Group Keeps Hopatcong Homes Safe from Wildfires

A home is many people's most valuable asset.

Yet, in a wildfire situation, it can be lost quickly and with little warning.

The goal of the "Firewise Communities Program" is to help people make their home safer in the event of a wildfire. The national program has been in Hopatcong since 2005. Scott Wallis, a Hopatcong native and 22-year veteran of both the borough's volunteer department and the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, oversees the local effort.

 This program serves as a resource for local residents, agencies and fire departments working toward the common goal of reducing the loss of lives, property and resources to wildfires by building and maintaining a community in a way that is compatible with its natural surroundings.

With little or no preparation before a wildfire, a community is vulnerable to the devastating effects of a wildfire. The "Firewise Communities Program" helps put into place a plan and regular follow-up attention to help mitigate the damage a wildfire can cause with, hopefully, little or no lasting effect on the homeowners.

"If a fire is so big, you can't help everyone from being affected by it," Wallis said, but this program would help limit the damage by planning ahead of time.

That planning includes removing as much flammable material from the home's "ignition zone," which is the house and the 200 feet surrounding it. That includes all excess brush, branches, dead vegetation and grass clippings. This will create a "defensive zone" that can interrupt the natural path a fire takes and possibly spare one's home from greater damage, Wallis said.

"You're not only beautifying your house, you're also creating a defensive space," he said.

To help with this effort, the borough has a recycling center where these excess items can be taken, Wallis said.

While Wallis has spoken to hundreds of local residents about the program the past five years, more still needs to be done and he needs help doing it. He is seeking volunteers to hand out flyers, register people at the recycling center and help organize the annual "Firewise Day," which provides public education and serves as a town clean-up day of a home's potential fire hazards.

"We need to put the information out there and make people aware and to get people to pledge to promote fire safety around their property," Wallis said.

Anyone interested in volunteering for the program or for more information on how to protect one's home, can contact Wallis by phone at (973) 229-2560 or by e-mail at whmr@optonline.net.