Tips on Making a Home Firewise

I am deeply saddened by this year’s Black Forest Fire in Colorado Springs.  As a real estate agent, I like to help people find their home and it cuts me deeply to see people lose their homes.

While fire-proofing a home in its entirety is unlikey, efforts can be made to make a home more “fire-wise.”  Several options are available when building a new home, or even when renovating a home.  Everything from landscaping to building materials to detailing and systems affects how your home performs in a fire.

Some important factors to consider when living in a heavily-wooded, fire-prone area are:

-Landscaping

-Non-combustible exterior finishes

-Tempered Glass Windows

-Sprinklers (Interior and/or Exterior)

-Controlled Ventilation System

-Fire-safe detailing

For more information, click here.

If you would like to help the victims of the Black Forest Fire, the Care & Share Food Bank of Southern Colorado is helping people who have lost their homes.  The Red Cross is running shelters for the victims of the Colorado wildfires and are asking for financial donations.  The Pikes Peak Community Foundation is also taking donations, for the group’s Emergency Relief Fund, which will benefit non-profits, first responders, and other agencies providing local disaster relief.  For pets affected by the fire, the Humane Society of Pikes Peak says it currently has the volunteers and resources it needs to help families and pets, but monetary donations will help pay for rescues and other needs.

Please take care.