Want to Prepare Your Home For Fire? Think Like an Ember
Think Like an Ember
What if preparing your home for wildfire didn’t mean turning it into a bunker?
In this episode of Fire Safe People TV, Iris Harrell takes us on a quick walkthrough of one of the most thoughtfully retrofitted wildfire-prepared homes we’ve seen.
After evacuating during the 2017 North Bay Fires, Iris — a former contractor, designer, and educator — began looking at her home through a completely different lens:
“Everything about fire wise is in small details. And where can the embers go?”
This episode is about learning to think like an ember.
From vents and thresholds to mulch, trellises, fences, decks, shutters, and landscaping, Iris shows how wildfire preparation is really about understanding how embers move through neighborhoods — and removing the small vulnerabilities that allow homes to ignite.
Along the way, Iris demonstrates:
metal trellises disguised as wood ember-resistant vents and thresholds rolling metal shutters for windows rock mulch and the five-foot zone gutter guards and ember traps replacing combustible materials with smarter alternatives practical retrofits that preserve beauty and curb appeal
“People think if you do fire wise mitigation, that your place is going to look ugly… I want to show that a home can look good and still be fire safe.”
This isn’t fear-based messaging. It’s practical adaptation. Design with reality in mind. Preparation before fire comes.
Topics covered: Home hardening Ember exposure Home Ignition Zone Wildfire retrofit ideas Firewise landscaping Defensible space Zone Zero Wildfire evacuation lessons IBHS concepts Living with wildfire
If you live in wildfire country, this episode may completely change the way you look at your home.
