Fire
Prevention

WSRB Rating

What It Means For You

Spokane County Fire District 9 WSRB (Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau) rating helps homeowners and businesses potentially lower their property insurance premiums. This rating reflects the districts ability to deliver reliable fire protection services, including staffing, training, water supply, and emergency communications.

WSRB ratings are used by insurance companies across Washington to assess risk and determine pricing. A higher rating means stronger protection for your home, property, and family.

Learn More About wsrb

Learn more about WSRB and public protection ratings

Risk Reduction
Tips

Smoke Alarms

A working smoke alarm can double your chance of survival

Test your alarm monthly, keep it free of dust, and replace the batteries at least once a year. Smoke alarms should be replaced every ten years or according to the manufacturer’s recommendation.

Escape Plans

Practice a home escape plan from every room

Remind everyone to stay low to the floor when escaping from smoke and never open a door that feels hot. Choose a safe meeting place outside where everyone can gather after escaping the home.

Recreational Fires

What to know about legal outdoor burning in Washington

Recreational fires are outdoor burning of charcoal or firewood (not debris or rubbish) where the fuel is not contained in an incinerator, outdoor fireplace, barbecue grill, or barbecue pit. Recreational fires are for pleasure, religious, ceremonial, cooking, warmth or similar purposes. Fires used for debris or rubbish disposal are not considered recreational fires and are illegal.

Learn More

Address Post
Info

Finding you in an emergency is imperative!

Properly displaying your address is an essential tool the fire personnel and paramedics use to identify and locate your residence. Finding you quickly when seconds count could SAVE YOUR LIFE!

Spokane County Ordinance requires owners and residents to conspicuously display their house number clearly on the residence, at the driveway to the residence, or both if they are more than 100 feet apart (see County Ordinance 3.14.050 - Display of Address).

Spokane County Fire District 9 (SCFD9) offers address posts to its citizens residing in rural areas who need assistance with identifying their property residence. Address posts are designed to be seen in both directions day or night and intended for first responders to locate your residence in an emergency quickly.

Address posts will be limited to specific properties in areas that SCFD9’s Prevention Division has identified as at risk. Homeowners and residents may request an address post. The Prevention Division will evaluate each request. If approved, address numbers will be submitted, and installation will be based on personnel availability (typically around two months).

Address post request form

Wildfire
Preparedness

Staying safe during wildfire season starts with being informed and prepared.

Below, you’ll find a step-by-step guide for creating an effective defensible space around your home, along with an outline of the Ready, Set, Go! Wildfire Action Plan.

You can also download both resources here:

Creating an Effective Defensible Space

Ready, Set, Go! Wildfire Action Plan

Creating an Effective Defensible Space

A Step-By-Step Guide

STEP 1

How Big Is an Effective Defensible Space?

Find the Recommended Distance for Your Home

1. Find the percent slope which best describes your property.

2. Find the type of vegetation which best describes the wildland plants growing on or near your property.

3. Locate the number in feet corresponding to your slope and vegetation. This is your recommended defensible space distance.

The size of the defensible are is usually expressed as a distance extended outward from the sides of the house. This distance varies by the type of wildland vegetation growing near the house and the steepness of the terrain.

On the "Recommended Defensible Space Distance" chart, find the vegetation type and percentage slope (see "Homeowner Guide to Calculating Precent Slope") which best describes the area where your house is located. Then find the recommended defensible space distance for your situation.

If the recommended distance goes beyond your boundaries, contact the adjacent property owner and work cooperatively on creating a defensible space. The effectiveness of defensible space increases when multiple property owners work together. The local assessor's office can provide assistance if the owners of adjacent properties are unknown. Do not work on someone else's property without their permission.

Temporarily mark the recommended distance with flagging or strips of cloth tied to shrubs, trees, or stakes around your home. This will be your defensible space area.

STEP 2

Is There Any Dead Vegetation Within the Recommended Defensible Space Area?

Dead vegetation includes dead trees and shrubs, dead branches lying on the ground or still attached to living plants, dried grass, flowers and weeds, dropped leaves and needles, and firewood stacks. In. most instances, dead vegetation should be removed from the recommended defensible space area.

Types of Dead Vegetation and Recommended Practice

Standing Dead Tree

Remove all standing dead trees from within the defensible space ares.

Down Dead Tree

Remove all down dead trees within the defensible space area if they have recently fallen and ar enot yet embedded into the ground. Downed trees that are embedded into soil and which cannot be removed without soil disturbance should be left in place. Remove all exposed branches from an embedded downed tree.

Dead Shrubs

Remove all dead shrubs from within the defensible space area.

Dried Grasses and Wildflowers

Once grasses and wildflowers have dried out or "cured," cut down and remove from the defensible space area.

Dead Needles, Leaves, Branches, and Cones (on the ground)

Reduce thick layers of pine needles to two inches. Do not remove all needles. Take care not to disturb the "duff" layer (dark area at the ground surface where needles are decomposing) if present. Remove dead leaves, twigs, cones, and branches.

Dead Needles, Leaves, Branches, and Twigs (other than on the ground)

Remove all dead leaves, branches, twigs, and needles still attached to living trees and shrubs to height of 15 feet above ground. Remove all debris that accumulates on the roof and in rain gutters on a routine basis (at least once annually).

Firewood and Other Combustible Debris

Locate firewood and other combustible debris (wood scraps, grass clippings, leaf piles, etc.) at least 30 feet uphill from the house.

STEP 3

Is There a Continuous Dense Cover of Shrubs or Trees Present Within the Recommended Defensible Space Area?

Sometimes wildland plants can occur as an uninterrupted layer of vegetation as opposed to being patchy or widely spaced individual plants. The more continuous and dense the vegetation, the greater the wildfire threat. If this situation is present within your defensible space area, you should "break-it-up" by providing a separation between plants or small groups of plants. No only are steep slopes often considered high wildfire areas, they are also highly erodible. When removing shrubs and trees from steep slopes, keep soil disturbance to a minimum. Also, it may be necessary to replace flammable vegetation with other plant materials to prevent excessive soil erosion.

Recommended Separation Distances for Shrubs and Small Conifers

For areas with dense brush and small conifer tress, the recommended separation distance is defendant upon shrub height and steepness of slope. Specific recommendations are presented to the left.

Note: Separation distances are measured between canopies (outermost branches) and not between trunks.

For example, if your home is located on a 10% slope and the brush is four feet tall, the separation distance would be two times the shrub height or eight feet. The recommended separation distance can be accomplished by removing plants or through pruning that reduces the diameter or height of shrubs (shorter height means less separation is needed). Removal works best for sagebrush. For shrubs which readily resprout, pruning to replace height may be the best approach.

STEP 4

Are There Ladder Fuels Present Within the Recommended Defensible Area?

Vegetation is often present at varying heights, similar to the rungs of a ladder. Under these conditions, flames from fuels burning at ground level, such as a thick layer of pine needles, can be carried to shrubs which can ignite still higher fuels like tree branches. Vegetation that allows a fire to move from lower growing plants to taller ones is referred to as "ladder fuel." The ladder fuel problem can be corrected by providing a separation between the vegetation layers.

Within the defensible space area, a vertical separation of three times the height of the lower fuel layer is recommended.

For example, if a shrub growing adjacent to a large pine tree is three feet tall, the recommended separation distance would be nine feet. This could be accomplished by removing the lower tree branches, reducing the height of the shrub, or both. The shrub could also be removed.

STEP 5

Is There an Area at Least 30 Feet Wide Surrounding Your House That Is "Lean, Clean, and Green"?

The area immediately adjacent to your house is particularly important in terms of an effective defensible space. It is also the area that is usually landscaped. Within an area extending at least 30 feet from the house, the vegetation should be kept..

Lean - small amounts of flammable vegetation
Clean - no accumulation of dead vegetation or other flammable debris
Green - plants are healthy and green during the fire season

The "Lean, Clean, and Green Zone Checklist" will help you evaluate the area immediately adjacent to your house.

STEP 6

Is the Vegetation Within the Recommended Defensible Space Area Maintained on a Regular Basis?

Keeping your defensible space effective is a continual process. At least annually, review these defensible space steps and take action accordingly. An effective defensible space can be quickly diminished throught neglect.

The lean, clean, and green checklist

Emphasize the use of low growing herbaceous (non-woody) plants that are kept green during the fire season through irrigation if necessary. Herbaceous plants include lawn, clover, a variety of ground covers, bedding plants, bulbs, perennial floweres, and conservation grasses.

Emphasize use of mulches, rock, and non-combustible hard surfaces (concrete sidewalks, brick patios, and asphalt driveways).

Deciduous ornamental trees and shrubs are acceptable if they are kept green and free of dead plant material, ladder fuels are removed, and individual plants or groups of plants are arranged so that adjacent wildland vegetation cannot convey a fire through them to the structure. Shorter deciduous shrubs are preferred.

Minimize the use of ornamental coniferous shrubs and trees (such as juniper, arborvitae, and mugo pine) and tall exotic grasses (such as pampas grass).

Where permitted, most wildland shrubs and trees should be removed from this zone and replaced with more desirable alternatives (see first box). Individual specimens or small groups of wildland shrubs and trees can be retained so long as they are kept healthy and free of dead wood, are pruned to reduce the amount of fuel and height, and ladder fuels are removed.

For some areas substantial removal of wildland vegetation may not be allowed. In these instances, wildland vegetation should conform to the recommendations presented in steps 2 through 4. Please become familiar with local requirements before removal of wildland vegetation.