This home in Chino Hills is one of the best protected in case of a fire - Here's why

CHINO HILLS, Calif. (KABC) -- A home in Chino Hills is one of the best protected in case of a fire.

It is the first home in Southern California to get a certificate from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety that says it is well prepared for a fire.

"I need to do everything - everything - I possibly can so I can make sure that at least my family in my home is able to sustain a wildfire if another one were to happen," said OP Almaraz, who owns the home and is from Allied Disaster Defense.

As we saw with the wildfires in Lahaina, the flames can move quickly and destroy entire neighborhoods. This home is next to a canyon.

"Fires are going to pull through the canyon and it's going to burn uphill 17 times faster than downhill," said Rich Snyder, a wildfire defensive specialist. "What's happening is the embers are attacking the homes and setting the homes on fire and the homes themselves become fuel for that fire."

The idea is to remove as much of that fuel as possible from around the home.

"They provided this five-foot defensible space where there are no combustibles, porch, there's no mulch, there's no vegetation, an ember can land here and it will self-extinguish," said Snyder.

Homes like these have tile roofs and are very fire-resistant from the outside.

In addition, they are also spraying Phos-Chek all around the home. That's what helicopters drop on fires to stop them from spreading.

"I think all these things together and the approach is what else can I do to protect my home. So we feel much more comfortable knowing that we've done what we can to help our home survive," said Almaraz.

When a fire happens so quickly, you have to leave immediately.

To be prepared, make sure to have enough water, medicines, a charged battery for phones and cash on hand. In Lahaina, without power, there was no way to access an ATM or pump gas. Make sure you have valuables in an easy location to grab and go.

Lahaina should be a wakeup call to all of us in California that people need to start preparing for fires now.