Fire protection program aims to assist home and business owners
- May 18
- 2 min read
Preparing for the inevitable wildfire season, and what Manson Fire Chief Arnold Baker describes as an epidemic of fire insurance cancellations, Manson Fire is taking a proactive approach by offering an on-line tool to assist home and business owners.
"We've contracted with a company called Fire Aside and there software is fire prevention," said Chief Baker. "We go out and do a home assessment, and log that in. If you've got an arborvitae up against your house, we identify it and take a picture of it. When they, the homeowner, take action and take that out and take a picture of it, they can upload it and we can get a third party report from Fire Aside to the insurance company so the insurance company gets to see we're taking steps here and being proactive."
Learn more about Fire Aside here.
Information on best practices on protecting home and business from wildland fire here.
In addition, a seasonal crew of firefighters will soon be employed by Manson Fire.
"We're hiring six full-time folks, between June 1 and October 31, to provide 10 hours of service per day, seven days a week," according to Deputy Fire Chief Mike Williams. "That's our high time, our call volume peaks in July. There's resources needed throughout the state and those folks will be ready for that."
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Less snowpack than normal in the Cascade Mountain range and meteorologists are concerned.
A map from NOAA shows the percentage of typical moisture in the snowpack, based on the median of the last 35 years, shows that parts of the Cascades have as little as 13 percent of the water, from winter snowpack, expected this time of year.
A dry snowpack will bring a strain on agricultural water use this summer and will boost fire danger during the hottest months of the year, according to weather forecasters, who are hoping for a surge of spring rain to at least delay a spike in the fire danger.
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Firefighters held a brush fire to 23 acres in Okanogan County overnight, Sunday. The fire that was first reported at about 8:30 p.m. charred an area along North Star Road, south of Eagle Road near Brewster. No word as to what may have caused the fire.
It’s fantastic to see Manson Fire taking such a proactive, tech-forward approach to tackle both wildfire risks and the growing insurance crisis. Combining boots-on-the-ground assessments with software like Fire Aside is a game-changer, especially because it gives homeowners a tangible way to prove they are mitigating risks and fight back against unfair policy cancellations. With the Cascade snowpack sitting dangerously low this year, these preventive steps, alongside the extra seasonal crew starting in June, are going to be absolutely vital for keeping the community safe during what looks to be a incredibly challenging summer.
Great initiative! Fire protection and prevention programs play a crucial role in helping homeowners and business owners reduce risks, protect assets, and improve community safety. Along with fire preparedness, ongoing property care is essential for maintaining the long-term value and condition of any property. Professional residential property management services can help owners stay proactive with maintenance, inspections, and risk management. Thanks for highlighting this important program and its benefits for local communities
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