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Engineering LaboratoryFire Research Division

## Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Group

-  HAZARD MITIGATION METHODOLOGY (HMM)  Expand or Collapse    -  Why Implement HMM in your Community?  Expand or Collapse      -  Exposures During WUI Fires 
    -  HMM vs Traditional Hazard Mitigation 
    -  WUI Definitions 
    -  Structure Survivability in the WUI 
    -  Community Survivability in the WUI 
    -  Paths forward: Implementing HMM 
    -  Communities already implementing HMM 
  -  How Fire Spreads in the WUI  Expand or Collapse      -  How do Structures Survive WUI Fires? 
    -  Fire Spread Pathways 
    -  Why Exposure Matters, not Parcel Boundary 
    -  Hazard from Fuel Agglomeration 
    -  Community-scale WUI Fire Hazards 
  -  Community-Wide Structure- and Parcel-Level Hardening Actions  Expand or Collapse      -  How Density Impacts Community 
    -  Workflow for HMM Hardening Actions 
    -  Structure Hardening for Embers 
    -  Parcel Hardening for Fire: the Three R’s 
    -  Surrounding Parcel Hazard Mitigation 
    -  Primary Parcel Hazard Mitigation 
    -  Structure Hardening for Fire 
    -  Communities Hardening Actions 
  -  Hardening Actions: Construction Guidance 
  -  Contacts 

# Fire Spread Pathways

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There are dozens of pathways for fire to spread through communities. Even just one vulnerability can ignite a structure, potentially leading to the ignition of numerous additional structures and the loss of an entire community. Pathways often differ depending on the type of exposure, therefore, a home must be protected from both embers and fire.

The animation below shows an example fire spread pathway between neighboring parcels. Note that while Residence B is protected by a safe Structure Separation Distance, SSD, between the structure and gazebo, and installation of a non-combustible fence, the fire can still spread to the neighboring structure.

                      - Embers ignite gazebo located away from Residence B
                      - Fire spreads from the gazebo and ignites wood fence
                      - Fire spreads along a wood fence and ignites an RV parked on the property
                      - RV fire ignites wood deck
                      - Wood deck fire ignites home

#### Parcel-level combustible components (primary or neighboring parcels)

#### Additional examples of fire spread pathways

-  **‹** How do Structures Survive WUI Fires? 
-  Why Exposure Matters, not Parcel Boundary **›** 

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