The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) is expanding its Wildfire Prepared program beyond single-family homes, introducing new standards for neighborhoods and multifamily housing alongside updated home requirements.
What’s Changed in the Wildfire Prepared Standards
Program Expansion
>Adds Wildfire Prepared Neighborhood standard to address home-to-home fire spread
>Introduces Wildfire Prepared Multifamily for duplexes, townhomes, apartments, and condos
New Designation Structure
>Essential: Focused on reducing ignition from wind-driven embers
>Enhanced: Adds protection against radiant heat and direct flame contact
Key Requirement Updates
>Landscaping guidance: Updated tree and shrub spacing, trimming, and placement
>Decks and attachments: Clearer requirements for decks and attached structures across property types
Big Picture
>Expands wildfire mitigation from individual homes to entire communities
>Targets both initial ignition and structure-to-structure fire spread
Rounding out the program’s science-based approach to wildfire mitigation, the updates extend it beyond individual homes to address wildfire risk at the building and neighborhood levels, helping reduce the potential for home ignition and structure-to-structure fire spread.
“The decisions you make to protect your home can directly affect the homes around you during a wildfire,” says IBHS senior director for wildfire Steve Hawks. “These updates will help more families and communities take a coordinated approach to stop fire spread from block to block.”
The update includes the formal addition of Wildfire Prepared Neighborhood, first piloted with national home builder KB Home at sites in both Southern and Northern California, designed to reduce home-to-home wildfire spread. It also introduces Wildfire Prepared Multifamily, with mitigation standards for owners of duplexes, townhomes, apartments, and condominiums.
Additionally, the program now includes Essential and Enhanced designation levels across all housing types, aiming to reduce ignition risk and limit fire spread at the community scale.
