Make Your House Fire-Resistant – Steps You Should Take

The threat of wildfires is a growing phenomenon that requires strategic planning, resources, and intentional mobilization. However, when it comes to protecting your home from being destroyed by wildfires, knowledge is power. The good news is that there are multiple ways to add resiliency to your home and developing an eye for problem areas and knowing how fires spread is the most important part of prevention that homeowners should learn about. Bellow describes simple steps to make your house fire-resistant

What to Look For

Houses are not easy structures to eradicate, yet wildfires penetrate homes when directly in the path of flames, exposed to radiant heat, or when embers ignite debris, landscaping, or enter the home through the ventilation system. Out of these three different risks, embers are the most likely to do damage. To make your house fire-resistant, when inspecting your home, look for and remove anything around your house that’s flammable. This could include but is not limited to dry debris, dead plants, and any other combustible materials that you store outside of your home but are still close to its frame. Your ventilation system is another vulnerable area of your home. Therefore, You should protect them thoroughly by removing anything that could catch fire from around vents (inside or outside), using flame-resistant mesh vents, and covering vents with plywood if threatened by fire.

Invest in Exterior Fire-Proofing

The most vulnerable area of your home is the roof because it spans across your entire dwelling. During a wildfire, your roof’s massive horizontal surface creates the perfect ecosystem for embers to rest on it. Covering your roof with materials that have a Class A fire rating, such as steel, tile, or asphalt shingles helps roofs withstand heat and fire more than typical roofing. It’s essential to fill any gaps in your roof and clean out gutters as well. You can also make decks and siding to be more fire-retardant.

Never store combustible materials underneath a deck or anywhere near parts of your home that are susceptible to fire. The right landscaping can act as yet another effective force against home fires. Creating a barrier consisting of concrete, gravel, or stone around the perimeter of your home will help keep it safe.  So, adding a few fire-resistant plants such as lavender and honeysuckle can help to slow down fires.

Best Practices

Sticking to simple best practices is a critical part of a comprehensive home fire safety plan. Therefore, you should never substitute it for fireproofing. Fires can be unpredictable, and if an external fire were to penetrate your home working smoke alarms will alert your household and save lives. Up to date fire extinguishers are also important, and everyone should be trained on proper usage. Maintaining all of your home’s external areas by removing old dry wood, performing routine maintenance on roofing, siding, windows, decks, and sealing up holes will fortify your home and make it difficult for embers and flames to completely destroy it.

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