Skip to content
The Problem The Blueprint About Tim FAQ Get the Blueprint
A craftsman home with well-maintained defensible space at golden hour, gravel landscaping and native plants surrounding the structure with pine forest at a safe distance
Free Homeowner Guide

Your Home's First Line of Defense Against Wildfire

A fire investigator's walkthrough of what actually keeps homes safe — the 20-minute property audit, zone-by-zone guidance, and the 5 things that destroy homes that no checklist ever mentions.

Get the Free Blueprint
Tim Murphy, Certified Fire Investigator

Written by

Tim Murphy

My father, my godfather, and three uncles were Boston firefighters. I grew up in Dorchester spending afternoons at the firehouse. Fire was part of my world long before it became my career.

After working alongside the FBI and ATF as a Certified Fire Investigator, and completing nearly 18,000 property inspections as a Licensed General Contractor and Certified Master Inspector, I kept finding the same thing: homes that burned didn't have to. Not because the owners couldn't afford to protect them — but because nobody ever told them what to actually do.

This blueprint is what I wish every homeowner in wildfire country had before fire season.

18K+
Property Inspections
CFI
Fire Investigator
GC
Licensed in CA & AZ
CMI
Master Inspector
Wildfire advancing through pine forest toward a craftsman home with defensible space, smoke billowing over mountain terrain

What Most People Don't Know

90% of Homes Lost to Wildfire Are Ignited by Embers — Not Flames

Wildfires generate wind-driven embers that travel miles through the air. They land in gutters, blow under decks, lodge into vent screens, and find accumulated dry debris. A wildfire five miles away doesn't need to reach your house. The embers get there first.

The space around your home — and how you maintain it — determines whether those embers find fuel or find nothing. That's what defensible space is. And most homeowners in fire-prone areas don't have it right.

90% of homes lost to embers, not flames
6–18 hrs your home sits undefended after evacuation
20 min to audit your property with this blueprint

Inside the Free Blueprint

What You'll Learn

A fire investigator's walkthrough of what actually keeps homes safe — written for homeowners, not contractors.

20-Minute Property Audit

A self-guided walk you can do this weekend with nothing but your phone. Start at the street, work toward the house, and identify every vulnerability — the same method Tim uses on professional evaluations.

Zone-by-Zone Guidance

The 0–5 foot zone, the 5–30 foot zone, the 30–100 foot zone. What belongs in each, what needs to go, and practical alternatives that work in the real world. Not theory — field-tested reality.

The 5 Silent Home Killers

The five things Tim finds in almost every fire-damaged property inspection. Gutters, vent screens, fence connections, deck undersides, and the 0–5 foot zone — fix these and you've eliminated most of your risk.

Free Download

The Homeowner's Defensible Space Blueprint

A fire investigator's personal walkthrough of what actually keeps homes safe. The 5 things that destroy homes that no checklist ever mentions. A 20-minute property audit you can do this weekend. Zone-by-zone guidance with real-world alternatives.

The Homeowner's Shield: A Guide to Wildfire Defense — infographic showing defensible space zones and home hardening strategies
The Book on Wildfire Protection — A Homeowner's Guide to Defending Your Home by Tim Murphy

Go Deeper

The Book on Wildfire Protection

Tim's 124-page guide covers everything from ember science to defensible space to insurance strategies. From understanding your area's risk factors to hardening every surface of your home — this is the comprehensive reference for homeowners in wildfire country.

Foreword by Raymond Aaron, New York Times Bestselling Author. Coming early summer 2026.

Fire Season Doesn't Send a Calendar Invite

Download the free Defensible Space Blueprint — written by a Certified Fire Investigator with 18,000+ property inspections. Includes the 20-minute property audit, zone-by-zone guidance, and the 5 things that destroy homes that no checklist ever mentions.

Get the Free Blueprint

Frequently Asked Questions

Defensible space is the area around your home where you manage vegetation, materials, and debris to reduce wildfire risk. It works in three zones: 0–5 feet (non-combustible materials only), 5–30 feet (reduced and spaced vegetation), and 30–100 feet (thinned trees and cleared ground debris). Properly maintained defensible space gives embers nothing to ignite when they land near your home.
90% of homes destroyed in wildfires are ignited by flying embers, not direct flame contact. High winds launch burning embers — some as small as a fingernail, some the size of your fist — miles ahead of the fire front. They land in gutters, blow under decks, and lodge into vent screens. Your home doesn't burn because the fire reached it. It burns because the embers got there first and found something to work with.
About 20 minutes. The blueprint walks you through a structured walk starting at the street and moving toward your home — the same path an ember shower would take. All you need is your phone to take photos. Most homeowners are surprised by what they find in the first five minutes.
Defensible space dramatically reduces your risk — it's the most important thing you can do. But it's passive protection: it removes fuel so embers have less to ignite. For homeowners who want active protection that works when they're evacuated, there are systems that add a second layer of defense. The blueprint covers both concepts so you can decide what's right for your situation.
Many insurers in wildfire-prone areas offer premium reductions for homes with documented defensible space and fire mitigation measures. The specifics vary by carrier and state. Doing the property audit in the blueprint and documenting your improvements creates exactly the kind of record insurers look for when evaluating wildfire risk.
Tim Murphy — a Certified Fire Investigator who worked alongside the FBI and ATF, a Licensed General Contractor in California and Arizona, and a Certified Master Inspector with nearly 18,000 property inspections. Tim also authored "The Book on Wildfire Protection" and developed the patent-pending Pre-Fire Ember Dousing System. The blueprint distills decades of field experience into clear, actionable guidance.