The Tollgate Firewise program, originally established in 2013, was recently e-ignited. In 2021, the board of the Tollgate Property Owners Association formally approved the creation of a Firewise Committee and agreed to support its work. Tollgate resident Jane Killefer chairs the committee, and Board member Jim Nash serves as the committee’s liaison to the Board. Additional members are Chris Laing, Chris West, Joan Hardie, Janet Huerta, Carolyn Dahlberg and Christina Maier. We are highly motivated to learn more about fire protection, share what we learn, inspire individual homeowner action, and work collaboratively to prepare our neighborhood from future fires.
Fire is inevitable; the loss of our homes and property, not to mention our lives, is not. Together we can mitigate the danger. Let’s do it!
Our Mission: Mitigate fire risk and to promote the common good.
Our Vision: Neighbors living in a Firewise culture of goodwill and active involvement to protect our community from wildfire.
Our Values:
- National Firewise principles are promoted and followed in our community.
- Our volunteers are expertly trained and trustworthy.
- Our work is accomplished collaboratively with the Tollgate Property Owners Association homeowners, board of directors, and staff.
The Tollgate Firewise Committee is organized into four distinct focus areas:
Events:
Our first Firewise Rally was held on May 6-7, 2022 and featured films, kid’s activities, food, and information booths staffed by local home insurance agents and vendors who specialize in fire mitigation products and services. Interested homeowners also registered to participate in our first clean-up day. Plan to join us again on Saturday, May 6, 2023 for our next annual Firewise Rally.
Education:
As we learn how to protect our homes, we will share that information with you via email and this TPOA website. We will rely heavily on the excellent resources provided by the National Fire Protection Association, and highly recommend you spend some time on that site. It is amazing what can be done to mitigate the danger of fire while preserving the wooded nature of our beautiful neighborhood. If we each do a little, we can accomplish a lot to protect our homes.
Assessment:
Our goal is to encourage homeowners to have their property evaluated for fire risk. Such evaluations can provide guidance for individual fire mitigation strategies at the homeowner’s discretion, potentially with assistance from grants secured by the Firewise Committee. If you’re interested in being trained as a volunteer assessor or to request a wildfire risk assessment on your property by our own Tollgate Firewise Assessors, email us at firewise@tollgatepropertyowners.com or fill out the Request an Assessment online form.
Outreach:
We strive to keep the TPOA website updated with current Firewise information (that’s what you are reading now!). If you have further questions or comments, please email us at firewise@tollgatepropertyowners.com. We also encourage you to join our Firewise in Tollgate Facebook group.