Recently we were contacted by Mary Kwart, retired fire management professional, who had questions about DuraBond’s steel privacy fencing. It did not take long for the conversation to turn to Mary’s fascinating career as a wildland fire professional.
Mary’s hard-driving nature helped her become one of the first several female hotshot firefighters, and through a distinguished career she garnered assignments and experience which helped her become a leading expert across a range of specialties in fire management.
“My personality is laid back, I’m not over-aggressive, but I want to be the best at what I do,” she said. “There was more satisfaction from doing things that are difficult rather than doing things that are easy.
Now retired, Mary is a long-distance hiker, well-known in that community, who has completed the entire Pacific Crest Trail as well as other notable treks. If not hiking, Mary is active in Ashland, Oregon helping her community become more proactive and prepared for wildfires.
Mary also teamed with a colleague to create and facilitate a class for Rogue Valley community members entitled Living with Fire at Home and in the Landscape, which was offered through Osher LIfelong Learning Institute at the University of Oregon.
Helping owners to better prepare for wildland fire is timely and important work in communities ravaged recently by the Almeda and South Obenchain fires.
Mary called us about DuraBond’s steel privacy fencing because of its ability to mitigate spread of fire and she is in the process of preparing her own home to withstand wildland fires. Of course, Mary being Mary, she had already read the research done by experts in Australia, where the fencing is produced.
She is interested in using our fencing because she understands the importance of using non- flammable building materials, knowledge gained in some part during her tenure as Alaska’s first female US Department of Fish and Wildlife fire management officer in Alaska. Through her capacity Mary worked with Alaskan Fire Wise communities, designing and implementing fire hazard reduction projects.
Mary is a strong believer that non flammable building materials such as metal roofing, cement siding, non-flammable landscaping materials and steel fencing contribute greatly to saving structures in the event of fire.
She was clear-eyed and direct when we asked her about the value of using steel fencing to help prevent a wildland fire from destroying a structure.
“Think about the showers of embers coming down from the sky,” she said. “If they hit a wood fence it is an instant fire…wood fencing acts as a wick to take a fire onto your property and onto your neighbor’s property.”
We’re convinced!
Give us a call to begin your own fence planning and preparation for wildfire.
