One of the goals of the RSG! Program is to provide the guidance and implementation tools for fire departments to help the residents they serve become a Fire Adapted Community. 

Fire Adapted Communities (FAC) brings together the federal land management agencies with national organizations and state and local interests to stress that with proper community-wide preparation, human populations and infrastructure can withstand the devastating effects of a wildland fire. The RSG! Program is one of the national tools for this cohesive effort.

FAC helps to create a collaborative community-wide effort, where all parties, citizens and government, are involved in successfully adapting to their wildland fire challenge.

Fire departments, local decision makers, the public, and land managers each have an important role to play. The FAC website, www.FireAdapted.org, provides beneficial resources and information for each group.

The Ad Council also has produced television, radio, print, outdoor and web PSAs that aim to empower residents to proactively take the steps to make their communities fire adapted by reinforcing that, “You can’t control where a wildland fire ember will land – but you can control what happens when it does.”

In March 2012, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) worked with the U.S. Fire Administration to produce the gudiance document, Your Role in Fire Adapted Communities. It explains the roles and responsibilities that fire departments, local decision makers, land managers, and the public have in a fire threatened area. The RSG! Program encourages all fire departments to read the guidance document and learn more about their role.

Colorado Springs and the 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire produced a video featuring a case study on creating Fire Adapted Communities.

For more information about FAC and the National Cohesive Strategy, visit the Forests and Rangelands resource page about Fire Adapted Communities.