Two tiny homes set on fire: Big lessons for everyone
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- Опубликовано: 30 июл 2024
- Two tiny homes in Sacramento are intentionally set on fire to teach lessons about protecting against wildfire. Chris Chmura reports.
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It's like building for hurricanes. Structural engineers KNOW what needs to be done, but builders won't implement it unless the government requires it, or insurance requires it for coverage.
So like seatbelts, airbags, fire extinguishers, etc.
Let’s not forget clients who want bigger more than safer… the builders provide what buyers demand. Buyers aren’t purely helpless victims.
And why don't we see more geodesic buildings in storm zones? You know those buildings that can stand up to 200 mph winds. 😮 #monolithicdomes #pacificdomes #naturalspacedomes
@@TheOtherTingzThey are ugly. Construction costs are over twice conventional building. They don't resale. Concrete costs a fortune. How many reasons do you want?
How much do you want your home to cost? They can make it like Fort Knox but you can't afford it. Take a dose of reality.
After what happened in Maui, that one newly renovated home that happen to be untouched, l took that to heart. My landscaping is changing. Glad to see this video to remind others. Brightest Blessings. ☺️✌️❤️🦋🙏
What l thought was interesting about the Hawaiian fire was how pics taken prior showed the area wasn't exactly thick with vegetation at all. Of course the high winds played a big role.
Now put COB on the outside of your house so it won't burn.
Just paint your house BLUE, FFS!
@@RUclipsDeletesCommentsBravo
@@shinola228 and that short grass acreage above the town had NO fire break, nothing . Why? Winds would get that ranch grass going and you're done like Santa Ana.
I used to work in homeowners insurance. As much as insurance companies are all about greed and profit, as individual homeowners, I think it’s safe to say most of us would never want to experience seeing our homes go up in flames and have to deal with the aftermath. Heed these lessons. This is just a few examples. I don’t remember if they mentioned it but woodshake roofs are bad, bad, bad. Go for composite roof material or other less combat or non-combustible materials. Not just shrubs but trees should also be far away from your home. This is also good advice for flood prone areas as you wouldn’t want your tree uprooted and hitting your home. Unfortunately in densely packed cities like San Francisco you can’t follow all of these tips. So many homes are right up against one another that it would create a domino effect. But, still, take any and all fire mitigation measures that you’re able. And, please do not clutter the exterior of your home with trash. Move that pile of combustible junk far away from your home.
Queens & Nassau county NY homes are very close.
Choose less combustible species of plants.
Look into Vetiver grass (tall decorative plant) as a possible fire break. The studies I saw were 1. Over 10 years ago and 2. From other countries (Australia was one).
Apparently Vetiver is so slow to burn that the fire usually burns out before it catches, so it has been used as a firebreak in open areas (fields, etc).
It’s worth looking at whether it has any application for fire protection in the US.
I would put it along boundaries/fence lines to stop fire farther from the house itself.
oh wow. Thank you. it seems that it is very suitable for Cali weather and socal soil type. Although I don't live in Ca anymore. I remember standing on my roof in the middle of the night watching the neighbor's houses burning, and the huge palm trees lit up like torches spreading fire embers in the wind. What a sight to behold. Very scary. @@amigos4erin
I feel your pain. I used to live in CA. Born and raised there all my life. I used to see wildfires less frequently between the 1960's and early 1980's. I would argue as I have under someone else's post that probably some of what the problem is, is lower building material structures and lower building standards. Would you agree?
Here is what I commented to someone else:
I would argue and look at the change in building standards and building materials over the years as part of the problem.
Our family owned 2 homes (for more than 60 yrs -- each) that 'broke the rules' and were every bit like the burned structure on the left.
We HAD close to the structure plants used as privacy barriers. We DIDN'T have 'sealed eve protectors'. We used NO fencing what so ever betw our home and the next door neighbors home ; and neither home had fire-resistent siding. As a matter of fact 1 of the homes I am thinking of was a good old fashioned, "SEARS Craftsman (kit) Home" built in the 1920's. Although, neither home I am thinking of used mulch we were however, frequent users of fertilizers. Neither house EVER BURNED. BOTH were So. CA homes!!
So, I really don't know what to say about their conclusions. I really don't know what they are talking about.
Just wildfire risk? I have always feared a fire from a neighbors home spreading to mine. This is great and practice advice to see.
any moving fire obviously.
Hopefully firefighters get there before it gets that hot and can at least protect the neighbours. But yes. I guess it depends if you have a hydrant nearby.
The "green shrub" is probably cypress, which contains an oil that is highly flammable. They're pretty and smell good, but keep cypress away from the home as far as possible.
Eucalyptus trees are another No-no. Highly flammable and branches break off in wind storms.
@@dfirth224 How about cacti?
@@brodriguez11000: Cacti and succulents are among the safer plants to grow in fire-prone areas. It's not just introduced plants like Eucalyptus and Mediterranean cypresses that should be discouraged in residential areas, some California natives are also high risk, e.g manzanitas (Arctostaphylos spp.), Bay Laurel (Umbellularia californica) and most native conifers.
Thx for sharing this info!
The oily/sappy evergreens (conifers) have the hottest burning fuels, and plenty of it.
Creating fireproof products can make a difference too, creating a safer environment for others inside and outside. Great job Engineering Test Teams! Well done!
Agreed. I saw: Fire Demo (Extended Cut): Hardie® Fiber Cement Siding vs. Vinyl, Engineered Wood & Cedar
Is it safe and can people get sick???
You know. Thats fire insurance is not needed
@@fernyv4368 Meat isn't safe. It is making you sick.
Metal and concrete already exist.
Building a wooden house in CA, is just stupid.
Such simple tips could save homes and lives. We lived in CA during wildfires that came close to our home. We were lucky. Everyone should share this video.
And share how to put 1/8 inch mesh metal screen over openings in your attic and crawlspace. Plus see: Fire Demo (Extended Cut): Hardie® Fiber Cement Siding vs. Vinyl, Engineered Wood & Cedar
We lost our home in the Tubbs fire. In 60 mph winds, the flames travel from home to home. These materials do nothing in a wildfire.
Our steel shop, was untouched, despite embers resting against it, and burned limbs on the roof.
Building wooden houses in CA is just plain stupid.
I'm so sorry to hear about that. Many of our friends had the fires come very close-right up to neighboring homes. The only thing that saved them was their tile roofs. Shingle roofs are tinder for embers. Wooden structures are always at risk.
My family owned a hotel upstate NY that was all wood, as were other hotels in that area. It was the way buildings were created back then in the Adirondacks. It was a total loss.
@@Cre-Art Thanks.
My neighbors rebuilt their homes with wood, and bark chips? We left the state, and built a shipping container-based home with tinted concrete, formed with old timber to replicate wooden siding. We used the panels removed for interior space, as shutters. We can lock up the whole house for security and to fireproof it. Nothing is perfectly fireproof, but we have no flammable materials near the house, and cleared the east side. (Most likely to be the warmer prevailing wind.)
@@ThirtyYearstoolate I think you did the smart thing. I've seen some shipping container homes that are not only interesting and practical, but beautiful too. They're also a brilliant way to recycle. Good for you all around.
Condolences to the plants and vegetation that died!!!
They wanted to burn
If you build stuff out of dry rotted flammable things theyy burn. These people are fkn loaded on smarts. Who would have ever known this otherwise? Wooden shrubs burn too? Even bigger surprise.......
A vigil will be held, in accordance with CA state law.
@@ThirtyYearstoolate😂😂
I feel so bad for the other plants who had to witness their friends die just so stupid humans could be informed about fire safety! Tragic!
This is very useful to help people make their home safer - great job folks
Helps slow some fires, but you still have to worry about radiant heat. Look how far away the phone was and it still got too hot. This heat can break windows and/or start a fire inside just because of the heat load.
Fought one large wildfire once as a VFD. Water is very scarce. A good idea is to leave long hoses and sprinklers at every faucet. We would start them to protect a house while we were waiting for the next tanker to refill us with water.
I was thinking the structure is going to go up in flames no matter what. I mean... dont have stuff around the home, but the structure itself will go up in flames either way....
This is very helpful. I need to research landscaping ideas that look less sterile than a wide swatch of concrete surrounding the house, but it's definitely critical information.
Gravel, flagstone, pavers
You won't be researching landscape options if your house burns down. You will be researching fire proofing options on your NEXT house. If you were insured. And no one will insure you.
You just have to make sure you don't have those italian cypress trees anywhere near you if you live in fire country. Those trees act like wicks bringing the fire to the roof in this demo.
Vetiver grass (tall, decorative grass) is very, very fire resistant. In some countries, double rows of it are used as fire breaks because it’s sooooo slow to catch fire that the fire runs out of fuel and dies first.
Exactly, surroundings nothing but concrete. No thank you, move to New York or Chicago for concrete
Insurance companies should let people know what to change in order to keep their insurance at a certain level. We have, over the last 8 years removed 20 foot high junipers hanging over the house, tall Italian cypress against the wall, a 5 foot high, 10 foot long juniper near the house, replaced mulch next to the house with gravel, put in ember safe vents, thinned out plants. Now we are looking into metal gates that would attach to the house rather than the wood gates. Fortunately we have a stucco house. I wish we could afford a metal roof.
This is actually a good video from NBC Bay Area, actual news and information with no agenda. good job.
I disagree. The title alone is the problem. Right now we have a huge homeless situation and the title puts a negative view on tiny homes. This had nothing to do with tiny homes at all. This was a controlled fire used to demonstrate how fires start and how to prevent them from happening. ALL homes. I bet the "tiny home" part is why you clicked.
No agenda? We know Jew space laser by Democrats is the ones causing these “wild” fires. The anti-vegetation sentiments coupled with the other fact stated proves this is an attack to democrats by the republicans. It’s all politics!
this is something I didn't ask for but needed. Thank You.
Extremely impressive. ALL property owners should watch this. Insurance carriers could make that happen.
There is a planned community in SoCal ( I think it's Rancho Bernardo or something) that was built 20 or 30 years ago. They have very strict building codes, including types of fences and landscaping you can have. Many people grumbled when they moved in. But a few years later a wildfire came through and NOT ONE home burned. Now no one complains.
@@dfirth224that's not true. I lived in Rancho Bernaro for years. There are still empty lots on Aguamiel road from the 2007 fires. My neighbors houses burned to the ground.
@@dfirth224liar
Rancho Bernardo is way older than 30 years.
Reported for misinformation
then what is the point of Insurance? If we all know this why we need insurance? Use your brain sometimes will you?
not all property owners can afford to upgrade. Hell, I rent and my rent doubled because the furnace broke. What would these upgrades do to my rent?
Can I have the one left standing? I'm homeless in my tiny car trying to work and fix my life.. 😢
I have friends in Romania and Hungary, they don't build houses out of flammable chipboard and asphalt, they build them using the large hollow red terracotta kiln fired blocks like we used to use in buidings in the USA for partition walls, and then they stucco the exterior. The roofs are made of curved tiles from the same red terracotta. The blocks resemble concrete blocks but concrete blocks are weak, fragile and break easy and not fire resistant- they crack break down under heat- the terracotta blocks were made in a kiln heated to around 2,000 degrees and vitrified.
Terracotta blocks were what saved the landmark gothic inspired 90 west street building that was damaged by the WTC collapse next to it, fires inside raged for a long time but the buiding stayed intact and was later restored and renovated- the partition walls inside were all terracotta blocks as were fill-in inside the floors and they acted as fire blocks, had the walls been sheetrock and wood the building would be gone.
Google view towns in either country and you'll see scores of houses all with brick red roofs clearly visible, the walls are about 8 or so inches thick, very substantial!
Hungarian here - Indeed this is true, and the older buildings are a mix of heat resistant bricks and concrete so they crumble down on the outside a lot but can still be repaired back easily, because the bricks are still keeping it intact for a while - When I first saw that US houses are mostly made now of wood and plasterboard, and the roof has slim asphalt shingles, my mind went "houses of cards". No wonder so many estates actually Lose value over time!
Is it possible to order these terracotta building materials to be delivered here in the US? Or does anybody make them here anymore?
@susanmei9980 They are sold in the U.S. as Terra Cotta Blocks or Terra Cotta Building Bricks. Home Depot or Menards stock them.
@@CricketsBay Thank you!😊
Well, I’m thinking, since these terracotta blocks are fired at such a high temp, and are basically fired clay, they might be a lot more resistant to mold growth and water leakage, than the concrete blocks usually used for basement construction, these days.
Most houses have wet, moldy basements! Not good for health!
Theres one thing they missed.
This has to be done around trees.
With flying debris.
And a decent amount of wind.
And its 95° out.
And the wildfire is spreading like peanut butter on toast.
My HOA requires my house NOT to be resilient to fires.
When the brush fire came though my area... The biggest factor was if the owner stayed and defended the property. My neighborhood has several escape routes so its not as bad as some areas. I think it was very safe to stay at home and wet my property, and fight spot fires with my garden hose. There are definitely area's around here that you should not attempt to do this, for example, if your in a canyon surrounded by brush, with only 1 escape route. My neighborhood had brush on 2 sides.. but the other 2 sides were escape routes with no brush at all.
Be better if they made the spacing between the two structures to be more realistic. Most new neighborhoods the houses are crammed so close that even though the suggestions are still helpful but doubt that the other structure would be unscathed.
Yet on my property in fire prone foothills of California, the only house construction pre-approved is wood-frame, my concrete house design requires engineering approval that the engineers charge more than it costs to build the house. Concrete doesn't burn, engineers are expense.
Saw that Ft. Worth this year,.and Mesquite last fall. Fire started in unkempt wildland brush comes up against wooden privacy fencing and you lose half the neighborhood before it's under control. I don't always get on board with every idea from California, but this is one that should be nationwide.
good to know that, thanks guys🥰
Don’t forget mulch! A lot of mulch builds heat and can start a fire. A neighbors house almost burned to the ground because of mulch, pushed right up to the house.
Mulch on the ground is half as hot as an asphalt driveway,or roof!
But it's ok insurance companies are still going to jack up your rates or just completely deny covering you because they're scared they may have to actually pay off on those insurance premiums and not make as much profit.
How many houses have to be insured to make one payout? Now multiply the payouts by thousands. No, it's more the way the STATE runs their forests, or lack thereof. They've basically guaranteed large fires by not maintaining the forests with many, many years of debris built up. Kind of like House A.
Im wondering why the fire marshal had two fires in 3 years. is he heeding his own message. Good tips in general.
Right?!! When he said that, I was like: HUH???
I wonder if he meant in his own home, or something else. The conversation was rushed and a bit short on details.
Well, my dreams of growing vines on the side of my home just went up in flames.
The iPhone would heat up and shutdown if you record 4k video for 10 min under direct sun , not because of the fire
Ya, that was nonsense.
All you have to do is build a natural COB house. It won't burn on the inside or outside. Also, it's not made with synthetic materials that pollute the environment.
What is "COB"?
@@dfirth224 Why don't you LOOK IT UP with your brain?
In real life. You add wind to the mix, the house on the right burns down to the ground. With the metal fence standing and bent.
You left out putting fine metal mesh over openings in the attic and crawl space under the house to keep embers out. Embers are what made the wildfires spread rapidly, and houses burn from the inside out. And you showed "open eves" on the "safe" house, too.
Good point, but mesh isn't adequate and no longer meets code. New vents must exclude embers and flames, like Brandguard Vents.
I thought it had open eaves, too but at 4:30 it shows closed eaves.
@@humblecourageous3919TFS that. One of the shots sure made it look like the “firesafe “ house had open eves!
This video doesn't mention another glaring issue. There are state laws (CA Department of Insurance) preventing insurance companies from raising rates to what they need to be, in order to cover the repeatedly massive claims from CA policy holders. CA is not going to entice insurance companies to write policies in a state that is #1 in claims, (Florida #2, Texas #3) in the entire country, which can cause companies to go bankrupt. No business can pay out claims, that amount to more than they can collect in premiums, cover their overhead, and make any kind of a profit. That's why insurance companies are leaving the state. If you hate insurance, your options are: A. Not live where there is an HOA, and B. Pay off your property and self insure.
This is an excellent lesson. I wish however, no one had to torture live plants, that hurts to watch them suffer.
Nothing like a visual lesson to drive home the point. Here are the key points:
Composite roof not wood shingles. Remember that clay tiles will all break when firemen step on them and will let the fire through the gaps, to the wood underneath. Metal roofs are the best and very fire resistant.
Covered eaves - cover up that solid wood sticking out from the roof. This is very flammable. No more cobwebs or wasp nests either.
Fire resistant siding on house, not wood shingles. Aluminum and steel siding are best, followed by stucco.
Metal fence, not wood or plastic fencing.
Sand and rock barrier radiating 5 ft from base of house (forget foundation plantings). Live plants burn too, and some piney plants ignite very fast due to pine resins being highly flammable.
Clean your gutters too, and have gutter covers to prevent dry leaves and branches from igniting inside them.
Plant a band of fire resistant vegetation in the plant zone so you can extend the radius of your fire proofing even further than 5 ft.
There was a dramatic photo of one house left standing in Malibu, Los Angeles, CA, after the whole neighborhood was flattened out from a wild fire. He had done everything right. Despite being a tract home, he made it as fireproof as possible. The fires raged around his house, leaping from every house around him, but not ONE bit of damage anywhere! Imagine that.
Furthermore, after the fires, come mud slides. His house was equipped for that too. He had tiled his living room, and sloped in to the center, where there was a huge drain. The walls baseboards were all steel. All he had to do, was hose down his living room to clean out any mud. Walls had zero damage, no mold anywhere. Clean as a whistle.
We can learn from this. Your house should be a tank of resilience against nature. The time for robust building is here now. We are going to get extreme weather. Deal with it. We know what needs to be done, and this should be enforced. Insurance companies are going broke due to homeowner stupidity. Govt should enforce building design codes and inspect for them!
I keep wondering why homeowners in areas with a high risk of fire don't use fireproof materials. For instance they could coat the outside of the house in a fireproof material like cob.
Here in Bulgaria, they use normal polystyrene on the outside of apartment blocks and then render it, I was always very worried about it. But the one opposite had a massive fire in one of the apartments, it blew out the windows and fire was going up the front of the building - it was SO unaffected that all they had to do was jet wash the soot of the front of the building.
Apparently what they do is above every window and door is 24" of mineral wool, so it won't melt like polystyrene and then the building is rendered in this stuff that LOOKS like cement but is actually tiny glass beads in a resin. The glass beads reflect the heat radiation of the sun and therefore a fire. Its so efficient 30 minutes of fire won't set the polystyrene on fire.
Apparently is IS entirely possible to make buildings essentially fire proof.
We need to take these lessons from you to the East Coast. I'll share this video with my homeowners association in NY State. We abut against a forest. Thank you for the video.
🙏 Thank you, learned a lot!
Thank you for showing.
The trouble I see is, even the most fire-proof plants, like prickly pear, if they're up next to your house, there will be dry leaves and stuff that will accumulate, it starts with spider webs and various fibers and junk that the wind blows in, then small leaves and pine needles and things get caught on that, and you pretty much end up with the same kind of stuff you start a camp fire with, right next to your house. And yes, even evergreens will dry out and get cooked dry by the fire and then they're full of oils and they'll burn only too well.
I was about to make a similar post! One thing, though: evergreens (which was going to be the main focus of my post) are ALWAYS flammable, even when they are virtually bursting with the moisture from fresh rains, because of the very oils you mentioned. I saw this in the Canadian wilderness back in the early Seventies. The boughs would crackle like hell, but they made great fire-starters -- and very fragrant ones from all the Pinene they contained.
Wow thank you for the info. Is a big wake up call 🙏👍
Okay, but you should have let the resident leave his house before setting it on fire.
Thanks for this video and for what it showed us to be "fire hazards."
Very good reporting, thank you.
Yes, good reporting but the after-demo chit chat is annoying and unneeded.
Good luck convincing all the folks up in the hills who let the pine trees grow right up to the walls, because they want to "live in nature".
Thank you!
I remember a home owner who did exactly that and guess what happened: no insurance company would insure his home and another person rebuilt theirs after it had been destroyed by a wildfire utilizing the same thing only for his homeowners’ insurance to unceremoniously drop coverage simply because they didn’t want to insure his now fire resistant house.
Is that the reason that they gave him? Or is it conjecture? I can’t speak for a situation that I know nothing about but many factors are considered for homeowners insurance. At least for the companies I represented when I did some underwriting. We examined many things. I’ve never heard of a fireproof home not being insurable but I’ve definitely seen many fire prone homes be denied coverage or slapped with a huge premium.
@@SL-lz9jr apparently it really did happen and no other insurance company wanted to insure him.
How was the denial worded? Did they turn them down due to no shrubs around the house?
Enclosed eaves?
Metal gate?
@@Test-vr3kf they built their homes like domes out of steel reinforced concrete as well as took all the other fire resistance measures prescribed. which meant that the insurance companies couldn’t milk them for “are you KIDDING?!” insurance premiums.
thanks for the clarification. @@d0lph1n63
What materials were used in the fireproof house? Build like in Europe: clay tile roofs, brick walls and concrete basements.
Brick or stone homes are impractical in much of the US due to earthquakes. Metal studs are slowly becoming more common though, and combined with whatever that siding is made out of, that could be a great alternative to brick or stone.
@@AdelineCowgirl sure, light metal framing, fiber cement board siding & soffits as well as metal roofing would be much more fireproof.
In regions of the US with a high probability of strong earthquakes, you can still use masonry blocks, just like we do in the Philippines where we have strong earthquakes (magnitude 6 to 7+) all the time: Build a post and beam structure from reinforced concrete or steel and use reinforced concrete blocks or AAC blocks for walls. These can survive typhoons, fires and earthquakes.
The US certainly has more resources to build disaster proof homes than we have in the Philippines.
Thanks for the Demo , Really Thanks !
Thank you. Lesson learned. I’m about to purchase a new home. I will look for these features.
Can't believe they casually set that 300k home on fire.
I am planning on doing same thing at my new home. Metal roof and siding, rocks instead of mulch and no plants close to my side of the house. I'm doing but for different reasons.
I wondered why they were burning tiny houses so I watched this. I was in the Paradise area living in my Tiny House when the Berry Fire came through in 2020. I drove my tiny house out and we spent the night sleeping in comfort in a parking lot. Thank goodness for my tiny house on wheels. I still have it because I could tow it out of the fire zone.
That's not a tiny house, it's a makeshift shed
Exactly! This story has NOTHING to do with tiny homes! Right now California is trying to get tiny homes built to help with the homeless population. Many people are against them and this title is subtle but meant to connect a negative view of tiny homes! Totally misleading title!
Wow that's awesome 👍 I love science and nature
You don't need to be an engineer, it's just practicality.. which our country has lost
Great demonstration!
I'm from the Midwest and it still baffles me after living in Los Angeles for 3 years that people don't prepare for wildfires around their homes. So easy. Especially the wealthy people who hire landscape architect to design gardens and somehow choose not to do fire safe designs. Even planting more succulents could drastically lower your home's chances of burning
How do you get attic ventilation with the sealed eaves, though?
Thanks for sharing ! 💯👍🏼
Building a houses in Colorado back in 2000 this was all basic stuff in the code. Driving through central CA in 2018 it was appalling how many homes had big oak trees over not only their homes but their neighbors' homes. Redwoods & pines LOVE fire. They thrive on fire because it's part of their lifecycle and it kills off all the competition and fertilizes the soil for their offspring to get a head start. They ought to do a demonstration of crown fires and how violently trees like that burn. If you're going to live in their habitat you need to adapt and that means xeriscaped yards, vegetation setbacks, fire-resistant materials and fire walls.
Serious question, what chemicals make the siding fire retardant? Do they cause cancer?
Don't charge an e bike in your place
It would have been helpful if they had included info and links with further information. For instance, how do we seal the eaves under the roof???
You can use wood, plastic or metal. For example a sheet of painted plywood cut for the size of overhang. You can also buy sheets of that wavy thick plastic and screw it in place. Not very expensive either way
@@lisalee2885 Thanks! I have since found some links and RUclips videos that offer some guidance as well.
You can call your fire department and asked how to protect your home from fire
@@RochelleLang Not long after I posted that, my local code inspector was at my house to check the foundation retrofit work I just had completed. At that time, I asked him about some of the advice given in the video. He said basically I didn't have to worry about it because my house is not in a wildfire area. (But, of course, basic precautions about home fires from other sources still apply.)
The experts from various agencies are making me crazy. The energy conservation/environmental agencies tell us to plant trees and vegetation near the house to regulate the temperature and reduce demands on the energy grid. And then the fire folks come along and tell us to keep all vegetation as far away from the house as possible (but a minimum of 5 feet).
Can't win!
@@eponymousIme it does seem confusing. At the end of the day you have to do what’s best for you to protect your investment.
How windy was it as winds will shoot flames past a walkway depends on what is burning like taller trees or another house.
And forest fires make their own wind.
Who can really be against non-flammable fencing? It is just kindling that links the fire from house to house, such as the Coffee Fire in Santa Rosa. But requiring really expensive interior sprinkler systems, for external wildfires (yes 100% required statewide WUI), that only activate after the house is doomed anyway, is entirely counterproductive. It makes people waste big $$$ that could go to useful preventative measures.
I would have never have thought throwing diesel fuel in a house was a bad idea 😂
Wow that is really interesting. This is a real game changer.. After this demonstration every potential homeowner needs to see this video. Banks and or insurance companies can make this a required presentation.
In my place, we had more problems with flammable isolation material and burning garbage.
Just imagine a pile of old papers burning and then the isolation under the plaster melts and turns into Napalm...
Great information…now homeowners need to use it…we’ve been dealing with hurricane resistant construction here in Florida since hurricane Andrew ….. gotta build to reduce your risk. Not in California, but when I build my home next year in NC I’ll certainly take these steps as in mountain areas we also have increased risk of fire
If you really don’t want to move the heirloom climbing roses, or the centuries-old oak, maybe you can “move the house” - reconfigure the building’s footprint. Building and renovation codes need to be made more flexible to allow this to happen
@@rltreasure yes, yes I do. And if someone has the finances and they love their grandmother’s climbing roses, they have that option. Some municipalities also have strict laws about cutting down large “heritage trees.” You don’t have to move the whole house either. It’s not like I’m suggesting you jack up the whole thing and take it on the road. Demolish the part in burning distance, and then add rooms on the other side. Apparently you missed the hint of flippancy in my comment as well
Reminds me of those old Civil Defense Nuclear proof demonstrations about keeping your yard clean of combustible debris...
Legal minimum square footage is 600 square feet. Which is pretty tiny home. But it is for insurance and fire sefety.
And what would the experts recommend if you have 2 small wooded decks attached to your home?
When you build with the same material you burn 🔥 in your fireplace, you can't expect much.
Gee, perhaps if developers stopped building in wild canyons filled with ungrazed brush because californias grazing wildlife has been driven further afield. Perhaps is those same developers weren't allowed to build high density, on small lots where homes are practically touching eaves. Perhaps if concrete and masonry and adobe were utilised more because it's readily available. But perhaps most, if developers and homeownets stopped trying to landscape as if they lived in vermont or Kentucky and realized that they live IN A COAST DESERT.
How does that five feet boundary do anything when wind blows fire farther than five feet?
I love how they have it burning in the background while talking casually like it's a campfire.
Meanwhile I'm planting plants to soak up flood water 😂
Great info. Thanks
Pretty instructive. Thank you.
Juniper trees go up like a rocket. Small or large they are very oily
layers of wood chips don't burn, they hold water just ask BC firefighters about the permiculture property that had no ground fire because of 8 inches of mulch not 3 inches just placed in minutes.
No shrubs. Burglars use them to hide.
If you implement these solutions then...perhaps..the major home owner insurance will start selling policies. So..if you keep your turf bare...then you might not have to go bare (be without insurance.)
...it was always a good idea to build a structure out of toothpicks (2x4) and toilet paper (housewrap) in a wildfire prone area.
Succulents have a very high water content and far less surface area per unit volume or mass than traditional plants. Does this make them safe near homes?
This is nonsense. Perhaps in a rural setting this might make sense but in a tract home development where homes are minimally spaced to maximize density there is nothing you can do to prevent fires hopping from one home to the next. We have seen tons of footage of this scenario already in recent years where complete developments are wiped out. This is just poor reporting and calfire should know better than this or at least be more specific as to where these strategies would actually make sense.
Some new homes have these rubberized ornaments added to the facia of the houses to make it more attractive to homeowners. Should the B&S department disallow those as well?
This could happen immediately but guess what insurance companies don't care. All the insurance has to do is bring back manual underwriting and inspect that homes are fire ready and charge them less. They won't do it so this doesn't matter.
I have plants right next to my house but my house is stone and plaster with 2 foot thick walls, so aint no shrub catching my house on fire.
Dang. I was married to a California Firefighter and thought I'd learned a few things. But seeing that bush serve as the TORCH for the structure is pretty convincing. Several important lessons, not the least of which is that *_The wind and arid conditions can gang up almost anywhere in this time of dramatic weather changes._*
Whether you believe firmly that the changes result from humans or are just a natural part of vast cycles in our planet's FOUR BILLION YEAR HISTORY, there's no doubt that the weather patterns, ocean currents, and watersheds have begun titanic shifts. Thanks for providing some specific changes for making our homes more survivable.
Because insurance companies don't really want to pay out any of the BILLIONS in premiums they took in.
I'd like to see how solar panels on your roof would react to a wildfire.
Excellent advice
*THE PROBLEM IS - AMERICAN HOMES* are built out of cardboard and sticky back plastic, both of which are very flammable.
Makes no difference if you have done all required and your neighbors have not
**Two booth. Not tiny homes. Video is Misleading
More than a few homeless could use even that simple structure this winter.
So did you also catch the negative spin they want to put in our minds about tiny homes?? I did! This story has absolutely nothing to do with tiny homes! But I bet most people clicked thinking it did! This is why people have a hard time trusting the news! Title is so misleading!
A couple of the places that survived the Lahaina fires had been done like the second house that did not burn.
my house is all concrete and steel and my yard is all concrete too.
my house is set to burn, scary to live here