See two real-life examples of Piedmont homes that reduce wildfire risk without sacrificing beauty, character, or the gardens their owners love. The City’s first Wildfire Resilience Awards honor Dana Shultz and Tom and Winifred Walters, whose homes and landscapes reflect two different paths to the same goal.
A new addition to the City’s Design and Sustainability Awards program, the Wildfire Resilience Awards highlight residents whose homes and landscapes model best practices in home hardening and fire-smart landscapes. By showcasing real homes in Piedmont, the Fire Department aims to make those choices more visible, concrete, and achievable for others.
For many years, the Design Awards have recognized excellence in construction and architectural design. Three years ago, it expanded to include sustainability. The addition of the Wildfire Resilience Awards builds on that evolution by recognizing a different kind of home investment – one that helps protect individual properties while strengthening resilience across the community.
Meet this year’s honorees
The inaugural Wildfire Resilience Award recipients took different paths, but both created properties that model important risk reduction principles.
Dana Shultz, Bell Avenue
The Schultz home on Bell Ave 
5′ ember-resistant zone
Dana intentionally set out to make his home more wildfire-resilient, starting with a Fire Department inspection to understand where his property was most vulnerable. He created a five-foot ember-resistant zone, added ember-protective mesh over vents, and moved favorite plants to safer areas rather than removing them altogether. The result is a practical, appealing example of home hardening best practices that shows meaningful improvements do not have to be overwhelming projects.
Tom and Winifred Walters, Greenbank Avenue
Tom and Winifred (pictured at top) did not set out to create a wildfire-resilient property – they set out to create a beautiful garden they loved. In the process, they created a home and landscape that reflect many best practices – their home features enclosed eaves and covered vents, while the landscape provides an all important separation between plants and structure. Their property challenges the common perception that fire-conscious landscaping must come at the expense of beauty or the enjoyment of gardening.
Covered vents at the Walters’ home 
Tom and Winifred Walters’ ember-resistant zone 
The Walters’ drought-friendly garden
Wildfire is now a fact of life across California, including in communities like Piedmont. The Fire Department created this award to highlight residents leading by example and help more community members imagine what’s possible on their own property.
This year’s honorees reflect two different paths to the same goal. One homeowner looked at wildfire risk head-on and made deliberate changes to harden his property. The other created a beautiful, environmentally friendly yard that also embodies many of the same resilience principles. Together, they show how wildfire resilience can be practical, attractive, and achievable.
The following residents also received Sustainable Living Awards on Monday evening
Brandon Bercovich with City Planner Kevin Jackson
Brandon Bercovich, Highland Avenue
Brandon’s electrification journey began with a heat pump and grew into a full home transformation. He made the switch to induction cooking after his gas stove triggered carbon monoxide alarms three times in one year, then continued building on that progress with solar panels, electrical upgrades, a heat pump water heater, and an EV charger. By 2024, he had fully electrified his home and removed the gas meter entirely, completing his household’s transition away from gas.
Molly Lloyd talks about their award-winning project
Molly Lloyd and Dan Reardon, Ramona Drive
Molly and Dan transformed their home one thoughtful step at a time. As systems wore out and opportunities arose, they chose upgrades that cut energy use, supported cleaner living, and made their home more resilient – from double-paned windows and a heat pump to an induction stove and EV charger. Their commitment extends outdoors as well, where they have created a beautiful low-water garden that supports butterflies and other wildlife.
Sustainability awardees Ellen Smith and Jeff Fucigna with Kevin Jackson
Ellen Smith and Jeff Fucigna, York Drive
Ellen and Jeff set out to create a home that would stay warm in winter with less environmental impact. In just seven months, they completed a suite of major electrification and energy-saving projects – from a heat pump system and heat pump water heater to solar, battery storage, electrical upgrades, and insulation improvements – turning their “warmth without pollution” vision into reality.
All photos courtesy of the City of Piedmont