BURBANK : Wood Shingle Roof Replacement Urged
The Burbank Fire Department has asked the City Council to require property owners with wood shingle roofs to replace them with less flammable roofing materials over the next 20 years.
Burbank, like many Southern California cities, prohibits wood shingles in all new construction because they are considered highly flammable, even when treated with fire retardant.
But the city has no restrictions now on the re-roofing of existing structures, the fire officials said in a report presented to the City Council on Tuesday night.
The proposed ordinance, however, would allow homeowners to use wood shake to repair small portions of their existing wooden roofs.
But within 20 years, the entire roof would have to be replaced with a less flammable material, under the proposed ordinance.
The proposal would also ban the wood shingles from use as siding or exterior wall covering in any new construction, additions, garages or remodeling projects.
The city Building Department estimates that about 19% of the buildings--or about 8,000 of 42,000--in Burbank have wood shingle roofs.
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