Houses in the Pinelands have to cope with frequent forest fires
- Thread starter Teegate
- Start date
Guy,
This is a great article, and one of much interest to me. I'm barely old enough to remember the 1963 fires. It wasn't pretty. People died; many houses burned. With the build up of forest litter it is not a question of if - but when - the next conflagration will occur. Droughts are cyclic. The typical suburban house construction is not going to cut it. We aren't prepared.
Use non-combustible sheathing and construction material. Fiber cement lap siding like HardiePlank® looks like wood, but is fire proof. Build walls and ceilings of stress skin panels, many of which are fire resistant (Polyurethane, isocyanurate). They are also solid, so there is no place for fire to travel internally – super energy efficient too. Reinforced, solid pour concrete walls are great too. Use metal studs. Metal roofs are durable and fire proof.
Build near the road. If not make your driveway circular and big enough to accommodate a tractor-trailer in and out. Many houses are recessed down long narrow driveways that modern fire trucks can not negotiate. It's triage. Fire trucks will just move on to the next safely accessible place while the recessed house burns down.
S-M
This is a great article, and one of much interest to me. I'm barely old enough to remember the 1963 fires. It wasn't pretty. People died; many houses burned. With the build up of forest litter it is not a question of if - but when - the next conflagration will occur. Droughts are cyclic. The typical suburban house construction is not going to cut it. We aren't prepared.
Use non-combustible sheathing and construction material. Fiber cement lap siding like HardiePlank® looks like wood, but is fire proof. Build walls and ceilings of stress skin panels, many of which are fire resistant (Polyurethane, isocyanurate). They are also solid, so there is no place for fire to travel internally – super energy efficient too. Reinforced, solid pour concrete walls are great too. Use metal studs. Metal roofs are durable and fire proof.
Build near the road. If not make your driveway circular and big enough to accommodate a tractor-trailer in and out. Many houses are recessed down long narrow driveways that modern fire trucks can not negotiate. It's triage. Fire trucks will just move on to the next safely accessible place while the recessed house burns down.
S-M
Though I live on the edge of the pines and much of the surrounding acreage is open farmland, I still get anxious with the smell of smoke on a dry windy day in the spring. A metal roof and decent buffer to the woods provides some comfort. I had heard that the convection that occurs in attics on hot days can suck burning embers right into the attic space. This scares me a little bit. I wonder how true it is.
For many years I have been concerned about the vulnerability of wildfire to the Leisuretown community in Southampton. One must seriously question the wisdom of the developments near Whiting and also along the Plains (Ocean Acres) as well as those communities nearer the coast. How scary would it be to live in an area with such a severe fire history?
For many years I have been concerned about the vulnerability of wildfire to the Leisuretown community in Southampton. One must seriously question the wisdom of the developments near Whiting and also along the Plains (Ocean Acres) as well as those communities nearer the coast. How scary would it be to live in an area with such a severe fire history?