Wildfire Prepared Home Program — Resources & Certification

An IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home is a property designed and maintained around wildfire risk-reduction measures promoted by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. The program focuses on defensible space, noncombustible materials, ember-resistant details, roof and vent protection, and documentation. tect helps homeowners understand those requirements and coordinate design decisions that support stronger wildfire resilience.

tect provides resources, design coordination, and certification support, but official certification is determined by the applicable program review process and its requirements. Our role is to help homeowners make early design, material, system, and documentation decisions that better align with wildfire-prepared objectives, especially during complex rebuilding projects in high-risk WUI environments.

Post-wildfire rebuilding involves urgent decisions about design, permitting, materials, systems, insurance, and long-term durability. tect organizes those decisions through one aligned approach, helping homeowners avoid fragmented planning. The result is a clearer path toward a home designed for fire, flood, earthquake exposure, healthier indoor air, lower lifecycle maintenance, and better performance over generations.

Key systems include noncombustible exterior assemblies, fire-resistive wall systems, durable roofing, ember-resistant vents, protected openings, defensible space, filtered air, mechanical resilience, and site-scale fire response planning. tect also considers on-site water supply and suppression strategies, because wildfire performance depends on the coordination of the structure, envelope, systems, and surrounding site.

Wildfire-prepared design can support stronger insurance conversations by documenting risk-reduction measures, fire-resistive materials, suppression planning, and coordinated system performance. While insurance outcomes are determined by carriers, tect’s strategy is designed to materially reduce risk and provide clearer records for homeowners navigating the new insurance reality in high-risk fire areas.

Certification planning should begin before architectural concepts and major system choices are finalized. Early coordination allows the team to select appropriate materials, assemblies, site strategies, and documentation methods without expensive redesign. tect’s approach brings architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturers, and permit strategy together early so wildfire-prepared decisions are made correctly from the start.

tect’s approach is built around a fully aligned team from concept through construction. Instead of treating resilience as an add-on, we integrate architecture, engineering, construction input, manufacturer expertise, permitting strategy, and performance goals early. Homeowners gain access to the level of coordination typically reserved for advanced commercial projects, applied to long-life residential rebuilding.

Yes. tect’s geographic focus includes Pacific Palisades and other high-risk wildfire areas. The team supports homeowners rebuilding in Wildland-Urban Interface conditions where fire exposure, hillside constraints, insurance pressure, and long-term durability all matter. Services can include wildfire-prepared resources, resilient system planning, insurance risk reduction strategy, and turnkey delivery through the Earth'smart™ path.