Things to Do to Protect Your Home From Fire

The canyon where my wife and I live was particularly hard hit by October’s fires. The fire roared up the hill and right over our house. Fortunately, we were prepared and our property was saved. Nearly all of our neighbor’s lost everything.

It was not an accident that we survived. My wife and I spent several years researching and preparing for just such a fire. We would like to share some of things we found will help save homes in the future.

First, clear the brush. I keep hearing a figure of 75 feet. With the possibility of 100-foot flames this is not enough. We cleared over 200 feet down our hillside and still some of our landscaping was burned within 60 feet of the house.

Second, make sure the roof is made of non-combustible material. Tile or fire-rated shingles are fine.

Third, enclose the eaves with stucco. Many houses with tile roofs and stuccoed walls burn because eaves are left unprotected. Embers often lodge under the roof eaves and set homes on fire. When these areas are stuccoed fire cannot start there.

Fourth, protect decks. We stuccoed the underside of our decks and covered the top with a fire-resistant coating. A wood deck attached to a house makes a house particularly vulnerable.

Fifth, cover all windows and doors. For years we have had half-inch plywood panels that fit over all openings of our house. Recently, we installed new electric roll-down aluminum fire shutters that completely cover all openings. These shutters, made by Roll-A-Way Co. in St. Petersburg, Fla., will withstand over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit and wind gusts to 140 m.p.h.

We were not able to find any shutter made locally that will stand up to the fury of a wildfire. Most houses burn from the inside out. The heat from the fire shatters the glass in windows and allows embers into the house. Covering the windows prevents this from happening.

One thing my wife and I also noticed when we opened the shutters the morning after the fire was that the smoke and soot damage was minimal inside the house.

Sixth, provide for your own water supply. Anyone who has been through a fire knows that the water pressure drops to zero. A pool or Jacuzzi is a great source of water. Our lot is small so we installed a 1,600-gallon water tank, which is about six feet in diameter. We hooked our sprinkler system to the tank to keep the water moving through it and prevent bacteria from forming inside. A gas-powered pump and fire hose are also necessities. Some companies even make pool pumps that float on the water and provide thousands of gallons for firefighters.

Seventh, if at all possible stay with the house. One of the greatest tragedies of this fire was the many houses that survived the firestorm but burned later due to the embers. I stayed at our house the entire night of the fire, continually putting out little spot fires. I also watched powerless as several of my neighbors houses further up the hill caught fire hours later and slowly burned during the night. Even a few fire extinguishers could have saved these houses.

My wife and I love living in the hills, but we also feel with this lifestyle there is a price and a responsibility. We as a community need to realize that we must do everything we can to make each of our homes fire-safe, not only to protect our own property, but also to not pose a fire threat to our neighbors.