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Firewise USA site recognition
Firewise USA site recognition is NFPA community status for a defined neighborhood. The site needs 8 to 2,500 dwelling units, a resident committee, a community wildfire risk assessment updated at least every five years, a three-year action plan, and the equivalent of one volunteer hour per dwelling unit each year. NFPA recognizes the site. It does not list a vent and it is not Oregon R327.
You are at the subdivision entrance looking at a Firewise sign, then at a committee folder of hours and a five-year-old assessment PDF. The sign is recognition. The folder is the annual file. Neither is a product catalog and neither is the permit set.
This page is the how-to for the Firewise USA hub. Firewise and premiums is the carrier page. Do not treat a house drawing as a program form.
Why it matters
Committees search “how to become Firewise” and get insurance blogs. Builders treat the plaque as a listing. Homeowners treat the hours as Zone 0. The documents split. Recognition is voluntary annual status for a geographic site. Adopted code is the building official. A listing is a laboratory record. Mixing those three is how a drawing ships with “Firewise vents” in the notes.
How it works
NFPA administers Firewise USA. Any community that meets the voluntary criteria each year and keeps In Good Standing status may identify itself as a Firewise site. The work is neighbors in a defined boundary, not a lab and not a single address.
The paths
NFPA’s 2022 Band Together Before Wildfire one-pager is Organize it, Plan it, Do it, Tell us about it.
| Step | What NFPA asks | What it is not |
|---|---|---|
| Organize | Resident board or committee, a named resident leader, a boundary of 8–2,500 dwelling units, an account at the Firewise portal | A citywide designation that covers every lot automatically |
| Plan | Community wildfire risk assessment (update at least every 5 years) and a three-year action plan | A parcel IBHS evaluation |
| Do | Complete planned work. Document the equivalent of one volunteer hour per dwelling unit, or the money spent | A required product SKU list |
| Tell | Resident leader submits for In Good Standing. Renew every year | A building permit |
1. Count the dwellings, then register. Draw a boundary that contains at least 8 and at most 2,500 dwelling units. Register at portal.firewise.org. If the boundary would exceed 2,500 units, it is too large for one site.
2. Assess the community, not one house. With a portal account, complete a community wildfire risk assessment. NFPA publishes a free template and tutorial. Update that assessment at least every five years. The assessment is the basis for a three-year action plan of communitywide work, events, and homeowner education. Those two clocks are different. Do not treat a five-year assessment as a three-year plan. A house-level clipboard is a different job. See who can do a defensible-space assessment.
3. Spend the hours or the money. A 100-home site needs the equivalent of 100 volunteer hours that year. NFPA’s Time and Expense Investment Examples sheet, opened 23 August 2026, values the hour at $25.43. Confirm the current figure before you file. Hours and incurred costs both count. Examples on that sheet include replacing vinyl gutters with metal, adding mesh to attic and crawl-space vents, Class A roofs, and pulling combustible mulch. Those are examples. They are not a listing and not R327.
4. File, then renew. After the criteria are met, the resident leader submits through the portal. Status is In Good Standing for that year. Renew annually by reporting activity. A faded roadside plaque is not the file.
5. Keep the other documents separate.
| Document | Job |
|---|---|
| Firewise USA | Community recognition |
| IBHS Wildfire Prepared | Parcel designation. IBHS does not replace code. |
| Oregon R327 | Adopted construction where a department opted in |
| Zone 0 / defensible space | Distance bands and fuel. See Zone 0 in California, Oregon, Firewise, and IBHS. |
| California 10 CCR 2644.9 | Community-level insurance factor when the site is in good standing. Firewise and premiums. |
What people mix up
- Treating the plaque as a product listing.
- Treating one house’s Saturday of raking as the site’s annual investment.
- Treating Firewise as IBHS.
- Treating Firewise as Oregon R327 or as California CWUIC.
- Treating Firewise hours as Zone 0 on every lot.
- Treating NFPA’s example list as a required vent or siding spec.
- Treating the $25.43 hour value as a grant.
How to check
- Count dwelling units inside the registered boundary. If you are under 8 or over 2,500, you do not have a site yet.
- Open the become-a-site page and the portal. Confirm a resident leader and a current application.
- Check the assessment date. If it is older than five years, it is stale.
- Divide documented hours (or the money equivalent) by dwelling units. The ratio should be at least one hour per unit for the year you are filing.
- Look the site up on NFPA’s Firewise USA sites map or state list. Confirm In Good Standing for this year, not last decade.
- If someone wrote “Firewise” on a product cut sheet, stop. Read the listing instead.
Limits
This page does not enroll a site. It does not list plants as a Firewise palette. Zone 0 is never a planting list. The $25.43 hour value is the figure on NFPA’s Time and Expense Investment Examples sheet. It can change. FireApproved is not NFPA. Confirm current criteria on NFPA’s pages before you file.
Oregon OSFM’s defensible-space checklist is a walk-the-yard list. It is not this recognition program. The hardening ladder is retrofit order of operations on one house. It is not the site’s annual file.
Related records
Questions
How many homes does a Firewise USA site need?
NFPA’s become-a-site criteria set a boundary of at least 8 dwelling units and at most 2,500. Count dwelling units inside the boundary you register. If you are over 2,500 units, the boundary is too large for one site.
Does a Firewise plaque mean my vents are listed?
No. Firewise USA is community recognition. It does not issue a listing ID, inspect a mesh size, or substitute for adopted code. See mesh versus listed vents and the Firewise USA hub.
How many hours does recognition take?
Each year the site must invest the equivalent of one volunteer hour per dwelling unit inside the boundary, or the monetary equivalent. A 100-home site is 100 hours. NFPA’s Time and Expense sheet, opened 23 August 2026, values that hour at $25.43. Confirm the current figure on NFPA’s page before you file.
If the subdivision is Firewise, is Zone 0 done?
No. Recognition does not inspect the first five feet on each lot. Zone 0, Oregon OSFM guidance, and IBHS Essential are different documents. See Zone 0 in California, Oregon, Firewise, and IBHS.