You're right and it's sad. Human nature doesn't seem to change. we don't work to prevent bad things from happening but instead we sit back until bad things happen and then react. At this pace, we will never evolve.
Great video! UA-cam should push this video to every resident in California. I live here and wish I had known this information earlier and certainly hope everyone sees this video so we can all be prepared.
Wow! I hope there is a big push to adopt these types of recommendations as LA rebuilds. Just like earthquake resistant building changed the impact of earthquakes it is clear that these approaches need to be incorporated into the building code for fire zones.
Why would someone want to implement fire-proofing of homes when these stories work so well to ignite concerns over climate change? /s If you can earthquake-proof buildings, you should be able to fire-proof building -- at leas to some extent.
@@michaelhall8529 I think a lot has already been done that will get implemented as 100 year old structures get replaced. But so much more should be done. Like burying power lines in all these communities before rebuilding. And having generators to keep pumps moving water. I do what I can to protect the climate, but in general I have no hope for mankind changing. My biggest contribution was to not have kids.
@@michaelhall8529 now there's no way to say no. You had existing homes and people who were stingy not wanting to add costs to add preventative measures.
And your own water reserve for the moment your tap dries out. An helicopter would be nice too if you’re the last one standing in hell though beware that take off will be blind and very turbulent.
A very nice summary. I think if enough people clear their property and prepare their houses it will stop or slow down the spreading of fires. So this comment is for the algorithm to push this video.
Commenting from California. I really don't know why ember mitigation/retrofitting is not a larger industry here. We do it for earthquakes. I don't think the building code even adequately addresses it.
@@j.daniels1548 I love how you americans just say stuff as if its fact and evidence all around proving you are not correct. lol Have a wee scoot through google street view and maybe revisit your statement.
Do the curved-piece tile roofs have an achilles heel at top or bottom, or are they pretty safe? Also, does having rooftop solar affect fire resistance of the roof?
@zoso73 So next time half of Florida gets wiped off the map from a hurricane or the corresponding flood waters, automatically blame the republican, conservative government? Sounds like North Carolina and Tennessee need to be blamed for their floods a few months ago.
As much as I want to agree to your point, the fact remains that the fire risk of every place is different. Many towns and cities are in areas where fuel sources aren't as problematic as others. Many towns and parts of cities are often miles away from danger zones and are easily defensible. Other places are far, far, far more problematic. Everyone needs to be prepared, but some more than others.
I've experienced this 1st hand on the west side of our state 5 years ago in April! Home caught on fire across the street from us, strong north wind was blowing that day and had the fir trees on fire up behind us again, in April!
Good basic info that most people can do without spending a whole lot of money, you don't have to build your home out of concrete with a metal roof. The next step is when it comes time to replace your windows get tempered glass. This way the heat of the fire doesn't break your windows allowing the embers to fly into your home.
The people that stayed to fight the fires, were the ones that saved their homes.If you have a pool then you need a pump with gas engine and plenty of gas because if they turn off the power there goes your electric motor and you will be dead in the fire storm. Your pool is your water that will save you even if they turn off the water to the fire hydrants. Plus the fire departments don’t have the correct staffing that why they were overwhelmed, Not to mention they got 100 million cut from their budget which was ment for training and new equipment.
Gas pumps are not a great idea. This is emergency equipment that will normally go unused. And gas goes bad after about 6 months, so you need to drain it after every maintenance, at least once a year. An electric pump is far better, as it can just stay in your garage indefinitely. To solve the power problem, buy a large portable battery bank with a built-in inverter. As a bonus point, it'll also help you during regular power outages. A 1.5kWh battery bank (e.g. from EcoFlow) will be enough to pump more than 50 tons of water up to your roof.
In CA they often use a polystyrene trim to create the look of cornices etc. around windows and facades on stucco homes. To me this is a disaster as some is 6" thick and seems as if it would ignite quickly.
I know this is an old video, but if you check California building code laws you will find that recent laws. Eliminating the ability to use aluminum sliding glass doors and potentially windows has put homeowners at risk. Wildfires are hot and they melt vinyl windows and doors. I wish I would have known this before I replaced my damn windows and doors.
Because California has earthquakes and those materials don’t hold up well in earthquakes. Look at San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake the brick stone and concrete homes crumbled to the ground.
@ you can make an earthquake proof brick and concrete structure just as well as wood structures. Just takes a bit of sensible engineering which many didn't have prior to the California building code.
Here is my fire prevention strategy. I covered the entire exterior of my 1000 sq. ft. house with 1/2" sheetrock, then house wrap, then 1/4" cement board, then 1\2" cement board from ground level to three feet up. All exterior wood trim is covered with galvanized metal and the windows are plugged with removable 1/2" sheetrock. There is absolutely no combustible material on the exterior of the house including the roof. As an extra measure during fire season, I lean two foot tall 1/2" thick panels of sheetrock against base of the house to create a fire-resistant berm which keeps fire two feet away from the walls. Even if the sheetrock deteriorates and crumbles after several hours of intense heat the fire still has to burn through 1 1/4" of noncombustible cement board and sheetrock, which will not happen! The ground around the house has been cleared of any combustible material to a distance of at least six feet all around the house and any vegetation within sixty feet of the house is kept to a height of no more than four inches. Trees are kept far enough away so should any tree catch fire the flames will stay at least ten feet away from the house. To test my modifications, I built a four foot by eight foot test wall which replicates the house wall construction and two three foot by eight foot wing walls on each side of the wall, in order to contain the heat of the fire that I built at the base of the wall. I fanned the fire to simulate a twenty mile per hour wind which brought the fire up to around 1000 degrees. I kept stoking the fire for five hours. (I did the test without using the two foot tall 1/2" thick panels of sheetrock leaning against the house.) The end result was the that the first 12" of the exterior 1/2" cement board crazed, cracked and crumbled, however the next layer behind the 1/2" cement board which was 1/4" cement board became slightly brittle but did not crumble and the next layer behind that was 1/2" sheetrock which was unscathed. I also did a heat test on the entire wall while the fire was burning with the following results. The temperature within the first 12" was approximately 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, at 20" up the temperature dropped to approximately 600 degrees, at 40" up the temperature was approximately 350 degrees, at 60" up the temperature was 200 degrees, at 80" up the temperature was 125 degrees and at 96" up the temperature was basically ambient temperature. I found that the first 20" from the ground level are by far the most vulnerable.
Much to learn about fire behavior and building construction. Sheetrock generally has only a 30 to 60 minute fire rating, and that's for the interior of a home. Where is all of the dry storage for this heavy and delicate when exposed to moisture sheetrock? Massive flames and intense heat can break windows from hundreds of feet away. Fire will enter home and destroy contents. Fire burns through and melts interior wood and steel roof beams and trusses, which will then collapse and pull down even brick or block walls. You've spent a lot of time on your example, but it is highly unrealistic and not achievable to fire-proof a home in the manner in which has been described. Does home have vents for plumbing, bathrooms, kitchen, water heater, furnace, rooftop, gable ends or overhangs? Intense heat and flame enters vents and screens and moves into interior of home, igniting wood structure in attic or crawlspace. Setting up a mock scenario at miniature scale does not portray the actual behavior of massive 100 foot flames and intense heat from a 100 mph high wind driven firestorm. The massive heat and flames in canyons creates its own blast furnace conditions which easily melts steel. This cannot be overcome by humans with large diameter hose lines or creative home protection strategies. Defensible space with cleared brush, shrubs and trees kept away from the home helps to protect from ordinary small brush fires. Tile or metal roofs help protect from falling and windblown embers and burning pieces of wood. If everyone built a concrete bunker home with no windows, a protected ground level vent for air, a flat concrete roof and a heavy concrete door, that might possibly survive a massive fire storm. Even concrete cracks and spalls (chunks break off) because of moisture contained within, when exposed to intense heat and flame, which can then expose the steel rebar, which then rusts from rain and continued moisture exposure, thus weakening the structure. Fire damages concrete bridges, parking structures and the ceilings and walls of concrete buildings and can compromise their structural integrity.
Damn that sounds like a lot for something that'll probably never happen in your lifetime. Probably makes more economical sense just to get more insurance coverage.
Impossible. Too many people love surrounding their homes with plants and all manner of flammable crap. Especially in wealthy enclaves like this, densely built on heavily wooded hillsides. Totally irresponsible. My home is literally in the middle of an empty open field, with NO plants around it whatsoever. In the desert where nothing big grows anyway, but I keep a large area around the house clear of sagebrush and weeds for EXACTLY this reason. I don’t need trees for privacy, I’m on ten acres. I don’t need trees for shade, I have good insulation, good air conditioning and a serious solar system to help offset the cost. It’s really simple to me, but so many people want to live in these high risk areas, so they get what they get.
This should be played on big screenwalls all over California. It's unfortunate that people weren't better prepared, not even owning a generator and a pump to use their pools as a water reservoir. Must feel odd to have millions in the bank yet nothing has been done to protect your house from burning down?
Good ideas presented, but still inefficient for high, hurricane level, winds. Failed to speak of siding materials that are fire resistant. Tree debris will land on your roof with the high winds... and it will also be blown off your roof. It really depends on the direction of the winds and your roof. Most California homes have tile roofs to make them burn resistant. It is not normal for houses in California to have basements, so the embers aren't going to find those vents to enter. On the other end, attics do have vents to let the heat escape, and so the 1/8 inch advise is excellent for this. Ideal, a roof sprinkler and siding waterfall system using one's pool and a gas pump to feed it. Better, a collection system to reuse the water effectively making your house into a giant fountain. All it takes is money... lots of it.
Can't you simply build your house with cement and bricks! Is it that difficult or costly. Or does it make your house look cheaper!! Ok, so share your thoughts.
As everyone says, it's an earthquake issue. Wooden homes do very well in earthquakes because of their flexibility. In my area (east bay hills near San Francisco), we have small earthquakes almost every other month and a major one every 30+ years. My home is 70 years old, and survived the 1989 earthquake, and numerous small one unscathed. Same with all the other homes in my neighborhood which are all wooden. The 89 quake destroyed tons of brick and mortar buildings. Unfortunately the fires have gotten worse in California. I never remember them growing up in the 80s/lates 90s, so everyone's trying to adapt now.
@@eugeneh147 Nothing to do with earthquakes, but with cost.. Are commercial office buildings and factories made of wood? No. Rebar reinforced concrete/cinder block, and steal beams are perfectly earthquake proof. It just costs more. And in the US, it's all about cutting costs and not about quality. Just look at the state of our food industry and all the fatties walking around. Same thing with construction. 10% is amazing, 30% is good enough, 40% is bad, and 20% is downright terrible
If only people in "fire prone areas like California" would take this advice......But no one does.....They depend on "heartless insurance companies" to just rebuild their lost homes........Stick built homes with particle board and vinyl sidings; long roof overhangs that just invite embers into the roof vents......Crazy......City officials know the vulnerabilities; but the lobby groups for building industry want NO regulations to provide for hardening of buildings because it cuts into their outrageous profits..........So, they pass the costs of their shoddy construction onto consumers in the form of outrageous insurance costs to replace cheaply and poorly designed homes and businesses......... People are fooled by pubic relations campaigns and politicians who are paid "propagandists"; paid to "obfuscate and gas-light the unwary public into blaming everyone but where the blame truly lies"......With the construction and development industry.........these tragedies are their fault........All buildings can easily be built to withstand wind, water, and fire damage; but with MONEY as overriding goals of these entities; there will never be change; unless the public becomes educated enough and determined enough to demand action and improvements......
And I heard somebody say they had a shake roof and I'm like a what roof? A shake roof? Yeah a shake is wood so how dumb is that? You live in a fire area but have a wooden roof lol. Guess some can't be helped.
Hold on, I'm in a fire prone area of California and all houses being built in the hills have tile roofs and stucco, and there are large defensible areas around them with concrete and large pools. It's the older homes that have single roofs with lots of trees surrounding them, and that is mostly what build. The Alphabet Streets of the Palisades and old historic neighborhoods in Altadena with many houses over 80 years old is what burned to the ground. There's still more that can be done, but the houses burning are many times very old homes.
Where's LA fire department? Had homeowners hired their own Private Fire Companies, they could have cut away the flammable brush and tumble weeds around their house before the fire hits. Private Fire Companies could be patiently waiting in the high wind and brush areas protecting homeowners who have paid for their services. Private Fire Companies could easily put the fire out with their own private reservoir full of water? Finally Private Fire Companies could also protect homes from criminal looters and arsonists. Contracted Private Fire Companies don't cost that much. You can hire them only during the fire season for a fixed amount. Remember your home is your biggest and most important investment.
Where's LA fire department? Had homeowners hired their own Private Fire Companies, they could have cut away the flammable brush and tumble weeds around their house before the fire hits. Private Fire Companies could be patiently waiting in the high wind and brush areas protecting homeowners who have paid for their services. Private Fire Companies could easily put the fire out with their own private reservoir full of water? Finally Private Fire Companies could also protect homes from criminal looters and arsonists.
Aussie here. The video advice is sound, but may give the wrong impression about the impact of ember storms. Have a look at the home videos from Australians defending their homes in the massive bushfires in Dec 2019 - Jan 2020 (BTW not recommended, evacuation saves lives, staying risks death by smoke inhalation). The way most buildings burn down in high wind conditions is via the roof, not the ground. As the video says, these firestorms are ember storms which do not behave like ground or grass fires. The actual fire front is often a mile behind the vanguard of the fire, which is travelling through the air 30'- 60' above the ground doing aerial bombardment. Where the ember missiles land varies with wind gusts, which is why some houses are left intact in a street, and houses directly adjacent are burnt. It does NOT mean that the intact houses were necessarily more fireproof, mostly that those owners were just lucky. So ground protection, while necessary, is not the critical line of defence. The first line of defence is Roof Protection. You can fill your gutters with water before you evacuate -- but that water will evaporate in no time. The roof valleys are ember traps. The strong wind will drive and force the tiny embers into the roof valleys, and even narrow gaps under the roofing. Sheeting or gutters may warp under the heat and create new gaps. BTW, clay or slate tiles are no guarantee. Once the embers touch and ignite the roof timbers the house is gone, since the roof will collapse and drop the fire inside. The house burns from the inside out. Home videos show that despite owners being able to put out ground level fires adjacent to their homes by continuous hosing of the ground and walls and gutters prior to and during the firestorm, ordinary garden hoses do not provide enough pressure and can't provide enough continuous coverage to keep the roof ember-free. Various home videos show this process very clearly. Even a very tiny fire on the roof usually means that the house is unsaveable, it is gone. Only firefighters with high pressure hoses can properly douse a roof fire, but it would be sheer luck if they happened to be on hand at the critical moment. You may want to research what innovations individual homeowners have come up with in Australia to deal with firestorms. My home is not in a high risk zone, but here are some approaches I've heard of: Use of a steel frame instead of timber framing for a home. Construction materials that will not warp under heat. Smooth surfaces without pockets which would hold burning leaves - zero gutters is one option I've seen often. Wind-resistant, tightly secured, edges and joins that won't lift. Roof slope which is near level, or else sloping away from the direction of a likely fire wind. No chimneys, skylights or other roof protrusions. Wishing everyone success with protecting their home!
*You Australians are proud eco-lunatics who have long stopped believing God will judge the earth, let alone anything else in the Bible or that is plain to see by natural revelation, why should **_anyone_** listen to your green-babel?*
@mjojo25 because they are exposed on 3 sides. They are paper thin and totally exposed. The roof needs to be a sealed component of the property, as do the eaves.
😅😅😅😅 what a wonderful world. People spent millions for a home made out of paper and cardboard in a region where fires are common things😅😅 Proof that being rich doeq not exclude stupidity
Stop building with plywood, build like in Mexico with concrete, with blocks, with "Armes" "castles" in Mexico when a house burns down, you just paint it and replace the inside but you still have the house...
This video is 3 years old and only the past week there were any comments placed.
people have a lot more personal issues than to have this over their head... just one more thing to think about
I’ve had it in my watch list for a couple years so not new to me.
You're right and it's sad. Human nature doesn't seem to change. we don't work to prevent bad things from happening but instead we sit back until bad things happen and then react. At this pace, we will never evolve.
@@idee7896 When bad things happen, we start playing the blame game.
Thank YT algorithm that plays on emotions, frequently hate as feeds are loaded with despicable crimes and equally despicable tRump antics.
Great video! UA-cam should push this video to every resident in California. I live here and wish I had known this information earlier and certainly hope everyone sees this video so we can all be prepared.
Embers hitting the wooden eaves and attic access was a huge factor
In the wake of the wildfire in Southern California, everybody should share this video to keep their houses safe from harm.
Wow! I hope there is a big push to adopt these types of recommendations as LA rebuilds. Just like earthquake resistant building changed the impact of earthquakes it is clear that these approaches need to be incorporated into the building code for fire zones.
They are too busy mandating solar panels, EV charging, EVs, banning generators, and banning diesel engines.
I doubt it seeing as this video is 3 years old and nobody did anything to protect their houses.
Why would someone want to implement fire-proofing of homes when these stories work so well to ignite concerns over climate change? /s If you can earthquake-proof buildings, you should be able to fire-proof building -- at leas to some extent.
@@michaelhall8529 I think a lot has already been done that will get implemented as 100 year old structures get replaced. But so much more should be done. Like burying power lines in all these communities before rebuilding. And having generators to keep pumps moving water.
I do what I can to protect the climate, but in general I have no hope for mankind changing. My biggest contribution was to not have kids.
@@michaelhall8529 now there's no way to say no. You had existing homes and people who were stingy not wanting to add costs to add preventative measures.
Don't forget the rooftop sprinkler system
yea lol
Or opt for fire-resistant metal or tile.
And /or for those who have one, a firehose connected to your pool.
And your own water reserve for the moment your tap dries out.
An helicopter would be nice too if you’re the last one standing in hell though beware that take off will be blind and very turbulent.
@@gr8dvd
The water will still cool down everything.
A very nice summary. I think if enough people clear their property and prepare their houses it will stop or slow down the spreading of fires. So this comment is for the algorithm to push this video.
Preparation is still and always will be your best defence. Plan as tho nobody is coming to help you.. because they might not be
Put fireproof material on the floor behind the vents too.
Great information, thank you!
Nice tips! Thanks for sharing! This needs more views.
Commenting from California. I really don't know why ember mitigation/retrofitting is not a larger industry here. We do it for earthquakes. I don't think the building code even adequately addresses it.
Tiles roofs saved many homes in LA
Yes, the tile roofs and not the ones made out of flammable oil product.
Class a noncombustible roofs are mandatory in California. Every home that burned down had a tile roof.
@@j.daniels1548 I love how you americans just say stuff as if its fact and evidence all around proving you are not correct. lol Have a wee scoot through google street view and maybe revisit your statement.
@j.daniels1548 This is COMPLETELY wrong!! Wow!!
Do the curved-piece tile roofs have an achilles heel at top or bottom, or are they pretty safe? Also, does having rooftop solar affect fire resistance of the roof?
Thanks for your great infomations!!!
Thank you from Colorado. Every town and city in America is at risk. Fire and wind is bipartisan.
But incompetency is liberal.
@zoso73 So next time half of Florida gets wiped off the map from a hurricane or the corresponding flood waters, automatically blame the republican, conservative government? Sounds like North Carolina and Tennessee need to be blamed for their floods a few months ago.
As much as I want to agree to your point, the fact remains that the fire risk of every place is different. Many towns and cities are in areas where fuel sources aren't as problematic as others. Many towns and parts of cities are often miles away from danger zones and are easily defensible. Other places are far, far, far more problematic. Everyone needs to be prepared, but some more than others.
@@zoso73 really...?
How quickly you forget the disastrous handling of the pandemic!!!
"It will magically go away" !!! 😂😂😂
I've experienced this 1st hand on the west side of our state 5 years ago in April! Home caught on fire across the street from us, strong north wind was blowing that day and had the fir trees on fire up behind us again, in April!
Good basic info that most people can do without spending a whole lot of money, you don't have to build your home out of concrete with a metal roof. The next step is when it comes time to replace your windows get tempered glass. This way the heat of the fire doesn't break your windows allowing the embers to fly into your home.
Whatever it costs to do all this, probably well worth the investment😳
Keep in mind, in most new construction, many of these building materials are required.
Not only great information you can tell this man really cares ❤ thank you
The people that stayed to fight the fires, were the ones that saved their homes.If you have a pool then you need a pump with gas engine and plenty of gas because if they turn off the power there goes your electric motor and you will be dead in the fire storm. Your pool is your water that will save you even if they turn off the water to the fire hydrants. Plus the fire departments don’t have the correct staffing that why they were overwhelmed, Not to mention they got 100 million cut from their budget which was ment for training and new equipment.
Gas pumps are not a great idea. This is emergency equipment that will normally go unused. And gas goes bad after about 6 months, so you need to drain it after every maintenance, at least once a year. An electric pump is far better, as it can just stay in your garage indefinitely.
To solve the power problem, buy a large portable battery bank with a built-in inverter. As a bonus point, it'll also help you during regular power outages. A 1.5kWh battery bank (e.g. from EcoFlow) will be enough to pump more than 50 tons of water up to your roof.
In CA they often use a polystyrene trim to create the look of cornices etc. around windows and facades on stucco homes. To me this is a disaster as some is 6" thick and seems as if it would ignite quickly.
Use flame resistant urethane instead,
What about protecting from DEW’s and smart meters?
Time to send this video to California
It's too late for many.
Too late.. They had repeated fires. Some, actually did something..many did not.
Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gaven Newscum should go to trial for their negligence and corruption.
Govt and people already know, they just don't care enough, especially govt.
I know this is an old video, but if you check California building code laws you will find that recent laws. Eliminating the ability to use aluminum sliding glass doors and potentially windows has put homeowners at risk. Wildfires are hot and they melt vinyl windows and doors. I wish I would have known this before I replaced my damn windows and doors.
Great advice!
We need to know this in California
I wish more people had listened.😢
Or even heard it.
How about making homes out of bricks, stone, concrete instead of wood, same with using slate or some kind of slate or ceramic substitute for homes.
Because California has earthquakes and those materials don’t hold up well in earthquakes. Look at San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake the brick stone and concrete homes crumbled to the ground.
@@ItsmedicinalIt depends on how strong is the structure which supports brick walls.
@ you can make an earthquake proof brick and concrete structure just as well as wood structures. Just takes a bit of sensible engineering which many didn't have prior to the California building code.
Most new homes in California are stucco and many survived. Still need to cover the vents.
Wont work in CA earthquakes.
Thank you for the tips🙏🙏🙏
Bro, why did it only get recommended to me now. My neighborhood is already gone dawg
Here is my fire prevention strategy. I covered the entire exterior of my 1000 sq. ft. house with 1/2" sheetrock, then house wrap, then 1/4" cement board, then 1\2" cement board from ground level to three feet up. All exterior wood trim is covered with galvanized metal and the windows are plugged with removable 1/2" sheetrock. There is absolutely no combustible material on the exterior of the house including the roof. As an extra measure during fire season, I lean two foot tall 1/2" thick panels of sheetrock against base of the house to create a fire-resistant berm which keeps fire two feet away from the walls. Even if the sheetrock deteriorates and crumbles after several hours of intense heat the fire still has to burn through 1 1/4" of noncombustible cement board and sheetrock, which will not happen! The ground around the house has been cleared of any combustible material to a distance of at least six feet all around the house and any vegetation within sixty feet of the house is kept to a height of no more than four inches. Trees are kept far enough away so should any tree catch fire the flames will stay at least ten feet away from the house. To test my modifications, I built a four foot by eight foot test wall which replicates the house wall construction and two three foot by eight foot wing walls on each side of the wall, in order to contain the heat of the fire that I built at the base of the wall. I fanned the fire to simulate a twenty mile per hour wind which brought the fire up to around 1000 degrees. I kept stoking the fire for five hours. (I did the test without using the two foot tall 1/2" thick panels of sheetrock leaning against the house.) The end result was the that the first 12" of the exterior 1/2" cement board crazed, cracked and crumbled, however the next layer behind the 1/2" cement board which was 1/4" cement board became slightly brittle but did not crumble and the next layer behind that was 1/2" sheetrock which was unscathed. I also did a heat test on the entire wall while the fire was burning with the following results. The temperature within the first 12" was approximately 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, at 20" up the temperature dropped to approximately 600 degrees, at 40" up the temperature was approximately 350 degrees, at 60" up the temperature was 200 degrees, at 80" up the temperature was 125 degrees and at 96" up the temperature was basically ambient temperature. I found that the first 20" from the ground level are by far the most vulnerable.
Much to learn about fire behavior and building construction.
Sheetrock generally has only a 30 to 60 minute fire rating, and that's for the interior of a home.
Where is all of the dry storage for this heavy and delicate when exposed to moisture sheetrock?
Massive flames and intense heat can break windows from hundreds of feet away.
Fire will enter home and destroy contents.
Fire burns through and melts interior wood and steel roof beams and trusses, which will then collapse and pull down even brick or block walls.
You've spent a lot of time on your example, but it is highly unrealistic and not achievable to fire-proof a home in the manner in which has been described.
Does home have vents for plumbing, bathrooms, kitchen, water heater, furnace, rooftop, gable ends or overhangs?
Intense heat and flame enters vents and screens and moves into interior of home, igniting wood structure in attic or crawlspace.
Setting up a mock scenario at miniature scale does not portray the actual behavior of massive 100 foot flames and intense heat from a 100 mph high wind driven firestorm.
The massive heat and flames in canyons creates its own blast furnace conditions which easily melts steel.
This cannot be overcome by humans with large diameter hose lines or creative home protection strategies.
Defensible space with cleared brush, shrubs and trees kept away from the home helps to protect from ordinary small brush fires.
Tile or metal roofs help protect from falling and windblown embers and burning pieces of wood.
If everyone built a concrete bunker home with no windows, a protected ground level vent for air, a flat concrete roof and a heavy concrete door, that might possibly survive a massive fire storm.
Even concrete cracks and spalls (chunks break off) because of moisture contained within, when exposed to intense heat and flame, which can then expose the steel rebar, which then rusts from rain and continued moisture exposure, thus weakening the structure.
Fire damages concrete bridges, parking structures and the ceilings and walls of concrete buildings and can compromise their structural integrity.
Damn that sounds like a lot for something that'll probably never happen in your lifetime. Probably makes more economical sense just to get more insurance coverage.
Lots of blowing embers make their way into the attic according to inspectors
@@krg038…bingo …smart firefighting is controlling the Attic fire. Interior firefighting is an experienced Fire Fighter.
@@ruthlessluderOr move.
Insane that "fire resistant materials" is a hot take
Thank you .We all Have a lot Work To do .🛠🔧🇺🇸
I would imagine that a community could organize and make their whole neighborhood wildfire proof.
Impossible. Too many people love surrounding their homes with plants and all manner of flammable crap. Especially in wealthy enclaves like this, densely built on heavily wooded hillsides. Totally irresponsible.
My home is literally in the middle of an empty open field, with NO plants around it whatsoever. In the desert where nothing big grows anyway, but I keep a large area around the house clear of sagebrush and weeds for EXACTLY this reason. I don’t need trees for privacy, I’m on ten acres. I don’t need trees for shade, I have good insulation, good air conditioning and a serious solar system to help offset the cost. It’s really simple to me, but so many people want to live in these high risk areas, so they get what they get.
@Johnfisher12345 not impossible
This should be played on big screenwalls all over California. It's unfortunate that people weren't better prepared, not even owning a generator and a pump to use their pools as a water reservoir. Must feel odd to have millions in the bank yet nothing has been done to protect your house from burning down?
Good ideas presented, but still inefficient for high, hurricane level, winds. Failed to speak of siding materials that are fire resistant. Tree debris will land on your roof with the high winds... and it will also be blown off your roof. It really depends on the direction of the winds and your roof. Most California homes have tile roofs to make them burn resistant. It is not normal for houses in California to have basements, so the embers aren't going to find those vents to enter. On the other end, attics do have vents to let the heat escape, and so the 1/8 inch advise is excellent for this. Ideal, a roof sprinkler and siding waterfall system using one's pool and a gas pump to feed it. Better, a collection system to reuse the water effectively making your house into a giant fountain. All it takes is money... lots of it.
Bumping this up for people to see.
Why do y'all build with so much lumber though? Is that the standard?
Any update?
Which gutter guards are firesafe? The ones I used to use were perforated plastic.
Aluminum or galvanized steel
Also applicable in other regions!
It should be in the building code!
After mandatory evacuation, your home is free zoon for embers igniting fire.
Australia is streets ahead when it comes to combating bushfire damage through Better building practices
Can't you simply build your house with cement and bricks! Is it that difficult or costly. Or does it make your house look cheaper!!
Ok, so share your thoughts.
Bricks will hold humidity in the house. Also California is prone to earthquakes, I don't think cement will do very well.
I have to study the subject but I think we don’t use bricks because we have earthquakes lol. Time to reconsider….
As everyone says, it's an earthquake issue. Wooden homes do very well in earthquakes because of their flexibility. In my area (east bay hills near San Francisco), we have small earthquakes almost every other month and a major one every 30+ years. My home is 70 years old, and survived the 1989 earthquake, and numerous small one unscathed. Same with all the other homes in my neighborhood which are all wooden. The 89 quake destroyed tons of brick and mortar buildings.
Unfortunately the fires have gotten worse in California. I never remember them growing up in the 80s/lates 90s, so everyone's trying to adapt now.
@@eugeneh147 Nothing to do with earthquakes, but with cost.. Are commercial office buildings and factories made of wood? No. Rebar reinforced concrete/cinder block, and steal beams are perfectly earthquake proof. It just costs more. And in the US, it's all about cutting costs and not about quality. Just look at the state of our food industry and all the fatties walking around. Same thing with construction. 10% is amazing, 30% is good enough, 40% is bad, and 20% is downright terrible
A well built cement house will survive earthquake and fire.
So many little fireplaces in backyards with a tall chimney and no spark/ember *arrestor
Who's here after the L.A. fires?
People should buy oscillating water sprinklers and put them on their roof, the front yard and backyard when fires are near.
my uncle saved his home with a tractor that has manure pump and a 1200 gallon septic tank.
Soffits safer than eaves
If only people in "fire prone areas like California" would take this advice......But no one does.....They depend on "heartless
insurance companies" to just rebuild their lost homes........Stick built homes with particle board and vinyl sidings; long
roof overhangs that just invite embers into the roof vents......Crazy......City officials know the vulnerabilities; but the
lobby groups for building industry want NO regulations to provide for hardening of buildings because it cuts into
their outrageous profits..........So, they pass the costs of their shoddy construction onto consumers in the form
of outrageous insurance costs to replace cheaply and poorly designed homes and businesses.........
People are fooled by pubic relations campaigns and politicians who are paid "propagandists"; paid to "obfuscate
and gas-light the unwary public into blaming everyone but where the blame truly lies"......With the construction and
development industry.........these tragedies are their fault........All buildings can easily be built to withstand wind,
water, and fire damage; but with MONEY as overriding goals of these entities; there will never be change;
unless the public becomes educated enough and determined enough to demand action and improvements......
And I heard somebody say they had a shake roof and I'm like a what roof? A shake roof? Yeah a shake is wood so how dumb is that? You live in a fire area but have a wooden roof lol. Guess some can't be helped.
The fact that California residents are not watching these videos shows how ignorant they are
@@uberassault6021started watching now
Oh look now everyone is an expert after the fact what has happened lol.
Hold on, I'm in a fire prone area of California and all houses being built in the hills have tile roofs and stucco, and there are large defensible areas around them with concrete and large pools. It's the older homes that have single roofs with lots of trees surrounding them, and that is mostly what build. The Alphabet Streets of the Palisades and old historic neighborhoods in Altadena with many houses over 80 years old is what burned to the ground. There's still more that can be done, but the houses burning are many times very old homes.
this video is way more useful than all those jesus should this god will that comments
It does a lot of good after the fact... yes.
hope they start building some decent houses in LA... they look like but it's weak, thin and cheaply build while costing a fortune
Build with ICFs and all but eliminate the chance of your home burning from wildfires.
Well, YOutube should have recommended this video before the LA fires. Not After.
They didn't watch your video.
Cela de fait être un règlement municipale et une lois du ministère public
Where's LA fire department? Had homeowners hired their own Private Fire Companies, they could have cut away the flammable brush and tumble weeds around their house before the fire hits. Private Fire Companies could be patiently waiting in the high wind and brush areas protecting homeowners who have paid for their services. Private Fire Companies could easily put the fire out with their own private reservoir full of water?
Finally Private Fire Companies could also protect homes from criminal looters and arsonists. Contracted Private Fire Companies don't cost that much. You can hire them only during the fire season for a fixed amount. Remember your home is your biggest and most important investment.
Unfortunately this won’t work in California. Common sense is required. Just look who they vote in for decades.
Californias official infomercial
Where's LA fire department? Had homeowners hired their own Private Fire Companies, they could have cut away the flammable brush and tumble weeds around their house before the fire hits. Private Fire Companies could be patiently waiting in the high wind and brush areas protecting homeowners who have paid for their services. Private Fire Companies could easily put the fire out with their own private reservoir full of water? Finally Private Fire Companies could also protect homes from criminal looters and arsonists.
Human nature just doesn't change. we're not geared towards prevention. we're more geared towards reaction. sad
Hey LA home owners, if you had a watch here three years ago, you might not have lost your home. Pity you all didn´t care less.
this did not age too well 😢
Aussie here. The video advice is sound, but may give the wrong impression about the impact of ember storms.
Have a look at the home videos from Australians defending their homes in the massive bushfires in Dec 2019 - Jan 2020 (BTW not recommended, evacuation saves lives, staying risks death by smoke inhalation). The way most buildings burn down in high wind conditions is via the roof, not the ground. As the video says, these firestorms are ember storms which do not behave like ground or grass fires. The actual fire front is often a mile behind the vanguard of the fire, which is travelling through the air 30'- 60' above the ground doing aerial bombardment.
Where the ember missiles land varies with wind gusts, which is why some houses are left intact in a street, and houses directly adjacent are burnt. It does NOT mean that the intact houses were necessarily more fireproof, mostly that those owners were just lucky.
So ground protection, while necessary, is not the critical line of defence. The first line of defence is Roof Protection. You can fill your gutters with water before you evacuate -- but that water will evaporate in no time. The roof valleys are ember traps. The strong wind will drive and force the tiny embers into the roof valleys, and even narrow gaps under the roofing. Sheeting or gutters may warp under the heat and create new gaps. BTW, clay or slate tiles are no guarantee. Once the embers touch and ignite the roof timbers the house is gone, since the roof will collapse and drop the fire inside. The house burns from the inside out.
Home videos show that despite owners being able to put out ground level fires adjacent to their homes by continuous hosing of the ground and walls and gutters prior to and during the firestorm, ordinary garden hoses do not provide enough pressure and can't provide enough continuous coverage to keep the roof ember-free. Various home videos show this process very clearly. Even a very tiny fire on the roof usually means that the house is unsaveable, it is gone. Only firefighters with high pressure hoses can properly douse a roof fire, but it would be sheer luck if they happened to be on hand at the critical moment.
You may want to research what innovations individual homeowners have come up with in Australia to deal with firestorms. My home is not in a high risk zone, but here are some approaches I've heard of:
Use of a steel frame instead of timber framing for a home. Construction materials that will not warp under heat. Smooth surfaces without pockets which would hold burning leaves - zero gutters is one option I've seen often. Wind-resistant, tightly secured, edges and joins that won't lift. Roof slope which is near level, or else sloping away from the direction of a likely fire wind. No chimneys, skylights or other roof protrusions.
Wishing everyone success with protecting their home!
*You Australians are proud eco-lunatics who have long stopped believing God will judge the earth, let alone anything else in the Bible or that is plain to see by natural revelation, why should **_anyone_** listen to your green-babel?*
Dormer windows are a complete fire hazard.
Why
@mjojo25 because they are exposed on 3 sides. They are paper thin and totally exposed. The roof needs to be a sealed component of the property, as do the eaves.
UA-cam too slow, should have been recommending this to Californians. Fail.
❤
oops
Forest Management
This wasn't really forest burning. Is was sagebrush and chaparral burning on the side of a mountain... until the embers reached the houses.
😅😅😅😅 what a wonderful world. People spent millions for a home made out of paper and cardboard in a region where fires are common things😅😅 Proof that being rich doeq not exclude stupidity
No one cares about this video a week ago.
I think DEI is better than this😂😂😂
Damage control; sell the lie.And concrete buildings surrounded by asphalt? Sell the lie. Wild fire embers didn't do this.
Omg! Lasers did it!
@jla3772 🤡
That's Pacific Palisades, there's not a lot of concrete and asphalt except on the roads
So what did it?
Ad from 3 years ago. You may need help.
This was from 3 years ago, get help.
Stop building with plywood, build like in Mexico with concrete, with blocks, with "Armes" "castles" in Mexico when a house burns down, you just paint it and replace the inside but you still have the house...
Concrete collapses and kills people during earthquakes.
My friend, this the basic staff you can do to your house. And if you are not doing this, you must sell your house and buy a condo or rent