Home Hardening

Sustainable Defensible Space 

Use this interactive site to learn about how to harden your home. The most important place to begin preparing defensible space is with your home. Fortifying or retrofitting your home can be your best defense against ember intrusion. 

IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home Checklist

Wildfire Prepared Home focuses on the vulnerabilities that research shows most often lead to home ignition. Because wildfire exploits the weakest link, protection is most effective when defensible space, the roof, and other building features are addressed together. Use this checklist to help reduce wildfire risk around your home and property.

National Fire Protection Agency Fact Sheets

View detailed fact sheets on recommendations for home hardening. Topics include: 

• Attic and crawl space vents

• Coatings

• Decks 

• Exterior sprinkler systems 

• Fencing 

• Fire spread on ember-ignited decks 

• Immediate (noncombustible) zone 

• Roofing materials 

• Skylights

• Under-Eave Construction 

How to Harden Your Home: Vents, Gutters, and Gaps

View this video from the SMM Resource Conservation District on how to properly harden your house: vents, gutters, and gaps.