Welcome to Wildfire Home Hardening Specialists

Our vision started with the Camp Fire (Paradise Fire) in 2018.

The Camp Fire was the deadliest, most destructive wildfire in California history and in terms of insured losses, the most expensive natural disaster in the world in 2018. The fire caused at least 85 civilian fatalities and destroyed 18,804 structures, with most of the damage occurring within the first four hours.

Knowing that severe wildland urban fires can destroy whole neighborhoods in just a few hours, much faster than the response times and capabilities of even the best equipped firefighting agencies. WHHS became focused on the question - What else can be done?

After much research, the answer became clear: Focus on the factors affecting the home ignition problem and find prescriptive, mitigation solutions to help property owners increase the survivability of their home or business. Our goal is to help structures stand alone when communities are evacuated and firefighting resources are overwhelmed or unavailable during an extreme wildfire event.

At WHHS we combine firefighting experience with practical science.

Wildfire Home Hardening Specialists started with an abundance of firefighting experience, coupled with the desire to truly understand what causes urban wildfire disasters and to bring that knowledge to others.

Our research led us to the science of Dr. Jack Cohen, retired US Forest Service physical scientist and one of the worlds leading authorities on structure ignition in the wildland urban environment. Dr. Cohen developed what is known as the Home Ignition Zone (HIZ) Three perimeter zones around the home when correctly modified protects the home/business by interrupting the basic elements of combustion during a wildfire. Within the HIZ Dr. Cohen also developed home hardening criteria. It wasn’t long after discovering Dr. Cohen’s work that we realized, combining our boots-on-the-ground experience with properly applied science could be the secret to true home hardening success.

Forty years of science and research suggest that mitigation applications applied properly can effectively save homes, businesses and communities from total destruction. Our main goal is to bring education and cost effective solutions to home and business owners, long before wildfire arrives.