Fatal Boise fire prompts changes in fire standards


Wildfire Today covered this fire in August. Now, from the Idaho Statesman:

Fireproof roofs, siding and decks, sprinkler systems and an aggressive public education program are among the recommendations in a 22-page draft report spurred by the Aug. 25 Oregon Trail Fire in Boise that killed one woman, destroyed 10 homes and heavily damaged nine others.

Just days after the fire, Mayor Dave Bieter and the City Council asked for a report about how the city could avoid a similar disaster in the future.

The report, presented to Bieter and the council at a work session Tuesday, is the first step in looking at city rules and how they should be changed.

Many of the building- and fire-code recommendations are standard in urban areas that have grown near wildland areas, not only in the West but in other areas around the world.

“The mayor and council think it’s very important that we look at the tragedy of the Oregon Trail Fire and try to take the lessons to be learned from that experience,” said Boise spokesman Adam Park.

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