It's the stuff of nightmares, being awakened in the middle of the night to see flames all around you and smoke billowing around the ceiling. The fire alarm is just there as a warning but sometimes fire spreads so quickly that even the fastest reacting person may be in great danger. Modern homes are no better than the previous generation of homes in the fact that, a lot of wood is exposed all around the house. There are some things you should normally just do anyway to keep your family safe such as, buying and knowing how to use a fire extinguisher, having a fire blanket in the kitchen, teaching your children how to react when they smell smoke or see fire in the home and having an escape plan ready to be used. However there are other natural methods you can use to fireproof your home during times when fires are more prevalent.
Paint is fuel
As you can probably tell, most paints are toxic. They’re also flammable which is not the safest thing to be slathering your walls with. Instead of the usual paints you can buy at hardware stores, look for fire-resistant paints which won’t act as a fuel for fires. Fires spread quickly throughout the house by traveling around the walls since flammable paint acts like a fuel. This is why so many fires that begin downstairs can spread to the upstairs in less than a minute. By using fire-resistant paint, you give your family more time to react and more room to maneuver inside the house when there is a fire. It also prevents the fire leaping from room to room even when the doors are shut.
Fire from above
It's not just fire from within the home you need to prepare for, but fire that comes from outside the home as well. If a neighbor’s house is on fire it can jump from their property to your house. If lightning strikes your roof this can also start a blaze. So using fireproof roofing materials is essential to mitigating the risk of exterior fires spreading to your house. There are three different classes to choose from, class A, B and C. Fiberglass-based asphalt shingles are fire-resistant but they’re also a more economical choice. They look perfectly normal from the outside, just like any other shingle. However since they have a synthetic fiber blend, they don’t catch light so easily. Clay tiles are by far the safest option to prevent your roof from catching fire and they also dissipate heat very easily.
Hot day precautions
Just to be sure that fire won’t be having an easy time to start or spread around your home, wet all the wooden surfaces on the exterior. This could be a patio, decking, front steps, the garden fence and gate. Just take this precaution during very hot days when people are having barbecues outside at night.
Fire-proofing your home requires a little preparation and a lot of thought. Using fire-resistant materials for your roof will help to prevent fire from another property catching your home on fire.
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