Discount Building Products - Building Material Wholesalers

Coming Back to Your House After a Fire

This advice is controversial and should be followed with care and good judgment, but it may save your house.

If an evacuation has been ordered as a result of an impending fire, send your wife, kids, and pets to the safest possible place. That is usually a spot designated by police or fire authorities. You, however, may consider staying somewhere near your house with the objective of returning when the fire has passed through.

First, let's discuss fire and firefighting tactics. Fires sweep through areas. A fire may burn for several hours, days, or weeks, but not in the same place. This means that, if your home is in the line of fire, it will burn your house down or not, and move on.

I've mentioned the fire strike teams in an earlier article. These guys are working hard, and they're on the move, chasing or staying in front of the fire. This means that once it has passed by your home, they will move on.

The bad news is that your home can burn down hours after the main fire danger has passed. One of the common risks is that burning embers may have lodged in the eaves of your roof. They could be smoldering for some time before erupting into a fire, and four hours later your home could be on fire when the fire crews are a mile away. Similarly, there may be things smoldering in the ground nearby which could later start a fire at your house.

When a voluntary or mandatory evacuation is called, law enforcement officials will set up a perimeter and try to keep everyone on the safe side of it. In addition to assuring the safety of the evacuees, it will keep looters and unauthorized people away from unoccupied homes.

Here's the problem ? once you are outside the fire perimeter, you cannot go back for the duration, which could be several days.

If you can find a safe zone within the fire perimeter, you may consider waiting there for the fire to come through. Fire officials do not encourage this, as their first concern is human safety and life, and they don't want you hampering the work of the fire crews. Second, understand that a firestorm may have flames 50 ? 100 feet high. Embers from fires may blow up to a half mile, causing what are known as spot fires. Further, a phenomenon called "preheating" may cause an area to burst into flames in advance of the fire itself. For these reasons, you must be in a place of safety. Standing in someone's vacant lot is not going to protect you.

You must find a wide-open area that will not burn - a large shopping center parking lot, or the edge of the ocean or other sizeable body of water, or somewhere which is surrounded by cement or dirt. These areas will be safe. Standing in the middle of an open area of wildland grass is not safe, grass burns.

Also, note that you should keep a good dust mask in your car. These are the same masks that plasterers and other workers use, and can be bought at any hardware store. In the hours after a fire, the air is going to be full of soot and ash and you don't want to be breathing it.

Once the fire has moved through, go back to your house. In the first hours of a fire, if you are behind the lines, it is unlikely that anyone will stop you. Once you get to your home, no police or fire official is going to order you out. PS ? watch for downed power lines on your way home. Getting electrocuted can ruin your whole day.

Start looking around the house for things which are still burning. When I returned to my home, railroad ties two feet from my back door were smoldering! Look around the roofline, under the eaves, and walk around the house several times to see if any stumps, wood, brush, patio furniture pads, or anything else could be burning. The odds are that your water pressure will have returned. Use your hose. If you have no water pressure, use a shovel. Throw dirt. Smack the embers.

Keep looking and watching. If you spend the night at your house and the power is out (it probably will be), you can see glowing spots where things are still smoldering. Sometimes fire in wildland areas can smolder under the brush for a day and then erupt. If your fire department is sophisticated, you will see them, 24 ? 48 hours after the fire, flying over in helicopters doing aerial infrared mapping, looking for hot spots.

As I have said, this is controversial, but there are many, many people in Southern California who have returned home to find their decks or backyards burning after the fire crews have moved on and have saved their homes themselves. You may be the only person who can save your house.

Kurt Kamm writes novels about fires and firefighters. A resident of Malibu, he has lived through several wildland fires. He is a regular visitor at the fire camps, stations and training academies of L.A. County Fire Department and CalFire. To learn more about his novels, One Foot in the Black, and Red Flag Warning, visit Kurt Kamm.

MORE ARTICLES:

Free eBook Reveals Construction Loan Trade Secrets that Can Save New Home Owners-Builders Thousands
A construction loan industry veteran with decades of experience has published a free e-book entitled "15 Things You Should Know before You Even Think about Applying for a Construction Loan." The insightful report reveals construction loan inside secrets that can help people save thousands of dollars.

Luxury Home Builders McCrary Homes Announce Return to Austin, Texas Area Building
After a twenty year absence, McCrary Homes announces a return to Austin, Texas area home building. These new high-end homes feature the latest designs and innovative technology, classic luxury homes for the future.

Selecting A New Home Construction Builder Or A Remodeling Contractor
The whole point of having a new home construction builder or remodeling contractor is to ensure that you have a quality job done. To accomplish this, you need to know how to look for the right people. By knowing how to find the right people, you will have less problems and stress during the project.

Physically and Financially Survive DIY Home Renovation, Home Depot Discount Coupons Notwithstanding
Lest you think that home renovation will be as easy as pie, or at least easier than home building, it is actually harder than it looks The costs can be staggering, both financially and physically

Leopardo Construction Highlights 10 Solutions for Building Smarter, Offsetting Rising Construction Material Prices
In a recent white paper titled "Smart Construction," Leopardo Construction, one of the nation's premier construction companies and a recognized leader in sustainable building practices, highlights 10 economical building solutions for offsetting the skyrocketing material prices and realigning construction budgets with original expectations.

New Construction Strategies Radio Network and the Contractors Side Launch New Channel for 75,000 Contractors
New Construction Strategies Radio Network (NCSR), a joint venture of Garrison Associates and Jackstreet Media, reached agreement with The Contractors Side to make NCSR programming available to its community of 75,000 construction contractors and subcontractors. The ContractorsSide.com is a popular resource to help contractors protect and defend themselves against some of the traditional risks in the construction business. The new channel will bring contractors the knowledge and insights they need anticipate and avoid many of the problems that often lead to large financial losses.

Home Depot Home Improvement Stores
Information about different Home Depot home improvement ideas as well as equipment is readily available on the internet For example, there are many websites that list several Home Depot home improvement stores

Electrical Innovations Receives Prestigious Construction Award from Associated Builders and Contractors of Iowa
Recognized as best-of-the-best with excellence in specialty construction.

The Pit-Falls of Owner/Builder Contractor Experience
You?re young and strong and have the financial means to build your own house. You have a truckload full of tools and some experience with a hammer, so you think, ?hey, I?m going to build my own house and be my own Contractor.?

Nationwide Custom Homes Designs and Builds Home for International Builders Show in Orlando
Designed specifically to meet the needs of the "Successful Baby Boomer", the Nationwide Custom Home impeccably blends traditional craftsman styling with the latest technological conveniences available from premier suppliers. The home is on display at the International Builders Show in Orlando, Fl. February 7th-10th Contact: Scott Rouleau for Photos and Information: 502-836-4513

HandCrafted Homes and Builder-Partner Announce New Model Homes to be Built in Conway, SC
HandCrafted Homes, an award-winning custom modular homebuilder based in Henderson, N.C., has partnered with Coastal Land Construction to build two model homes in Conway, S.C., to be completed by mid-October, 2006, as part of the new Country Manor Estates community.

Cedar Log Home Builder in Texas: Building Your Dream Home the Way it Should be
Creating any house, much more someone else's dream house requires artistry, skills and craftsmanship. A cedar log custom home builder in Texas must possess these qualities and more: he must be a modern thinker. In this century wherein functionality and utility are considered traits of beauty, a cedar log home builder must be able to fuse artistry and science in building your dream home.

San Antonios Residential Green Building Program Receives a Boost from the Builders Association
Build San Antonio Green, San Antonios Residential Green Building Program, is getting a boost from the Greater San Antonio Builders Association.

Dallas Home builders- A Community Doing More Than Just Building Homes
If you are looking to buy your dream home, you may like to visit the website of a large number of home builders, all aspiring to provide you the best of services. The quality of construction, neighborhood and affordability are three parameters which you may need to consider while choosing a particular home builder in your locality.

Home Improvement Tips: Find a House Painting Contractor
Ever wondered how you can paint your home and in the process do something cool for your community There are companies out there that look for ways to serve their community while at the same time offering customer service that is competent and informed