Draft:Home hardening
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Home hardening is the process of adopting fireproof and fire-resistant building materials, maintaining defensible space and using fire-tolerant landscaping to increase a building's resistance to wildfires. Although most commonly associated with wildfire risk, it is also used to designate construction techniques to mitigate against other natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and floods.
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Last edited by Chalandray (talk | contribs) 49 days ago. (Update) |
The term "home hardening" was introduced by United States Forest Service fire scientist Jack Cohen in the late 1990s in his research on Home Ignition Zones (HIZ).[1] The concept was however not new. Following the 1961 Bel Air Fire, the Los Angeles Fire Department produced a documentary titled Design for Disaster, calling for the densely packed homes nestled on hillsides covered in dry brush "a serious problem in fire protection, even under the best of conditions", and pointing at the numerous cedar shake roofs in the neighborhood as dangerous points of ignition.[2][3] Wood-based roof materials were eventually banned citywide in 1989 by the city of Los Angeles, including allegedly fire-resistant products the industry developed after the 1982 Mandeville Canyon Fire.[4]
Defensible space
Building materials
and are now specifically using their fire resistance as selling points.
fiber cement siding, metal roofing or fire-rated asphalt shingles, fire-resistant decking materials such as specific rigid PVC-capped lines, ipê or fused bamboo.
Newer materials like hempcrete
Maintenance practices
In order to maintain a building hardened against fire, it is recommended to regularly keep gutters clean from dry leaves and pine needles, keep the area below decks free of debris, and keep flammable items such as patio furniture or waste bins away from the building.