Please review the following details about the project to determine your interest in participating as well as your eligibility. The submission form is linked at the bottom of the page.

Project Details

• Title: The Los Angeles Ember Project
• PI: Ann Jeffers, Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
• Institutional Review Board (IRB) “not regulated”: This study does not seek to gather private identifiable information of living individuals.
• IRB Contact:
  • IRB-Health Sciences and Behavioral Sciences (IRB-HSBS)
  • (Ann Arbor main campus and U-M Dearborn and Flint campuses)
  • Phone:  734-936-0933
  • Email:  irbhsbs@umich.edu
• Sponsor: National Science Foundation Grant #2524653

Introduction and Purpose of the Study

The L.A. Ember Project seeks to gather information about how embers traveled through  communities during the Palisades and Eaton fires. Embers are one of the main causes of structural ignition in wildfire events, and by participating in this study, you are providing data that will help engineers and scientists better understand how buildings ignite so we can make them safer in the future.

Description of the Research

On the next page, you will be asked to upload video file(s) along with the address where the footage was obtained. You will have the option to provide your contact information if you wish to be entered in a drawing for a $100 VISA gift card.

Subject Participation

To be eligible, you must have video footage of the Palisades or Eaton fires (shown above) where embers are visible in the video. The video(s) should be relatively stationary (not moving) and may be taken with a handheld camera or a security camera (see examples below). When you upload your video, you have the option to relinquish the rights of your video footage, which will allow the research team to publish it to Design Safe, an NSF-funded database accessed by other researchers.

Potential Risks and Discomforts

Fire hazards are traumatic events, and viewing video footage of these events can trigger a lot of emotion. Participants are urged to practice self-care and seek mental health support if needed.

Potential Benefits

People who participate in this study are providing engineers and scientists with a unique data set that will advance science and may make structures more resilient against future fires.

Confidentiality

No personal or identifiable information is obtained through the web form. If you relinquish the rights to your video footage, your video will be uploaded to Design Safe, where other researchers may access the videos. If you don’t want your videos to be shared outside of the research team, it is advised that you retain your rights.

Compensation

Each participant who uploads an eligible video will be entered in a drawing to receive a VISA gift card of $100. It is estimated that 100 people will receive a gift card.

Voluntary Participation and Authorization

Your decision to participate in this study is completely voluntary. If you decide to participate in this study, you may withdraw from your participation at any time without penalty.

Cost

There is no cost for participating in this study. 

If you voluntarily agree to participate in this research program, please go to the next page.