HomeMy WebLinkAboutMaking a FIRMetteMAKING A “FIRMETTE”
Homes within the 100- year flood zone are governed by wetland permitting requirements,
so construction, landscaping, and grading projects may require a permit from the
Conservation Commission. Now, anyone can view official FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps
(FIRMs) on line, and create and print smaller “FIRMettes” as pdf files. The instructions below
allow you to determine whether a particular property is within the 100-year flood zone.
A Do-It-Yourself Guide to
Making a “FIRMette”:
1. Go to http://msc.fema.gov.
2. At the first screen “A”, on the left panel,
under “Product Search By”, enter an
address (or the FIRM map panel ID).
Click “Search by Street Address”.
3. A new window will appear (“B”). Click
the magnifying glass icon under “View”.
It will say: “Your document is loading.
Please be patient.” You now can see the
full FIRM map panel (screen “C”).
4. To zoom in on one area/address and
make a FIRMette, click the “Make a
FIRMette” button on the left (screen “C”).
It will say: “Retrieving data”. It may take
a few moments.
5. In Screen “D”, on the left at Step 1,
select your paper size.
6. In Screen “D”, on the left at Step 2, leave
“Print Area” highlighted (the other
elements are automatically placed),
select the pan (hand) button, and drag
the pink box to cover the area of the
map you want in your FIRMette.
7. In screen “D”, on the left at Step 3
Create a FIRMette”, click Adobe PDF to
create a printable, saveable PDF file.
8. In the new screen, click “Save” save the
FIRMette to your computer. You can
then open and print that file anytime.
A
B
C
D
If you have questions about a specific project
as it relates to wetland permitting, please call
the Conservation Commission office at
781-862-0500 x 226
ConservationComm@lexingtonma.gov