Firefighters for hire: Insurance firms providing protection in high-risk areas [The Santa Fe New Mexican]

April 02--When the Pacheco Fire broke out near the Santa Fe ski basin last summer, a team of firefighters was ready to protect homes on Santa Fe's north side in case the blaze blew that way.

It was a team of trained firefighters working under contract for a private insurance company.

These firefighters for hire are an increasingly hot commodity as the number of homes in high-fire-risk areas increases.

In the last five years, an increasing number of insurance companies have added fire prevention and protection to their list of services for their customers.

New Jersey-based Chubb Insurance has contracted with the nation's largest private firefighting firm -- Wildfire Defense Services out of Montana -- to work with homeowners in 14 states, including New Mexico. Chubb began offering wildfire services to customers in 2008 and expanded service to 141 Texas counties last year.

Firefighters on the private crews are trained and meet the same requirements as certified firefighters with the U.S. Forest Service, said David Torgerson, president of Wildfire Defense Systems. Many of them already have experience as engine crews and wild-land firefighters. His company started out contracting strictly with the federal government and began working with insurance companies in 2008.

Kevin Fuhriman of Chubb said the wildfire service was a natural progression, offered to help the company and homeowners protect investments. Homeowners aren't obligated to use the service, but it is offered free of charge as part of a Chubb policy, he said.

"If we save some homes, it pays for the whole program," Fuhriman said. "If we educate our homeowners and they take some action, you can't quantify that."

Privately contracted wildfire teams aren't the first responders. They serve as a trained, free resource to back up official federal, state or municipal wildfire teams, operating under a centralized incident command system.

Torgerson's company does more for insurers such as Chubb than help protect homes during a wildfire. It educates homeowners about the steps they need to take to protect their properties from wildfire -- such as moving flammable materials away from a house and closing windows before evacuating to prevent embers from blowing inside. Torgerson, a hazardous materials emergency response specialist, said his firm has engineers, architects and landscape architects along with professional firefighters. "We are looking at hiring a meteorologist," he said.

Contract wildfire resources aren't new. The U.S. Forest Service has hired private contract fire engine crews, water tankers and bulldozer operators for years.

In the last few years, as wildfires have increased in size and numbers, insurance companies have started contracting with experienced teams.

Fuhriman said Chubb has a lot of policyholders around Santa Fe and about 27,000 across the state. The company had teams doing "pre-suppression" around insured homes in Los Alamos during last summer's Las Conchas Fire and Santa Fe during the Pacheco Fire. Pre-suppression can include putting sprinkler systems on or around homes and spraying a fire retardant gel on structures that can be removed after a fire is out.

Private contract firefighters present both a risk and benefit to public firefighting services, such as the city of Santa Fe Fire Department.

Erik J. Litzenberg, assistant city fire chief -- who owned a private contracting service called Santa Fe Wildfire until he sold it -- said at first, even he was leery of the private crews. But over time, he's gained confidence in their abilities, in part because the companies are communicating with the city.

Two weeks before the Pacheco and Las Conchas fires, the Wildfire Service team contracted by Chubb met with city of Santa Fe fire personnel. About 200 houses around the city, including some in one of the highest fire-risk areas at Hyde Park Estates, are protected by the private firefighting crews.

"When fires do hit, since these companies have built a relationship with locals and fire incident command teams, we're gaining some confidence that they'll take care of their own so we don't have to put as many resources on those homes," Litzenberg said.

He envisions a potentially larger role for teams contracted by insurance companies. "If they were able to insure all of Cerros Colorados [a Santa Fe subdivision], for example, it would be really nice for us. We could just call if there was a wildfire and let them know there's a problem in their area."

"I think this private firefighting is up-and-coming."

New Mexico is a good spot for private contract firefighters. The ISO Property Claims Services estimates New Mexico insurers paid out $140 million in claims due to wildfires alone from 2000 to 2009. New Mexico ranked second last year behind Texas as the state with the most number of acres burned in wildfires last year. And Cerro Grande ranks as the ninth costliest fire in the U.S. since 1991, with a $175 million price tag in 2010 dollars.

The private companies gained some national attention in 2010 when private firefighters saved 10 homes during Colorado's Fourmile Canyon Fire.

Contact Staci Matlock at 986-3055 or [email protected].

IF YOU GO

What: Wildland Urban Interface Summit, with the theme "Fire is at Your Door -- Are You Ready?" The event is hosted by the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the New Mexico State Forestry Division, the State Land Office, and New Mexico Association of Counties.

When: Tuesday and Wednesday

Where: Ruidoso Convention Center

BY THE NUMBERS

New Mexico fires in 2011: 1,873

Total acres burned in 2011: 1,089,769

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