EFRU is deeply honored to receive this recognition for its work protecting wildfire survivors. Over the past 22 months, EFRU has united residents, scientists, and community advocates to document hazardous contamination in standing homes, building one of the nation's largest public datasets of indoor wildfire contamination and demonstrating how lead, asbestos, and other toxic substances can persist even after remediation. We are especially honored to have served our community and partnered with Assemblymember John Harabedian to pass EFRU-sponsored AB 1642, groundbreaking legislation establishing science-based standards for testing, remediation, and clearance following wildland-urban interface (WUI) fires.
AB 1642 shifts the determination of whether a home has been adequately remediated away from insurers' subjective sight-and-smell evaluations and toward objective, science-based standards, addressing practices that have left our community at continued risk from invisible contamination.
We share this recognition with the residents, scientists, volunteers, and community partners whose dedication made these protections possible. Thank you to every EFRU member – we did this together.