Aiming to protect homes and neighborhoods in fire-prone areas, KB Home has introduced a new community built to meet wildfire resilience standards established by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS).
Utilizing fire-resistant building methods based on IBHS wildfire research, Dixon Trail in Escondido, California, is designed to provide protection against direct flame contact and radiant heat and embers, which helps to reduce the likelihood of wildfire spread.
“In keeping with our tradition of innovation, we are pleased to offer today's buyers the ability to choose a wildfire-resilient home and community," says Jeffrey Mezger, chairman and CEO of KB Home. "We are proud that our new Dixon Trail community, with its system of mitigation features, is the first in the nation to meet IBHS’s wildfire resilience standards at the homesite level and at the neighborhood level.”
Research shows that both homesite- and neighborhood-level strategies are key in preventing wildfires from becoming catastrophic.
Dixon Trail will have 64 homes upon completion. Each home will be built to IBHS’s new Wildfire Prepared Neighborhood standard and receive a designation certifying that it has met stringent requirements for homesite-level fire mitigation.
As a model of wildfire resiliency, the homes in Dixon Trail are designed with Class A fire-rated roofs, noncombustible gutters, dual-pane windows, upgraded doors, ember- and flame-resistant vents, and all-metal fence systems.
“From IBHS’s thorough research, we know that a neighborhood built to be wildfire-resistant is safer than an individual home,” says Steve Ruffner, senior vice president, national purchasing and studio for KB Home. “With this in mind, the homes at Dixon Trail have a 5-foot buffer around each structure, with all vegetation being planted outside this area.”
The community will also receive a provisional neighborhood-level designation based on its design. Preventative measures throughout the community will reduce the likelihood of initial ignitions from an approaching wildfire, protect against embers that could spark spot fires, and slow fire spread if ignitions occur.
At the neighborhood level, wildfire risk is reduced by separating almost all structures by more than 10 feet and decreasing potential fuels through the use of fire-resistant materials like all-metal fence systems.
"With fire becoming an increasingly common threat in the West, it's crucial to reconsider how we construct communities in fire-prone regions," says IBHS CEO Roy Wright. "KB Home is at the forefront, implementing our research-driven wildfire mitigation strategies for both the parcel and neighborhood levels at Dixon Trail."
Once the neighborhood is completed and has passed an IBHS evaluation, a final Wildfire Prepared Neighborhood designation will be issued.
“In addition to the benefits and value the IBHS certification provides to our buyers we hope the learnings from Dixon Trail can play a significant role in educating the industry and other municipalities,” adds Ruffner. “We recognize this effort is about more than offering a compelling benefit to our buyers—we encourage learning and advancement for the industry as whole.”
