"House Out" Concept

Fire protection starts from the house out. Embers from wildland fires can enter your home through many different routes, but wildland vegetation is not the only fuel providing those embers. Embers can come from several miles away or from a burning home next door. Landscaping also often provides fuel that allows fire to move through neighborhoods. Landscaping plants can produce both embers and flames that will ignite a structure. The most important place to begin preparing defensible space is with your home. Fortifying or retrofitting your home can be your best defense against ember intrusion.  After that, move out into the yard followed by the wildlands, if needed.

Structure Hardening Tips

1. Use ignition-resistant construction materials.

2. Retrofit suggestions and options:

a. Install approved baffled attic vents.

b. Box in eaves and bird-stop tile roofs.

c. Convert from single-paned to double-paned windows.

d. Install noncombustible siding.

e. Install Class-A roofing materials.

f. Use ignition-resistant deck materials.

g. Add a cistern to collect rainwater with connections

                for Fire Department use.

h. Add 2½-inch Fire Department drafting connections

                to existing pools.

i. Consider using nonflammable paints.

3. Use noncombustible fencing materials.

4. Store firewood at least 30' from the structure.

5. Use ignition-resistant outdoor furniture.

6. Seal openings to the outside, like garage and dog doors.

7. Remove combustible materials adjacent to structures.

8. Consider purchasing retardant foams or gels.

9. Maintain chimneys and spark arresters.

Wildfires and structure fires produce hot embers that land beyond an oncoming fire.  These embers ignite susceptible material and vegetation around and inside your home.  The most important place to begin with defensible space is from the “House Out”.