LAWN SPRINKLERS ON YOUR ROOF ? ? ?

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La Mesa, California, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) September 9, 2010 -- LAWN SPRINKLERS ON YOUR ROOF?
The fire season is upon us and the winds are hauling – are you prepared?

For three days in late October 2003, my wife and I sat on our rear deck watching what was once a small signal fire from a lost hunter turn into a roaring thousand-foot wall of black smoke and flames consuming everything within its path. Fueled by seventy miles per hour gusts and overgrown dry brush, the Cedar Fire–the largest recorded forest fire (at the time) in the State of California-quickly raced forty miles to the coast and spread as far to the north and to the south as we could see. With the flames a hundred yards from our rear door, we decided it was time to evacuate.
Two days after the Cedar Fire my wife and I returned to discover that our home had turned into six inches of gray ash. The only thing standing was a blackened stone chimney–a headstone marking the grave of a deceased home . . . our home.
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While sitting on our rear deck for those three days, we had a clear view of the approaching flames and saw up-close which fire prevention methods worked, which slowed the flames, and which had no effect. These observations were of a forest fire, not a city fire, but I see no reason why these observations would not also apply to city homes. The following is a list of what we observed: maybe it will help you.

1. Winds: The biggest factor in controlling or not controlling the Cedar Fire were the winds. If you have seventy miles per hour winds howling through thick walls of smoke and flames quickly consuming everything within its path . . . my recommendation is to get the heck out of there! Your life is more valuable than your possessions. As far as we could see the ground crews and aircraft (flame retardant dropping planes and helicopters with water buckets) had absolutely zero effect on the fire. The overwhelming force and heat of the smoke and flames were just too powerful. It was so hot that we saw pine trees explode into flames a hundred feet in front of the actual fire.
2. Fire Gel: We noticed that two neighbors used a spray-on fire gel, covering their roof, walls, and windows, just before evacuating their homes. One of the homes burned, one survived. Fire gel is effective for eight to twelve hours (depending on the manufacturer), after that the gel begins to dry up. The house that burned had the gel on for a good forty-eight hours before the fire arrived. The house that survived had the gel on for under twenty-four hours. I would highly recommend using fire gel and waiting as long as possible to spray-but don’t but yourself in danger.

3. Defensible Space: A definite must. From our view on the rear deck of our house we could see that the neighbors who had created a defensible space around their home had a much better chance of surviving the Cedar Fire than those that hadn’t. Defensible space is a area around your house that is free of combustibles or as free as practical-cut dry grasses, remove all brush, trim all low hanging branches of trees and/or plant fire resistive landscaping. The fire department recommends a minimum of one hundred feet of defensible space. I would say, the bigger the better.
Defensible space doesn’t stop at the edge of the house or deck. Don’t forget to remove deck furniture, or plants, or firewood stacked next to the house, or anything else that may catch fire and then spread to the walls.

4. Lawn Sprinklers: One of our neighbors installed two rotating lawn sprinklers on their roof before they evacuated. Their house survived. If you plan on fighting a forest fire with a garden hose-forget it! The volume of water from a garden hose is almost nothing compared to the force of a forest fire. But if you want to wet down your roof and walls or set up lawn sprinklers . . . what’s the harm? Be careful not to drain your water tank in case fire fighters make it to your home and need water to fight the fire. Consider leaving the well running.
5. Vehicles: The gasoline tank of your motor vehicle is considered hazardous material. If you can’t take your cars with you, park them in the middle of an open area away from your house (possibly in a driveway or turn-around), but make sure not to block access to the fire trucks.

6. Evacuation: If you evacuate your home, don’t forget to shut off the gas at the house-and at the tank if you are using propane-and close and lock your windows. I would also recommend shutting off the water at the house but not at the tank (or street) and make sure the fire sprinklers if you have any are still operational. If one wall of your house catches fire and melts a copper water line, the water tank will quickly drain, leaving fire fighters who may arrive without any water.

By Scott Stevenson, the author of LOOKS EASY ENOUGH, A Joyful Memoir of Overcoming Disease, Divorce, and Disaster. The book is an inspirational tale of having your house, but not your spirit, destroyed in the Cedar Fire. www.lookseasyenough.com

More information can be found online at http://www.lookseasyenough.com

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