Improvements can be made to buildings and towns to help contain fires. Houses should have sprinklers, steel frames, strong glass, and fire-resistant roofs. In addition, residents must avoid having vegetation near their homes, because sparks can fly between trees or shrubs and houses. Towns and counties must build firebreaks, whether those are roads or just wide strips of bare land. They must make sure that there are good emergency routes for evacuations.

Question

Improvements can be made to buildings and towns to help contain fires. Houses should have sprinklers, steel frames, strong glass, and fire-resistant roofs. In addition, residents must avoid having vegetation near their homes, because sparks can fly between trees or shrubs and houses. Towns and counties must build firebreaks, whether those are roads or just wide strips of bare land. They must make sure that there are good emergency routes for evacuations.

Which piece of evidence would strengthen the argument that improvements can be made?

• After all, no matter what the building codes are, fires will still happen.

• People must decide whether to rebuild their homes after a fire.

• Residents need to be sensible and vigilant.

• These practices can be relatively inexpensive to perform.

Answer 1

• These practices can be relatively inexpensive to perform.

This piece of evidence would strengthen the argument because it highlights that making improvements to buildings and towns to help contain fires is an affordable and cost-effective solution.