FIRE-WISE YOUR HOME

 

Many of today’s homes are in wooded subdivisions. This scenario is what rural firefighters term a Wildland/Urban Interface.

Preliminary actions on your part, will make your home more capable of surviving a wildfire. These Protecting your home by undertaking the following procedure is known as making your home "Fire-Wise." These procedures should become part of your home’s strategy and daily consciousness.

The concept is to make your home less inviting to a fire. Consider fire as a living, breathing creature. It consumes fuel and oxygen and gives off heat and light. The more fuel and oxygen it has to consume, the bigger it will grow. Bigger fires create bigger problems. If you reduce the available fuel to the point that it can no longer sustain itself, the fire will go out, or at the very least will become small enough to be more easily managed and extinguished.

Fire-Wise steps:

1) Seal all openings, (gables, soffits, under decking) with 1\8" or smaller wire mesh.

2) Remove all burnable debris within a thirty to sixty foot radius around structures.

3) Remove tree limbs below six feet and within a thirty to sixty foot radius around all structures. Remove limbs that overhang or come in contact with the structure.

4) Remove all dead limbs and overgrown shrubbery near buildings. Remember to clean dead leaves from under foundation plantings.

5) Clean leaves and pine straw from gutters and roof.

6) Skirt under homes and decks.

7) Install non-flammable roofing and siding.

8) Clearly mark the septic tank.

9) Locate firewood, LPG tanks (liquefied petroleum gas), diesel, gasoline and other fuel at least fifty feet away from buildings.

10) Install thermally insulated double pane windows.

11) Keep grass cut around structures.

12) Keep 100 feet of water hose readily available at each faucet.

When the above procedures are in place:

  • Your home stands a better chance of surviving without any human intervention.
  • Provides peace of mind and allows you the freedom to evacuate early and stay safe.
  • Provides you with more time to evacuate your livestock /pets, rather than attempting a last ditch effort to put out a fire.
  • Increases your family’s likelihood of having a home after a wildfire.
  • Makes it easier for a trained fire crew to stop an advancing inferno.
  • The best time to make these preparations is long before a fire threatens. These procedures should be part of regular yard maintenance. Fire prevention is the home's best defense.

Prior to your evacuation, time permitting:

  • If you do not have thermally insulated windows, prevent radiant heat from igniting contents in the home by taping aluminum foil to the inside of the windows.
  • Water the lawn. Set up a lawn sprinkler to wet surrounding shrubbery and lawn. Even if the fire is several hours away, plants will draw up the moisture and burn more slowly and more coolly.

 

Gerald lives with his wife, Lyn on their remote farm in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. A highly trained volunteer firefighter and fire service instructor, since 1989, and currently volunteers with his local fire department. He is a wilderness survival and primitive living skills expert, an Eagle scout and an adult scout leader. Gerald's book Emergency Disaster Preparedness & Survival can be purchased on line at www.EmergencyDisasterPreparedness.info or by calling 800-524-9014. Gerald also provides consulting on your preparedness issues.

Gerald wishes to acknowledge his training with the fire service in Louisiana. The Louisiana Department of Agriculture teaches a course entitled “Living on the Edge”. Check your local and state agencies for further training.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things To Do This Season:

Auto: Add extra water bottles.

Home: Remove dead materials from shrubbery.

 

Tip:

During tornado season: Prior to going to bed, get your clothing ready. Include pocket knife, keys and personal information & flashlight.

 

 

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