Funds to support wildfire risk reduction projects on May 7
January 20, 2016 –The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and State Farm® announced the launch of the project funding awards application period for its third national Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on May 7, 2016, which helps communities prepare for and reduce their risk of wildfire damage.
State Farm is providing funding to NFPA for the Preparedness Day event and a portion will be awarded to 125 neighborhood wildfire risk reduction projects being implemented on Saturday, May 7th. Preparedness Day gives people of all ages a chance to plan and participate in a risk reduction or wildfire preparedness activity that makes their community a safer place to live. Project applications can be submitted through February 28th. Get more information on how to apply for an award.
Every year, wildfires burn across the U.S. and more and more people are living where wildfires are a real risk. Nearly 45 million homes abut or intermingle with grasslands, forests and wildlands, and more than 72,000 U.S. communities are threatened by wildfire. Preparedness Day continues to help inform, increase mitigation, reduce risk and raise awareness about wildfire safety among residents who live in high-risk wildfire areas.
During Preparedness Day 2015, more than 140 projects were undertaken in 27 states, and 65 recipients received funding from State Farm for activities that helped make residents and firefighters safer when wildfires happen.
"Working with State Farm on the 2016 Preparedness Day event is exciting," said Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of Outreach and Advocacy. "The event helps empower and encourage residents to take action with regard to fire safety. Now in its third year, it’s inspiring to see the number of projects and people involved continue to grow."
Wildfire hazard is a growing threat to communities throughout the United States. The combination of drought, mild temperatures and an excess of dried vegetation in forests and grasslands has made fire seasons progressively worse over the past 50 years. According to reports, the 2015 wildfire season was one of the worst on record, burning more than 10 million acres, an area roughly the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined. A report in Nature Communications states that over the past 35 years, fire seasons have gotten longer, and the area burned by wildfires has doubled.
For more information about national Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, funding awards, project ideas and free resources to download, please visit www.wildfireprepday.org.
About State Farm®
State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 18,000 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve over 82 million policies and accounts – nearly 80 million auto, home, life, health and commercial policies, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 41 on the 2014 Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit https://www.statefarm.com/
About the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
Founded in 1896, NFPA is a global, nonprofit organization devoted to eliminating death, injury, property and economic loss due to fire, electrical and related hazards. The association delivers information and knowledge through more than 300 consensus codes and standards, research, training, education, outreach and advocacy; and by partnering with others who share an interest in furthering the NFPA mission. For more information visit www.nfpa.org. All NFPA codes and standards can be viewed online for free at www.nfpa.org/freeaccess
Contact: Lorraine Carli, Public Affairs Office: +1 617 984-7275