Author: Kurt Kamm
Article:
House preparation and brush clearance.
When I moved to Malibu a few years ago, one of the first things
I thought about after I purchased a house was FIRE! Not only did
I purchase a wood house, but it was surrounded by overhanging
trees and brush.
After doing some research, I decided to repaint my house using a
fire retardant paint additive. I chose a product called
Flame-Stop III. There are other products on the market as well.
Your State Fire Marshall's Office will have a list of products,
which they rate and certify. Remember this is for outdoor paint
use, not for treating wood for new construction.
The Flame-Stop retardant is added directly to the paint. Within
the overall cost of approximately $15,000 for painting of my
house, the Flame-Stop cost approximately $600. It had no effect
on the color, viscosity or application of the paint.
In 2007, a wind-driven fire from downed power lines swept
through Malibu. My closest neighbor's house burned to the
ground. A church and two homes in the next block were also
destroyed. In my front yard, the shrubbery, fence and my sliding
driveway gate were destroyed. At the back of my property more
than 20 Pepper, Olive, Pine and Coral trees were destroyed. My
house survived, untouched. After hosing it down to remove ash
and soot, it looked like new.
I was lucky, a fire crew was near my house, but I have to
believe the retardant played some role in the miracle. Nothing
will protect a structure from a direct hit from wind driven
fire, but fire retardant paint can be helpful where embers lodge
in the eaves or radiant heat threatens to cause combustion. If
the painted wood actually catches on fire, it will not burn as
readily.
As wildfires continue to consume whole neighborhoods and parts
of cities - in October 2007 over 2,000 homes burned in Southern
California - fire protection systems for homes are becoming more
sophisticated. Today, there are additives which can be used on
wood and other materials during the construction of new homes.
It addition, self-contained external fire retardant systems are
available. These systems can automatically cover a house and
even douse a property line with a fire retardant gel or foam.
One of these systems is offered by Firebreak Spray Systems.
Further, certain home insurers (AIG -Private Client Group) offer
private firefighting services to their clients, but now we are
getting into mega-dollar expenditures.
In addition to painting with the retardant additive, I took the
brush clearance seriously. The idea is to create a "defensible
zone" around your house. A friend who is a wildland fire captain
walked me around my house and showed me what to cut down or rip
out.
People tend to ignore trees near their houses. Flames can reach
50 -100 feet, certainly high enough to ignite an entire tree. If
it happens to be hanging near, or over, your roof, you can bet
you are going to have burning branches coming down on your
house. (A forty-foot high Pine tree at the end of my property
was completely burned.) Yes, the trees are old and beautiful,
but yes, they will burn. I cut down seven trees.
Further, follow your fire department's recommendations about
brush clearance. You cannot just eyeball the brush and say,
"Well, the fire can't get from there to here." Radiant heat is
the problem. If your home is close enough to something which is
burning, it may spontaneously burst into flames from radiated
heat. You cannot eyeball that.
Finally, clear out your roof gutters, and don't store firewood
or other flammable items next to your house. Remember, the idea
is a "defensible space."
About the author:
Kurt Kamm writes novels about fires and firefighters. A resident
of Malibu, he has lived through several wildland fires. He is a
regular visitor at the fire camps, stations and training
academies of L.A. County Fire Department and CalFire. To learn
more about his novels, One Foot in the Black, and Red Flag
Warning, visit <a href="http://www.kurtkamm.com">Kurt Kamm</a>.
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