Page 12 - Sonoma County Gazette September 2019

FIRE cont’d from page 10
Tour your Home with FIRE in mind.
ROOF: Rain is one thing, fire is another. You need a Class-A fire-rated roof! Inspect it for any place a hot ember can blow in and get stuck. Woodpeckers like to stash acorns in tight places...even power conduit, so look closely to see if any critter has violated your space for a winter stash.
VENTS: They are part of building codes to allow air to circulate between your roof and your ceiling. If your vents at the roof or along the perimeter foundation have holes larger than 1/8”, change them out for tight metal mesh.
WINDOWS: This can be tough on older homes. Heat can break a window FAST, so double-pane windows at a minimum, and tempered glass windows at best. And keep flammable vegetation away from windows to protect them.
SIDING: Chances are you are not going to replace your wood siding. What you can do is to create a non-flammable barrier around the base of your home at least 6” high. Whether you accomplish this with landscaping...see above...
or fire-resistent material, such as hardy board, concrete tiles or blocks...make sure it doesn’t create a gap where debris can collect and cause wood rot or leafy debris build-up. You have to think long-term as well as short-term.
DECKS: People have been known to replace their wooden decks with composite material or even tile. Wooden decks are asking for trouble. Embers land on them, ignite deck furniture and pillows...it’s a mess. People store things under the deck. There are paints that create a sold surface on decks, but the most minimal task you can perform is to keep it clean and make sure nothing flammable is under it or on it when fires are raging.
RAIN GUTTERS: This is probably the most vulnerable area on a home. Leaves collect on roofs and IN rain gutters. Getting a good gutter guard system will make this task a lot easier in the long term. The best systems are solid metal that don’t require cleaning of any kind, but they are expensive. Make SURE your roof and gutters are clean throughout autumn.
GARAGES: Keeping the garage door closed is good policy anyway, but when fires rage, it’s essential. We store all kinds of nasty things in our garage! If there is a space under the door, make sure it has a gasket that closes that space so no embers get sucked into your garage. Store combustible materials in a metal cabinet. If your garage door is powered by electricity, make sure you have a manual backup and know how to use it.
FENCES & GATES: We covered this above but it’s worth repeating. Fences need non-combustible breaks whether they are made if metal or open spaces. Wood fences function like candle wicks...fire travels along them and ignites the next surface in line. If that is your house...you’re next.
DRIVEWAYS AND ROADS: Country lanes are the most challenging. Keeping a minimum of 12-feet wide clearance for fire trucks is essential. If the fire engine can’t get to you, they cannot save your home.
REFLECTIVE ADDRESS SIGNS: Seems obvious but in the dark of night with flames shooting everywhere, finding you will be easier if your address sign catches light and can be seen. You can get these at your fire department. Order both vertical & horizontal ones so you have then in more than one place.
It’s not impossible so don’t give up. In previous issues of the Gazette we published what you need in your Go Bag and other lists you can check off as you accomplish the task. If you haven’t taken care of those yet...do it NOW.
SURVIVING a Wildfire
12 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 9/19
Surviving has as much to do with AFTER as it does DURING. People talk about how long it took them to find a place to stay. Emergency shelters are not pleasant places to be. You want a hotel room? You’d better have room on that credit card! Think ahead and think of everything you can do to protect yourself, your home and your family. It’s a large task but taking action makes you feel like you have some control. Anything is good.
Take your cell phone and record every room in your home and your entire yard and garage. Store all images in the cloud so that if you lose your computer or cell phone, you have proof of your possessions for your insurance carrier. Make copies (and photos) of every important document and put them in your Go Bag. Yes, titles to your vehicles, home, trust or will..birth certificates... anything that would be a challenge to replace. When the insurance company asks you for a receipt for that expensive object, you may want to laugh at them because it went up in flames...better yet, put a copy in your Grab & Run box.