Go to Firewise USA Portal and Login
As the Firewise Leader you can log into the Firewise USA portal. If you encounter a “redirect” to another NFPA web page, remove other NFPA cookies from your computer’s system, then try again.
You have to be a “resident leader” to be able to login…if you have changed leaders, please get the “retired” leader to login and give the leadership over, so the new leader can access the portal.
Step 1: Site Contact Information
Self explanatory
Step 2: Overview
Site details, leadership, etc. Update information if needed.
Step 3: State Requirements
Checkbox for “I have reviewed my state’s requirements.” California now requires use of a new action plan form. This is a link to the generic California action plan form. However, we encourage you to use the action plan template we created to greatly simplify the process (see step 6).
Step 4: Risk Assessment
The risk assessment needs to be updated every 5 years. The Fires portal will tell you when you need to submit a new risk assessment. Fire Safe Marin will also send you a reminder email if you need to do a new risk assessment. Here is a link to the form and the corresponding guidance. This is a pdf version of that file that you can download. We strongly encourage you to watch this excellent video that walks you through the process. Feel free to contact Fire Safe Marin if you need assistance.
Step 5: Board/Committee
Please make sure the Firewise Leader for your site is correct, as are the names and contact information for your committee.
Step 6: Action Plan
There is a new action plan form that is required for all California Firewise sites. Fire Safe Marin has created a completed action plan using the new form that you can submit for any Marin Firewise site. It is based on the universal firewire actions that should be followed by each of our Firewise sites.
Step 7: Educational Outreach
Check the appropriate box(es) to indicate your educational activities. If your Firewise site has “advertised” Fire Safe Marin’s Webinars, Wildfire Watch TV, and/or Youtube Educational Videos this can count as “Wildfire workshop for residents with speakers/demonstrations from a forestry agency, fire department, or emergency management office.” You may have done this by including our webinar links and/or our webinar page on your website, in your monthly newsletters, through your block captains, or in an email blast to your residents. We strongly encourage you to promote these educational programs.
Step 8: Vegetation Removal
Follow the directions on the portal to record your Vegetation Removal information.
Vegetation Removal and Volunteer Hours Spreadsheet
All of you have done vegetation removal. Here is an optional use excel spreadsheet to help you calculate the required information on the form.
INSTRUCTIONS: Fill in following values on the spreadsheet:
1) number of homes in your firewise site
2) number of curbside pickups and cubic yards reported by the MWPA Curbside Chipper Program for your Firewise Community. Here is a link to a spreadsheet with that data. The program continues beyond the renewal reporting date and we will update the spreadsheet when the program ends on November 13. Meanwhile, you can simply report the current data from the for which will far exceed your required investment requirement.
3) any additional volunteer hours that you tracked.
Formulas are already inserted to give you the totals you need to report to Firewise USA. You simply need to report the total cubic yards of vegetation removed as calculated by the worksheet formulas.
Note you can record events such as goat grazing and chipper program in the “comments” section.
Step 9: Risk Reduction Investment
During this step, you will have the opportunity to record your financial and volunteer hour investment that you spent during this calendar year. A list of time and expense examples is embedded in the portal. The Fire Safe Marin spreadsheet will help you to calculate your volunteer hours
The easiest way to complete this page is to record the “Hours Worked” under two categories. Time spent on filling green cans and curbside pickup can be entered under “Landscaping 0-100 ft. from Base of Dwelling Unit.” Hours related to “Meetings, presentations, program administration, home site visits etc.” can be recorded under “Miscellaneous.”
Volunteer hours you spend meeting as a committee, hosting an educational event, coordinating a chipper program, meeting with fire department personnel all count. Here you can also record the hours you and your residents spend landscaping, doing DIY home hardening and working in community common space or community adjacent open space.
If you are recording “Money Spent” you will need to know what categories of spending were reported to you. For example: Contractor, Home Improvement, Landscaping, etc.
Step 10: Review
This is your chance to make sure all that you recorded is correct. You will be able to go back and make changes before you submit your work!