Speaker 1: Right now, we're going to learn more about Dixon Trail
Speaker 1: in Escondido. It is the first neighborhood in the US
Speaker 1: purpose built to resist wildfire, from ember resistant fence to
Speaker 1: noncombustible fences. KB Homes says they've constructed houses designed to
Speaker 1: survive the next big blaze. But with millions of Californians
Speaker 1: living in high risk zones, can this model be scaled up?
Speaker 1: And who will pay for it? Joining me now is
Speaker 1: Steve Rouffner, SVP of KB Homes. Hi, Steve, let's just
Speaker 1: jump right in. Given that the homes in the Dixon
Speaker 1: Trail started over at about a million dollars, what strategies
Speaker 1: is KB Homes considering to make wildfire resistant housing more
Speaker 1: accessible and affordable for more Californians, especially those in high
Speaker 1: risk fire zones.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so that's the reason we did this project was
Speaker 2: a kind of a research and development project to understand
Speaker 2: the costs associated with doing the IBHS program in a
Speaker 2: high fire zone. These homes are actually even though they're
Speaker 2: in like a million to a million one point fifty,
Speaker 2: they're actually at the medium price for a home in
Speaker 2: San Diego County.
Speaker 1: And then, does KB Homes have any plan to replicate
Speaker 1: the wildfire resilient design there in Dixon Trail into other
Speaker 1: developments in California.
Speaker 2: That's what we're using this project to figure out how
Speaker 2: we can do it. Obviously, we would only do this
Speaker 2: in a high fire zone, and when you look at
Speaker 2: the high fire zones in the state of California, those
Speaker 2: have grown with the new map.
Speaker 1: Are there any insurance benefits to living in a community
Speaker 1: like Dixon Trail.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So we're sharing this information with all the insurance
Speaker 2: companies IBHS and ourselves has been meeting with them to
Speaker 2: go over what the benefits of this program are and
Speaker 2: I'm sure it will benefit the customers in the long term. Currently,
Speaker 2: all of our customers that have closed are in s
Speaker 2: grow do have insurance, and that's a big plus in
Speaker 2: a high fire zone, so they are able to get
Speaker 2: insurance at a reasonable price.
Speaker 1: About half of the sixty four homes in this Escondido
Speaker 1: neighborhood have been built, but they've already had their grand opening.
Speaker 1: This is also the first time that the Insurance Institute
Speaker 1: for Business and Home Safety has given their stamp of
Speaker 1: approval to an entire neighborhood. Joining me now to talk
Speaker 1: about why they give their seal of approval on an
Speaker 1: entire neighborhood. Is Ian Giamanco from IBHS.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so the Dixon's Trail development from KB home is
Speaker 3: the first that meets our newest construction standard, which is
Speaker 3: our Wildfire Prepared Neighborhood standard. They have what's called the
Speaker 3: provisional designation in that space as the neighborhood is still
Speaker 3: being constructed, but the homes in that neighborhood have put
Speaker 3: together the best system that science can offer to make
Speaker 3: those homes more resistant to an approaching wildfire. So we
Speaker 3: can start really at the roof system. They all have
Speaker 3: what's called the Class A roof, which is the most
Speaker 3: fire resistant material. They have non combustible wall cover, they
Speaker 3: have double pain tempered glass, and then all the way
Speaker 3: down to perhaps the kind of the piece that ties
Speaker 3: a lot of this system of fire resistance together. In
Speaker 3: the first five feet from their wall outward, they have
Speaker 3: a non combustible area, which is that last chain of
Speaker 3: where fire can get to our homes. So that not
Speaker 3: only includes non combustible landscaping, but it also includes things
Speaker 3: like metal fences, so there's no combustible material that can
Speaker 3: ignite that directly. Touches the home in that five foot zone.
Speaker 1: Would something like this make it easier for homeowners to
Speaker 1: get fire insurance.
Speaker 3: So this is absolutely you know, with the insurance pressures
Speaker 3: we see in the California market, this is the path
Speaker 3: toward making sure you have the best chance for not
Speaker 3: only insurance accessibility, that you can get coverage. All the
Speaker 3: features of these homes also fall under the state of
Speaker 3: California is a safer Wildfire discount programs added incentives out
Speaker 3: there for homeowners.
Speaker 1: Do these homes come with sort of a seal of approval,
Speaker 1: some kind of certification showing that their homes are made
Speaker 1: safer against wildfires.
Speaker 3: To IBH just issues, each homeowner, as their homes are
Speaker 3: constructed and inspected, will get a Wildfire Prepared home designation.
Speaker 3: All these homes have our Plus level, which is the
Speaker 3: highest level of protection, so each homeowner will get that designation.
Speaker 3: All of those features that are associated with those homes
Speaker 3: do fall under the state's program that has incentives built in,
Speaker 3: and the neighborhood itself, once it is fully completed and inspected,
Speaker 3: will get their full wildfire Prepared neighborhood designation. As I
Speaker 3: mentioned right now, it's provisional We've looked at the designs
Speaker 3: with Kade Holmes and made sure all those provisions were met,
Speaker 3: and so once that neighborhood's completed, each home owner not
Speaker 3: only will have their own designation for their home through
Speaker 3: the Wildfire Prepared Home program, the entire unity the Wildfire
Speaker 3: Prepared Neighborhood designation will exist there for everybody.
Speaker 1: And Steve, thank you so much for your time. I
Speaker 1: think it's fair to say that these types of requirements
Speaker 1: may become standard in the future of home building in California.
Speaker 1: I'm Mother Brooker. Thanks for listening. You can listen to
Speaker 1: all of our shows on KFI on the iHeartRadio app.