Building in Wildfire Zones
With the advent of wildfires around the globe, architects and contractors are only beginning to address the dangers and mitigation of building in these areas. Little cogent literature or symposiums have been offered that cover this issue.
At our office, we have been tasked to design two recent projects that are in these zones. The knowledge acquisition is a steep learning curve but one that has been rewarding. Here are some facts about how fires can destroy structures:
Wildfires are almost always driven by high winds and this combined with flames are what we must design for.
Flammable materials adjacent to buildings are basically tinder or fuel that make fires more hazardous.
Once a fire penetrates any part of your building, game over.
Any combustible building material is a huge risk.
All openings (doors, windows, eaves, vents) are all likely places for fire to penetrate the building and combust with interior furnishings and building materials.
Here are some strategies for making your new building as fire-resistant as possible:
All building materials must be non-combustible. In our recent projects, we have selected concrete block with stucco for exterior walls, metal roofs, rolling fire shutters over all French Doors and large openings, swinging metal shutters over all window openings, steel exterior doors, steel garage doors, protection of building vents and elimination of overhangs and eaves.
Protection of flammable elements such as propane tanks which are stored underground.
Any exterior furniture, if close to structure, should be non-combustible.
Depending on water from your line to the street to fight fires is risky. A better solution is to add other backups such as a swimming pool connected to a hydrant, a well with a storage tank that can also be connected to this system.
Water from this system can also be used to feed large sprinkler heads mounted around structure to saturate both the building and landscaping during a wildfire event.
The key to most situations where your house might be in danger from a wildfire, you are usually given a warning of at least an hour to evacuate. Therefore, it is crucial to design a system of shutters that can easily be activated by a single person in under an hour.
If you have a seasonal home, these shutters and coverings can be incorporated whenever you leave for any period of time. This ensures that your house is protected in case of a fire. It is also a great security method for when you are away.
We have endeavored to design these safeguards of roofs, walls and shutters into an overall aesthetically pleasing design. Actually, these features have given us tools to make our houses look more unique in the process.