State orders fire-safe homes

Tag : End Mill Holders

The regulations, which went into operation July 1, require newhomes and businesses in fire danger zones to be built with walls,windows and other materials that are more fire resistant thatanywhere in the nation.
The primary purpose is to keep out embers that research has showncan travel up to a mile and trigger fires long after a fire fronthas passed through a neighborhood.
"The goal is enclosing the structure so embers can't get inside,"said Ernylee Chamlee, chief of wildland fire prevention engineeringfor the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Builders catching up
But builders will face some initial supply problems in meeting thenew standards, Chamlee said.
Window manufacturers have yet to produce the required dual panewindows with at least one pane of tempered glass, and fire labshave yet to develop tests for new vents to keep embers out ofbuildings.
"The industry is still trying to catch up," Chamlee said.
The rules apply to new construction in areas where the state isresponsible for fire protection. These zones recently have beenremapped for more accuracy.
The new regulations also are in force in the existing highest riskfire zones protected by local cities and counties.
But the state is working with local officials to update the localmaps, which might lead to some adjustments in exactly where the newrules will apply when they are finished, probably by the end of theyear.
Cities and counties also may make their own additions to statemaps, based on their knowledge of local conditions in, for example,a canyon or old neighborhood, said Dean Cromwell, a CalFireresearch manager.
"At a minimum they must do the state standards," Cromwell said oflocal governments.
There already are nearly eight million households in the popularbut hazardous state and local fire protection zones, Chamlee said. Cost: $1,800 per house
The new standards will apply only to new homes and commercialbuildings, with the exception of roofs. Owners of existingbuildings will have to meet the latest roofing standards in thehazard areas when they re-roof.
The additional cost of meeting the new standards has been roughlyestimated at $1,800 per house, though fire officials said it canvary widely depending on construction plans.
The new rules are seen as the next significant extension of thestate's effort to protect wildland from fires that now requirehomeowners to create a "defensible space" of 100 feet around theirhomes.
"We think this can make a major difference" in fire safety, Chamleesaid of the new regulations.
The new rules, which were developed jointly over several years byfirefighters, building officials, industry representatives andother interested parties, will not only protect individual homesbut also neighbors.
Noting that a house fire produces more embers than a wildland fire,Chamlee said that "when a whole house catches on fire, it becomes afire hazard to the houses surrounding it."
CalFire plans an all-out public education campaign to inform thepublic in hazardous areas about the new rules, she said.
"It's getting people to recognize the vulnerability of theirproperty," Chamlee concluded. "We want a house to be able tosurvive without a firefighter at every house because with aconflagration, that will never happen."