Live-Fire Test Puts the First Five Feet Around a Home to the Test
The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) and California fire officials are highlighting the importance of wildfire-resistant home design through a side-by-side live-fire demonstration examining the first five feet surrounding a structure. The test compares two structures with different levels of wildfire protection to illustrate how building materials, landscaping and defensible-space measures can influence ignition risk.
One structure incorporates key elements of the IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home program, including a five-foot noncombustible zone designed to reduce exposure to flames and windborne embers. The second structure features common vulnerabilities, demonstrating how combustible materials and landscaping near a home can increase the potential for fire to spread to the building.
The demonstration comes amid increasing attention to California’s Zone Zero defensible-space requirements and broader efforts to strengthen wildfire resilience in residential construction. The initiative emphasizes the role of noncombustible materials, exterior design and vegetation management in reducing wildfire-related property damage.
