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Normal Heights �Fire Safe Council�est. March 2025

Early Days

By Susan Redelings, 4/1/2025

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Normal Heights is a neighborhood of canyons

UnionTribune�Articles highlighting our canyonlands

2006/2007

Canyons compared to a set of human lungs
Quality of neighborhood life because of longevity of ownership & relative low density

NORMAL HEIGHTS FIRE SAFE COUNCIL MEETING 2/23/25

Long overdue
Reached out to neighbors and neighboring fire safe councils; hand delivered 50+ hardcopy invitations
Invited Engine #18 to show off new fire truck
Served drinks and snacks and talked fire safety
Added fire safety tangibles such as Vulcan Vents
Fire Capt Bixler took Q&A
Took minutes, distributed Ready Set Go pamphlets and set the drum beating to increase community engagement.

NORMAL HEIGHTS FSC BOUNDARIES

LOGO FOR OUR NEW �FIRE SAFE COUNCIL�Madison Stevens, artist�� - approved by the Fire Safe Council of San Diego County at their March 2025 meeting��

WHAT WORKS�LEARNINGS�PARTNERSHIPS

Fire Safety Through Community Engagement
Smart Growth – align with State ADU code
Home hardening materials
Replace nonfunctional house vents with Vulcan Vents (or similar)- learn from outcome of the 6/30/85 fire
Landscaping tips (look down, not up)
Be in touch with your local fire station
Copy and paste already-formed FSC’s documents, etc.
Brainstorming sessions (charettes) for living with the certainty of vegetation fires in our canyons
Partner with SD Homeless Outreach re fire risks
Jenny Hall is our SDPD community officer
Ask Susan for Ready, Set, Go pamphlet

CALFIRE FIRE HAZARD SEVERITY ZONE MAPS�San Diego

OLD

MARCH 24 2025 UPDATE

VHFHSZs REDUCED, BUT INSURANCE RATES INCREASED/POLICIES CANCELLED???

June 30, 1985 Normal Heights Fire��7/2/85 UT Article

1 ingress/1 egress for fire evacuation- where are the cars for high-density bonus ADUs?
Don’t put Granny in an ADU in a VHFHSZ without sprinklers (Chief Don Butz, Lakeside)
Abusive #s of ADUs in VHFHSZs w/o upgrade of City Services (ie slurry seals absent/pot holes abundant; water delivery barely adequate for current #s of residents, some streets were designed for 4 houses and currently there are 20+; data from 6/30/85 tells a tall tale of City Services failures) puts current owners in unnecessary peril
Living with fire and ADU infill requires creative thinking: large tanks of water for use by fire dept helo; strict adherence to property lines, put in tall landscaping for privacy, requirement for upgrade of City Services, etc.
Come join the NHFSC and help keep Normal Heights hip, happening and…

FIRE SAFE !

What’s next?

Need 6 community members to take up these volunteer positions: