Fire Aside

About Fire Aside

Fire Aside, founded in 2020 by Colette Taber, operates within the growing market of wildfire risk mitigation and home hardening services. The company provides a direct-to-homeowner service focused on creating defensible space around properties to protect them from wildfire threats. This service is particularly relevant for homeowners in Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) zones, where the risk of wildfire damage is highest. Fire Aside's business model appears to be a direct-to-consumer, service-based approach, where they perform the physical work of clearing flammable vegetation and materials from around a home. The company's offerings are designed to help homeowners meet and exceed the standards set by fire departments and insurance companies, potentially aiding in maintaining insurance coverage which is increasingly difficult in high-risk areas. The service includes detailed assessments of a property's specific vulnerabilities and the execution of a plan to address them, such as clearing brush, cleaning gutters, and removing flammable items from near the structure.

The company's establishment was directly influenced by the founder's personal experience with wildfire risk. Colette Taber's background in the tech industry, including a role as a product manager at Google, combined with her firsthand experience as a homeowner in a high-fire-threat area in Marin County, California, informed the creation of Fire Aside. After her family's home was threatened by the 2019 Kincade Fire and subsequently faced an insurance non-renewal, she identified a critical need for a streamlined, trustworthy service to help homeowners navigate the complex and labor-intensive process of creating defensible space. This personal journey underpins the company's mission to provide practical, on-the-ground solutions for property protection against wildfires. Fire Aside also leverages technology to provide homeowners with a digital 'Defensible Space Report Card' to track their progress and compliance.