What can you do if fire is heading for your house?
Updated 17jan25
Notice
Copyright 2010-2025 Ken Young
(http://www.DinoDudes.com). All
rights reserved.
This document may be freely
redistributed for educational purposes at no charge in unaltered form.
This information is for
educational purposes only. There is no guarantee of any kind that it is
accurate, or that no harm will come to anyone who uses it.
This information is provided
on an "as is" basis with absolutely no warranty or guarantee. The
information is not necessarily correct, complete, or suitable for any
particular use. The entire risk is with you. Should harm arise from
using this information, you assume responsibility for all damages and
injuries. In no event shall the copyright holder, or any other party, be
liable for compensation or damages arising from the use, misuse, failure
to use, or inability to use this information.
Fire
is
heading for your house. What do you do?
If it is a simple grass fire you can try
to defend your house with sprinklers, garden hoses and rakes until the
fire department shows up. Create a barrier of bare ground and wet grass
and hope the fire department gets there before the sprinkler melts.
If it is a wildfire that the fire department is battling to control, you
won't be able to help. Watering your yard and roof is a waste of time, and
you will need every minute.
If you only have a few hours, load what you can into your vehicle and get
out before fire blocks the road. You don't have enough time to do anything
that will save your house, and you need that time to save your stuff and
escape before it is too late. If you wait too long you will lose
everything.
If you have a few days you can make your property more fire resistant. But
the best time to do this is before the fire starts.
Keep your pets in one room so you can find them quickly if you have to
evacuate.
Arrange for a temporary place to stay outside the threatened area.
Keep your indoor air clean – close windows and doors to prevent the smoke
outside from getting in your home. Use the recycle mode on the air
conditioner in your home or car. If you don’t have air conditioning and
it’s too hot to be inside, seek shelter somewhere else.
If the smoke is thick, don't go out in it. If you are exposed to it, wear
a respirator. The cheap dust masks with one string are inadequate, the
ones with two strings are better.
How
can
you make your property fire resistant?
The idea is to make it possible for the
fire department to save your house. They can tell which house can be saved
and which can't just by looking. Most
of the fuel that destroys your home is on your property. Keep
your property defensible at all times.
Maintain 100 feet of defensible
space for the fire department. This means no buildup of combustible
plant material.
Keep combustibles away from the
house (ie fire wood, bushes, etc.). Keep everything that could burn at
least 5 feet (2m) away.
Use fire resistant plants
Make sure the plants don't touch
each other or your house. Avoid having a chain of combustible
material.
Know how to shut off the
propane/gas
Have a family evacuation plan
Use a tile or composite roof
Have a stucco sided house
Use multi-pane tempered glass
windows. They are resistant to shattering in high heat and admitting
flames.
Prevent embers from entering the
attic space. Embers float around and circulate up under the eaves.
Airflow with suck them in if the vents are not screened. If embers get
in you have an attic fire (attics are full of cardboard boxes that
burn like gasoline). Make sure all attic vents are screened. If the
end of a golf tee fits through the screen, use a finer screen.
Caulk gaps in the siding
Move the vehicles away from the
house when there is danger of fire
Remember that when fire arrives, it will
be raining embers. The heat will dry everything out and melt your hoses
& sprinklers. Many types of bushes can dry out, ignite via ember, and
burn like torches. Your only defense is to get everything that burns away
from the house.
You've seen the photos. A lone house stands unharmed in a sea of scorch.
That house had defensible space, and all the houses around didn't.
Whenever you have advance notice of a problem that could interfere
with your water supply, fill up everything that holds water while you
can. Don't forget the bathtub. If it is too late and the firemen are
using all the water pressure, don't take their water; they are
protecting your house.
Whenever you have advance notice of a problem that could interfere
with your electricity supply, charge up everything that can be
recharged.
People
die in wildfires because of things like this
They don't leave because they are old and nobody knows they are there
and comes to get them
They stay to protect their stuff from looters
They stay to protect their animals
They stay to protect their house from the fire
They wait too long and can't get out because the fire is blocking the
road
They wait too long and can't get out because the road is jammed with
cars
They try to save too much stuff. They spend too much time loading
vehicles and arguing over what is to be saved. See
bugout bags and the evacuation
page.
After
the fire
Dress for self-protection when cleanup up. Wear boots, leather gloves,
long pants & sleeves, etc. Wear only natural materials, as
synthetics can melt to your body if you are surprised by a hot spot.
Wet down any burned part of your property to avoid breathing dust or
ash.
Check for embers and hot spots, especially in your attic.
Discard all food that has been exposed to heat, smoke, ash, or soot.