If you live in an area that’s at high wildfire risk, it’s important to be well-versed in the topic of home hardening. This term refers to a set of specific actions you can take to prevent your home from catching and being damaged or destroyed in the event of a fire. If you’re building a … Read more
It’s an unfortunate reality that many Americans must be prepared for: Wildfires happen, and they’re only becoming more common in this era of climate change. If you live in what’s known as a WUI (wildland-urban interface) area, your home is potentially at risk of being damaged or even destroyed by an out-of-control wildfire. In … Read more
If you live in an area that’s at risk for wildfires, you may have heard about the importance of your home’s vents. While there are many steps you can take to help protect your home from potential wildfire damage, making sure it has the right vents is one of the most important and impactful. Every … Read more
If you live in the West, you are keenly aware of the wildfire risk we face. Wildfires are getting more destructive. They are burning longer and hotter each year as fire season becomes year-round. California’s fire season in 2021 saw 2,568,948 acres burned as a result of 8,835 incidents. Three people lost their lives and … Read more
In chapter 7A of the California Building Code, it is now required by law that new homes constructed in the WUI (Wildland-Urban Interface) have ember and fire safe vents. These new guidelines are also mentioned in Chapter 49 of the California Fire Code. The purpose of these new laws is to create measures for fire-safety … Read more
Occurring in late 2018, the Camp Fire that swept Paradise was the deadliest in recorded state history. If you live in California or another state prone to wildfires, you may be wondering what precautions to take to protect your home and your family from a wildfire. To kick off the new year of 2019, we … Read more
Looking for a live map that shows in real time using Google maps and public data of all known active wildfires in California? Here we have the “official” view of current fires (if any). Real time data can be found here, including evacuation information. (fire-ca.gov) The fires of 2017-2018 were especially serious and deadly. Bookmark … Read more
The Vulcan Vent has a design meant to contain fires and dangerous embers outside buildings. So where does the name ‘Vulcan Vent’ come from? Hint: Not Star Trek. It may be logical to assume as much, but one would be incorrect. Not the Planet Vulcan either, the hypothesized planet from the 1800s. That turned out … Read more
Some things can’t be undone. Two days before the start of 1904, harsh lessons would be learned that fateful night that would resonate worldwide. The Iroquois Theatre Fire of December 30, 1903 was an unequivocally horrific tragedy with an appalling lack of justice for the survivors, victims, and loved ones. Many bad decisions (mostly by … Read more
It’s perhaps that time of month again to look at that power bill. It’s perhaps summer, and your AC has been going, and going. It would sure be nice to not have to run that air conditioner for so long every day, but it’s hot and that’s all there is to it. Or is it? … Read more
