About Community Risk Reduction
A fire in or around your home can be devastating. The impacts can take both a financial and emotional toll. To help avoid getting to this point, there are simple things you can do to help reduce your fire risk.
The Oregon State Fire Marshal takes a data-driven approach to give Oregonians tools and knowledge to help reduce risk at the individual, community, and statewide levels.
January 15 - 21, 2024 is designated as Community Risk Reduction Week in Oregon. It is a time for Oregonians to create a plan and make changes to lower risk, whether it be new smoke alarms, creating a home fire escape plan, working with their community on defensible space projects, or putting an emergency kit together.
This week is also a good time for local fire agencies to highlight the top risks their individual communities have through data-driven approaches. Below is a look at the data at 2022 statewide data and resources to help you reduce your risk.
How Can I Reduce My Risk
Around the Home
In 2022, firefighters in Oregon responded to a structure fire every hour one hour and 39 minutes, and a house fire every three hours and 52 minutes. On average, fires in Oregon resulted in a loss of $935,000 every day. These stats illustrate the importance of being fire safe inside your home.
Cooking safety should be top of mind for Oregonians. Cooking is the number one cause of home fires in Oregon, making up 18% of fires. Heating is the second-leading cause, making up 16% of fires. Below are resources to help plan and prevent these types of fires.
Wildfire
Wildfire has been an ever-present threat to those living in Oregon for decades. In recent years, the threat has increased because of changing weather and drought conditions. To be better prepared for wildfire, the OSFM developed many resources including ways to protect your home and property with defensible space.
Below are links to resources about how defensible space works and some of the steps Oregonians can take to better prepare their homes. During a wildfire, it is also important to know about evacuation levels and what to do if you're under evacuation orders.
For the Fire Service
Resources for the fire service about CRR Week are below. Community risk reduction works well at the local level. When agencies are able to identify their risks through data in their communities, they can work to create a plan and strategy to decrease the number of times an event like a cooking fire, electrical fire, or other risk occurs. The OSFM created a guide for the fire service interested in starting a community risk reduction campaign. The guide is linked below.
