
In the midst of a series of wildfires in southern California that have killed at least two dozen people and destroyed or significantly damaged upwards of 12,400 structures, home designers and builders are raising anew the concept of fire-resistant construction.
In a feature piece by the publication Fast Company, it is noted that while there is “no such thing as a fireproof house, there are ways to design buildings that help them resist fire, even amid uncontained infernos.”
Those ways include integrating perpendicular wall and rooflines “in an effort to eliminate the kinds of crevices where embers could catch.” Vents can be installed in a home that are designed to close down in the event of a fire, preventing its spread within a structure.
A greater use of fire-rated gypsum board, as well as aluminum panels and fiberglass, can also serve as a deterrent to the progress of a fire. Designers also suggest doing away with landscaping that “comes right up to the home and implementing a buffer zone of what’s known as defensible space.”
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has issued a guidance calling for greater use of concrete and steel in home construction, a process that’s known as “home hardening.”
A just-published essay in on the website Citybiz notes that “low-e/multi-pane windows are vastly more resistant than older ones,” and that “aluminum frames are more resilient than vinyl.”
The same thinking applies to what’s outside a house. On the subject of decks, gazebos and patio covers, “engineered composite materials and metals have better fire ratings than natural wood,” while wood materials should also be avoided in the construction of garages and sheds.
A three-story mansion in Malibu that has come to be known as the “last house standing,” surrounded by structures that were nearly entirely or almost burned to the ground, was made up of stone walls and stucco, along with a specially designed fireplace roof.
Reviewing footage of the massive area blaze and the structure’s survival, the owner, David Steiner, told the New York Times, “Miracles never cease. It looked like nothing could have possibly survived that.”
A couple in northwest Los Angeles that also saw their house survive told reporters that the structure featured fire-resistant cladding, a planted roof, and sprinkler nozzles that spray fire-retardant chemicals on demand.
January 16, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Pixabay