In this week’s episode, host Margaret Walls brings Mark Brown and Jason Brooks on the podcast to discuss their work facilitating fire-resilience efforts among the residents of Marin County, California. As the executive officer of the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority—the agency tasked with coordinating the county’s fire-prevention activities—Brown relies on data and strategies created by Fire Aside, a software company co-founded by Brooks. Together, the pair have contributed to an evolution in how the county approaches fire mitigation and response, promoting collaboration among homeowners, local fire services, and insurers. Brown and Brooks relate key takeaways from five years of their public-private partnership, including how to effectively advocate for behavior change, enable homeowners to improve their insurance plans, and unite communities to protect one another against the growing threat of wildfire.

References and recommendations:

Fire Safe Marin; https://firesafemarin.org/

Fire Aside; https://www.fireaside.com/

“The British Are Coming” by Rick Atkinson; https://rickatkinson.com/british-are-coming/

“The Death of Expertise” by Tom Nichols; https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-death-of-expertise-9780197763834

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