PATHS TO PROGRESS Instead of having understaffed towns try to do their own research in the middle of an emergency, the FAC Network offers a cooperative model where communities can share best practices and get help quickly. LOS ANGELES—For Annie Schmidt it began in 2014, with a stranger on a bus. Ms. Schmidt was in Colorado Springs for a workshop held by the newly created Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network, or FAC Net. On the way to a field trip, she found herself sitting beside Justice Jones of the Austin Fire Department, discussing his extensive work on post-fire recovery....