is unimaginable. People most often think of wildfires when they are on your TV news station, but they are more common than you think.

And because our world is made up of combustible items, wildfires can spread rapidly!

With that said, we are learning more precautions to take to help prevent the spread of wildfires. Certainly, the best precaution is simply being more careful.

The Basics of Defensible Space

Defensible space is much like a barrier of protection that you can create around your home. You can do this by removing things that add fuel to the fire, such as dead limbs or trees.

By adding flame-resistant gravel around your home, or using responsible planting and pruning practices, you are removing more potential of adding fuel to the fire.

Defensible space can be a defense mechanism, designed to protect your home in the event of a wildfire by slowing or stopping the spread of fire. By providing this “defense,” you are giving firefighters their best chance at stopping a wildfire before it breaches your home’s perimeter.

Our area requires that you maintain a defensible space around your home or commercial property to help minimize the number of wildfires we see.

The Increase of Wildfires

Wildfires are common and can happen anywhere. There were over 59,000 wildfires across the United States in 2020.

California accounted for 10,000+ fires out of the 59,000, but the average number of wildfires per state in 2020 was right under 1,000. In New York, we saw 192 wildfires last year, burning 1,123 acres of land.

Because these fires can and do happen anywhere, it’s important to do what you can to protect your home and property. Defensible space is one way to do that.

If your home is damaged by fire of any sort, wild or not, SERVPRO is ready and able to repair the damage caused. Get in touch today to get the pros on your team.