Santa Clara County Firesafe Council

What Santa Clara County Firesafe Council does

The Santa Clara County FireSafe Council (SCCFSC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2002 and headquartered at 14380 Saratoga Avenue, Saratoga, California. It mobilizes residents and stakeholders across Santa Clara County — roughly 1,290 square miles and more than 1.9 million inhabitants — to protect homes, communities, and the environment from wildfire, with limited spillover service into the adjacent Santa Cruz Mountains (zip codes 95033 and 95044). The organization delivers a portfolio of free services to Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) residents, including education programs, a Community Chipping Program, Home Ignition Zone assessments, defensible space guidance, Firewise USA recognition support, evacuation route vegetation clearance, and shaded fuel break development. It also produces countywide planning deliverables such as the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) and runs specialized initiatives including the South Bay Prescribed Burn Association and the inaugural FireSafe Summit technology showcase.

Operationally, SCCFSC is a community-led nonprofit with an 11-50 person team led by CEO Seth Schalet and supported by senior project management, public information, and volunteer coordination staff. Its revenue model is grant- and donation-driven, not commercial: confirmed cash inflows include a $250,000 CAL FIRE grant (via California Climate Investment Cap-and-Trade dollars) for the 2022/2023 CWPP update, California Coastal Conservancy funding for the South Bay Prescribed Burn Association, U.S. Forest Service Cooperative Fire Program funds routed through the California Fire Safe Council for pile burning, and individual donations processed through Mighty Cause. The organization also captures corporate sponsorship revenue through tiered FireSafe Summit sponsorships (Woodland, Healthy Forest, Resilient Community tiers). Its go-to-market is field-based and partnership-driven rather than sales-led: it works through CAL FIRE, Santa Clara County Fire, multiple regional fire districts, two open space authorities (Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Santa Clara County Open Space Authority), PG&E, San Jose Water, county parks, and SWCA Environmental Consultants, and it executes projects in direct coordination with public agencies and private landowners.

Name

Santa Clara County Firesafe Council

Legal name

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council

Website

https://sccfiresafe.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers free wildfire preparedness education, chipping, Home Ignition Zone assessments, and fuel-break projects to Wildland Urban Interface residents across Santa Clara County and adjacent Santa Cruz Mountain communities, funded by state and federal grants and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wildfire Preparedness and Community Fire Safety Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (11531), Support Activities for Forestry (115310), Support Activities for Forestry (1153), Fire Protection (92216)

SIC

Forestry (800), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Wildfire Fuel Reduction & Prescribed Burning (AFAMAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Integrated Forest Health & Fire Management Planning (AFAMAEAK), Forest Fire Management & Fuels Reduction Services (IMAMAAAH), Wildfire Suppression & Incident Response (AFAMAEAE), Wildfire Risk Assessment, Prevention & Suppression Services (IMAMAJAG)

Keywords

• Wildfire preparedness services
• Community fire safety
• Defensible space education
• Firewise community recognition
• Vegetation fuel reduction

Headquarters

HQ city

Saratoga

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants: Primary revenue source from grants including CAL FIRE grants ($250,000 for CWPP update), California Climate Investment funds, and U.S. Forest Service Cooperative Fire Program grants through California Fire Safe Council. Funding also from California Coastal Conservancy for South Bay Prescribed Burn Association.
2. Donations: Relies on donations from individuals and organizations to carry out its mission. Accepts donations through Mighty Cause platform. Tax-deductible contributions supporting wildfire preparedness programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SCCFSC provides free wildfire preparedness services to Santa Clara County residents living in the Wildland Urban Interface, including community education on defensible space and evacuation planning, a free Community Chipping Program, Home Ignition Zone (HIZ) property assessments, shaded fuel break projects, and roadside vegetation clearance along evacuation routes. It also facilitates Firewise USA community recognition, develops the countywide Community Wildfire Protection Plan, and runs training and capacity-building programs such as the South Bay Prescribed Burn Association. All services are offered at no cost to residents and are funded through government grants and donations.

Product overview

Santa Clara County FireSafe Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit grassroots organization offering a portfolio of wildfire preparedness services rather than a unified software product. The core offerings include educational programs on defensible space and evacuation planning, community vegetation management services (chipping, shaded fuel breaks, evacuation route clearance), property risk assessments (Home Ignition Zone assessments), and community wildfire planning (CWPP development and Firewise USA recognition). Supporting initiatives include the South Bay Prescribed Burn Association for controlled burn training, the County Coordinator Program for regional coordination, and the annual FireSafe Summit for technology showcase. The organization operates primarily in Santa Clara County, California, with some services extending to portions of Santa Cruz County.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• South Bay Prescribed Burn Association (SBPBA): A regional initiative to build local capacity for prescribed burns through training, workshops, and community outreach.
• FireSafe Summit
• South Bay PBA

Products and services

• Community Chipping Program
• Home Ignition Zone (HIZ) Assessment
• Wildfire Preparedness Education Programs
• Shaded Fuel Break Development
• Evacuation Route Projects
• Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) Countywide strategic wildfire preparedness plan identifying risks, hazards, and mitigation strategies for Santa Clara County communities, funded through a $250,000 CAL FIRE grant and California Climate Investment dollars.
• Firewise USA Recognition Program
• South Bay Prescribed Burn Association (SBPBA) Regional initiative building local capacity for prescribed burning through training, workshops, and community outreach, including Type II firefighter certification support, funded by the California Coastal Conservancy.
• County Coordinator Program CAL FIRE-funded program establishing wildfire coordinators across California's 49 counties to implement resilience strategies and coordinate mitigation projects, with SCCFSC leading coordination for Santa Clara County.
• FireSafe Summit Annual wildfire technology showcase event featuring technology demonstrations, booths, live presentations, and networking for wildfire preparedness stakeholders, with inaugural edition in 2024.
• Neighbor-to-Neighbor Cost Share Program Cost-share program that connects neighboring property owners to coordinate and share the cost of defensible space and vegetation management work.
• Become a Community Ambassador Program Volunteer program that trains community members to act as wildfire preparedness ambassadors for their neighborhoods and to support Firewise USA recognition efforts.
• Pile Burning Operations Program Residential pile burning program providing education on permit requirements, pile construction techniques, and burn day regulations, funded by the U.S. Forest Service Cooperative Fire Program through the California Fire Safe Council.

Quantifiable outcome

• Santa Clara County encompasses approximately 1,290 square miles serving more than 1.9 million inhabitants

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• CAL FIREcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary government partner providing funding (including $250,000 for CWPP update) and technical expertise for wildfire prevention and protection projects throughout Santa Clara County.
• Santa Clara County FirecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCounty fire department partner collaborating on fire prevention and protection projects, including hosting workshops and community events.
• Regional Fire DistrictscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with regional fire districts across Santa Clara County for community wildfire preparedness programs and evacuation route maintenance.
• Santa Clara County Office of Emergency ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey stakeholder agency supporting CWPP update project and countywide wildfire preparedness coordination.
• Midpeninsula Regional Open Space DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpen space district partner along the western boundary of Santa Clara County, collaborating on forest health and fuel break projects.
• Santa Clara County Open Space AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpen space authority partner for wildfire mitigation projects on eastern county boundary and open space lands.
• SWCA Environmental ConsultantssupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEnvironmental consulting firm providing support for CWPP update project, including story map development.
• Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation DepartmentsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCounty parks department partner for wildfire mitigation on park lands.
• Pacific Gas and Electric CompanysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerUtility company partner for wildfire safety and infrastructure protection programs.
• Private LandownerssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrivate landowners collaborating with the organization to design and implement protective measures such as shaded fuel breaks.
• Los Altos Hills County Fire DistrictsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal fire district partner hosting community events and wildfire preparedness workshops.
• Saratoga Fire DistrictsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal fire district partner for community wildfire programs.
• City of Palo Alto Fire DepartmentsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity fire department partner for regional wildfire preparedness.
• San Jose Fire DepartmentsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor city fire department partner for wildfire mitigation programs.
• San Jose Water CompanysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerWater utility company partner (Healthy Forest Sponsor of FireSafe Summit 2024).

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Fire Protection Association (Firewise USA): Runs the Firewise USA recognition program that SCCFSC helps communities attain. Sets national standards and recognition frameworks that SCCFSC localizes; comparable as the upstream program enabler for SCCFSC's Firewise service line.
• CAL FIRE: The state fire agency that funds and partners with SCCFSC on CWPPs, defensible space inspections, and fuel reduction. Not a direct competitor but the public-sector incumbent SCCFSC's services are most directly aligned with and partially substitute for portions of CAL FIRE's community-facing prevention work.
• California Fire Safe Council: The statewide umbrella organization that administers federal Cooperative Fire Program grants flowing to county-level Fire Safe Councils including SCCFSC. Operates the broader network in which SCCFSC participates, serving overlapping mission and overlapping partner agencies.

Others

• Trust for Public Land: A national conservation nonprofit that invests in wildfire protection through forest projects and open space acquisition. Comparable as an established funder and partner in the broader wildfire mitigation ecosystem in which SCCFSC operates.
• Headwaters Economics: A research/policy organization that produces widely used wildfire risk and economic analyses underpinning CWPPs and mitigation funding decisions. Acts as an upstream research and policy peer informing SCCFSC's planning and grant strategies.
• American Forests: A national forest conservation organization that operates wildfire resilience and urban forestry programs. Functions as a thematic peer and indirect collaborator via overlapping funders (USFS, state agencies) and similar fuel-reduction orientation.
• Resource Conservation District of Santa Clara County: A neighboring conservation district with overlapping geography and overlapping missions (fuel reduction, forest health, watershed stewardship). Functions as an adjacent, partially overlapping player that SCCFSC sometimes collaborates with on projects.

Direct peers

• Los Angeles County Fire Safe Council: Another California county-level Fire Safe Council delivering chipping, HIZ assessments, CWPP support and Firewise recognition in a larger but similar urban-wildland interface context. Direct functional peer in mission and programs.
• FireSafe Marin: County-level Fire Safe Council serving Marin County, California. Operates the exact same model — community chipping, CWPP, Firewise USA support, shaded fuel breaks, free defensible-space services — making it the most directly comparable peer to SCCFSC.

Emerging players

• Fire Adapted Communities Network: A national learning network for community wildfire adaptation programs. SCCFSC and many county FSCs participate in or align with FACN's framework; useful peer because it operationalizes the community-led wildfire preparedness model SCCFSC executes locally.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SCCFireSafeCouncil
• Instagraminstagram.com/sccfiresafe
• Xx.com/SCCFireSafe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/santa-clara-county-firesafe-council

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Santa Clara County Firesafe Council