Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety

At IBHS, we research the impact of severe weather on homes and businesses to find actionable solutions. #disasterprep

[Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety @IBHS_org]

🔥During a wildfire, wind-blown embers can exploit vulnerabilities on or around your home, increasing the risk of ignition.

Wildfire Prepared Home takes a comprehensive approach to protection, requiring a collection of science-backed actions that mitigate common areas where embers can collect or enter a property. Following all the steps - not just one or two - makes a meaningful difference.

Find the full list of steps in our How-To Checklist at https://t.co/2N612uKqQs.

[FORTIFIED Home™ @FORTIFIEDHOME]

How do you build a FORTIFIED Roof?

📽️ Watch @IBHS_org Science Producer Jacqueline Waters and Director of Construction Shawn Macomber provide an overview of the science-backed details behind FORTIFIED, which has helped more than 100,000 coastal and inland residents better protect their homes: https://t.co/MH1v66vBMa

[Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety @IBHS_org]

When was the last time you checked the label on your garage door for its wind rating? 👀 It could give you key information into whether it will protect your home in high wind.

Learn why it matters in our latest video: https://t.co/vUHoKjmcOw

[Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety @IBHS_org]

At the IBHS Research Center, we put our building science into practice – even on our own facility. 🏢

After more than 15 years, the roof of our main test chamber was ready for an upgrade. Rather than simply replace it, we addressed existing vulnerabilities and strengthened the roof to meet the @FORTIFIEDhome.

🎥 Go behind the scenes with IBHS’ Senior Director of Commercial Lines Ross Haigler to see the transformation. Watch the full video at https://t.co/7HVpzKmV70.

[Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety @IBHS_org]

How do you protect a home from wildfire? 🔥 IBHS Senior Wildfire Fellow Laura Blaul walks through the key differences between a structure that incorporates the latest wildfire building science and one that has common vulnerabilities that can increase the risk of ignition from embers, radiant heat and flames.

🔊 Hear why each detail of a Wildfire Prepared Home makes a difference in this building's survival during a wildfire.

[FederalAlliance (FLASH) @FederalAlliance]

Exceptional partnerships, technical expertise, generous donors, and an unshakeable commitment to resilient recovery are coming together at Heartwood Village on Black Mountain where a new 10-acre community for #HurricaneHelene survivors will showcase affordable homes that meet and exceed IBHS FORTIFIED™ Gold.  

Through the FLASH #StrongHomesInitiative, we're proud to support ROOTS Community Land Trust and @Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders to deliver on this pledge.  

Together with @gafroofing, @IBHS_org, @MDS_Respond, @strongtie, @StateFarm, @HomeDepotFound, and @USAA to ensure recovery delivers homes that are safer, stronger, more insurable, and better prepared for future disasters, we will see 50 homes rise over the next two years.  

#HeartwoodVillage #HurricaneHelene #DisasterRecovery #ResilientCommunities #BlackMountainNC

[Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety @IBHS_org]

How do you build a @FORTIFIEDHome Roof?

📽️ Watch IBHS Science Producer Jacqueline Waters and Director of Construction Shawn Macomber provide an overview of the science-backed details behind FORTIFIED, which has helped more than 100,000 coastal and inland residents better protect their homes: https://t.co/rDDlVtY7cN

[Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety @IBHS_org]

🏡 How do building material and landscape choices affect a home's survival in a wildfire?

Last month, IBHS joined the New Mexico State Fire Marshal’s Office and the New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance (OSI) for a live-fire demonstration showing mitigation steps can reduce wildfire risk.

🔥 Both structures faced the same simulated wildfire conditions, but the outcomes were dramatically different. The structure built to the Wildfire Prepared Home standard remained standing, while the partially mitigated structure was destroyed.

The takeaway? Protecting your home means addressing multiple ways wildfire can cause it to ignite, from vulnerable building features to combustible materials around the property.

Learn how to reduce your home's wildfire risk at https://t.co/doepkh2bm8.

[Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety @IBHS_org]

How do you 3D-print a house? 🏠

@ICON3DTech is using robotic innovation and a proprietary concrete-like material to rethink how homes are built.

Hear how the technology works in the latest episode of the Disaster Discussions Podcast: https://t.co/8TA543f43v

[Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety @IBHS_org]

🔥 #DYK wind-blown embers - not the fire front - are the leading cause of home ignition during a wildfire? Homeowners can take action today to reduce their risk.

Wildfire Prepared Essential provides a series of science-backed mitigation steps to address the areas of a property most vulnerable to ember ignition, giving homeowners a clear pathway to wildfire preparedness.

✅ Find research-backed steps homeowners can take to earn a Wildfire Prepared designation at https://t.co/olr2w7f9O4.

[FederalAlliance (FLASH) @FederalAlliance]

Ground is officially broken at Heartwood Village ❤️🏡

In Black Mountain, North Carolina, FLASH joined ROOTS Community Land Trust, Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders, community leaders, partners, sponsors, and builders to mark an important step forward in #HurricaneHelene recovery.

Over the next two years, Heartwood Village will bring 50 permanently affordable homes to families displaced by the storm, with homes designed to achieve the IBHS FORTIFIED™ Gold standard.

Through the FLASH #StrongHomesInitiative, we’re proud to support this effort with technical expertise and resilient construction guidance alongside partners including @gafroofing, @MDS_Respond @strongtie @HomeDepotFound @IBHS_org

For these families, recovery means safer, stronger homes and greater resilience for the future.

@DavidWVenables

#HeartwoodVillage #DisasterRecovery #ResilientCommunities #BlackMountainNC

[FORTIFIED Home™ @FORTIFIEDHOME]

Resilience is a team effort. 🏡

Today, partners broke ground on Heartwood Village in Black Mountain, NC, where 50 permanently affordable homes will be built to the @ibhs_org FORTIFIED Gold Standard.

Led by the Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders, with support from @FederalAlliance Strong Homes Initiative and Roots Community Land Trust, this project is bringing resilience to communities recovering from Hurricane Helene, reminding us that severe weather impacts are not limited to the coast.

[Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety @IBHS_org]

The science behind IBHS starts with our team. 🥼

Scientists, engineers, technicians and communicators bring their expertise, curiosity and a shared purpose to help reduce severe weather damage to homes, businesses and communities.

🎥 Hear from Team IBHS on what drives their work each day: https://t.co/7bJQdh9Iwe

[Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety @IBHS_org]

Wildfire Prepared Home launched in California in 2022. Today, the IBHS team is back in the state showing what science-backed wildfire mitigation looks like in action. 🔥

Alongside @CalChiefs_CFCA, IBHS hosted a side-by-side wildfire demonstration, featuring two structures facing the same simulated wildfire conditions. One incorporated all elements of the Wildfire Prepared Home Enhanced standard, while the other had common features that can create pathways for a home to ignite.

The demonstration showed why wildfire mitigation requires a layered approach, with measures working together to interrupt multiple pathways to ignition and reduce wildfire risk.

Learn more about the science behind Wildfire Prepared Home at https://t.co/MW0GVVJxj7.

[Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety @IBHS_org]

#BehindTheScenes at the IBHS Research Center 🌧️ The deluge system in our main test chamber is a safety precaution for fire protection.

Take a look at our latest test of this system as we prepare for upcoming experiments.

[Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety @IBHS_org]

How wildfire moves through a community can come down to the vulnerabilities on and around each home. 🔥

During IBHS’ investigation of the Old Trails Fire in Spokane, Washington, IBHS researchers observed how mulch within the first five feet of houses led to flames reaching and igniting even noncombustible walls. Combustible fences and decks also created pathways for fire to spread between properties, while features like window wells presented additional opportunities for ignition.

These findings highlight how addressing vulnerabilities around individual homes can help communities interrupt the pathways that allow wildfire to spread and reduce future losses.

Read our Early Insights Report at https://t.co/DcLNIY1rkX.

[Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety @IBHS_org]

When your roof cover comes off during high wind, what's underneath could determine how much water enters your home.💧

Severe thunderstorms, hurricanes and tornadoes can damage roof coverings, creating a path for wind-driven rain. Sealing your roof deck can reduce water entry by up to 95%, but not every roofer includes this critical step. 🌧️

Learn why this added layer can make a major difference - and find more ways to prepare your home for severe weather at https://t.co/VxoHufjL3I.

[Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety @IBHS_org]

How much more does it cost to build a wildfire-resistant home in Colorado? 🔥

The latest research from @cuboulder’s @earthlabcu found that incorporating key wildfire-resilient construction measures into new Colorado homes adds just 1% to modeled direct construction costs.

These insights will help pave the way for future wildfire-resilient construction.

Explore the full study at https://t.co/HWhRChQ484.

[David Venables @DavidWVenables]

Free webinar Oct 22, 8:30-9:30 AM Pacific, from Earth Advantage: Wildfire Prepared Home, Applied Mitigation for the Built Environment. It covers how embers, radiant heat and flame contact find the weak points in roofs, vents, walls, decks and fences. https://t.co/jX4UQUB79x

[Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety @IBHS_org]

How does vegetation around a home affect its wildfire risk? 🔥 This year, IBHS is expanding its research to find out.

In 2025, IBHS tested hedges under more intense heat exposure to better understand how vegetation within 0-5 ft of a home may behave during a wildfire. This year, researchers are expanding the work to test a wider range of plants within 5-30 ft of a structure.

Each test helps provide critical data that can inform practical mitigation steps homeowners can take to help reduce their home’s ignition risk.

Learn more about IBHS’ research at https://t.co/046kxeEs8x.