Purpose/Background

Launched in 2014, Wildfire Partners is a nationally recognized, collaborative program to reduce wildfire risk. Homeowners, with the assistance from Wildfire Partners, work to better protect their homes by actively creating and maintaining defensible space and reducing the ignition potential of their structures. Boulder County is issuing this Request for Proposals to help implement Wildfire Partners. Over 2,000 homeowners are currently in the program. Wildfire Partners offers motivated homeowners many benefits:

• A comprehensive, on-site, wildfire home assessment with a Wildfire Mitigation Specialist
• A Wildfire Partners Assessment Report that identifies the weak links in a home’s defenses and specific mitigation measures to be undertaken.
• Wildfire Partners Financial Awards to subsidize the cost of hiring a Wildfire Partners Forestry Contractor
• Free access to Wildfire Phone Advisors
• Follow up visits and inspections with a Wildfire Mitigation Specialist
• For homeowners who pass their inspections, a Wildfire Partners Certificate, yard sign and letter stating that they have performed mitigation

Homeowners are required to actively participate in their home assessments so that they learn the principles and science behind wildfire mitigation. Homeowners provide essential input to the Wildfire Mitigation Specialists as they mark vegetation for removal as part of the program. The specialists use an iPad assessment app to gather information, take photographs and evaluate 50 mitigation related questions grouped into 10 different categories (i.e., roofs, decks, zone 1, emergency preparedness). Following the assessment, the homeowner receives a customized report containing a Mitigation Checklist with their photos of items requiring mitigation. Homeowners obtain and select bids from the Wildfire Partners Forestry Contractors (partially funded by a financial award) and the Wildfire Partners Handyman/Handywoman and Home Retrofit Contractors (not supported by a financial award) to complete the work identified on their Mitigation Checklist. Wildfire Phone Advisors, along with the Mitigation Specialists, help homeowners navigate their individual steps in the process. To learn more about Wildfire Partners, visit www.WildfirePartners.org.

Specifications and a sample contract with a FEMA specific addendum are attached. The successful proposer shall execute the attached addendum as part of any contract with the county, and comply with all FEMA requirements set forth in that addendum.

Written Inquiries

All inquiries regarding this RFP will be submitted via email to the Boulder County Purchasing Office at purchasing@bouldercounty.org on or before 2:00 p.m. May 8, 2020. A response from the county to all inquiries will be posted and sent via email no later than May 13, 2020.

Please do not contact any other county department or personnel with questions or for information regarding this solicitation.

Submittal Instructions

Submittals are due at the email box only, listed below, for time and date recording on or before 10:00 a.m. Mountain Time on May 18, 2020.

RFP #7145-20