Rob Rupert, a certified safety professional and wildland and structural firefighter, urged homeowners to prioritize defensible space, water access and evacuation planning during a community presentation on wildfire and homestead fire preparedness.

Rupert said creating and maintaining clear zones around structures, having a reliable water supply and planning escape routes are the three practical steps that most reduce property loss and help fire departments defend homes.

He described the Firewise-style approach to defensible space: a near-house “ignition-reduction” zone of rock or low-combustible material immediately adjacent to structures, intermediate landscaping that reduces continuous fuels, and an extended zone in which tree spacing, removal of duff and avoidance of dense, continuous fuels reduce the chance of crown fires. Rupert said embers are a major cause of structure ignitions and recommended limiting combustible materials near eaves, vents and foundations.

Rupert emphasized water supply and delivery. He recommended cisterns or buried tanks where feasible, and said a rule-of-thumb cost of stored water is roughly $1 per gallon when installed in a tank. For firefighting use, he stressed both volume and, importantly, pressure: “For every 100 feet of vertical rise you need about 44 pounds of pressure just to get the water up,” he said, adding that homeowners should size pumps so they can deliver both flow and pressure to roof sprinklers or nozzles.

He demonstrated homeowner options that stretch limited water, including pressurized “water cans” with a wetting agent, foam sticks (class-A foam) inserted in-line with garden hoses, portable sprinklers that clip to gutters and higher-capacity turret-style sprinklers used in other countries. Rupert showed examples of 3/4-inch and 1-inch hoses, flat lay hoses, and backpack pumps for direct defense; he recommended at least one inch hoses if a homeowner will use a pump.

On access and equipment, Rupert recommended keeping driveways and access roads clear and sized so fire apparatus can enter and turn around. He advised limb heights sufficient for vehicles and trucks and noted some modern fire engines can be tall (one example he cited about a new engine was roughly 12 feet high). He also urged homeowners to have clear evacuation plans (“ready, set, go”), assemble essential documents and supplies in advance, and heed evacuation warnings promptly.

Rupert used live demonstration photos and small controlled burns to illustrate how fuels close to a structure or under skirting on mobile homes can rapidly lead to structural involvement. He said fuel reduction—removing stacked wood, keeping mulch and combustible landscaping at safer distances, and limbing trees—are low-cost mitigations with outsized benefit.

The presentation included safety guidance for residents who choose to stay and defend: use flame-resistant clothing or cotton garments (avoid polyester blends), have personal protective equipment (helmets, eye protection, chaps for chainsaw users), tourniquets and basic first-aid, and plan clear escape routes. He repeatedly cautioned that if a fire becomes larger than what two extinguishers or a homeowner’s water supply can handle, it is time to evacuate and let engines handle suppression.

Rupert closed by inviting attendees to practical demonstrations on equipment and water use and reiterated that small, timely actions—clearing fuels immediately around a house, assembling water and an evacuation bag, and calling 911 at the first sign of an uncontrollable fire—are critical to reducing loss.