From: the Office of the Fire Marshal and the Ontario Ministry of Natural
Resources
For on-going use
Length: 820 words
Recent wildfires in British Columbia and California have heightened the
concern about wildland/urban interface fires in communities across Ontario.
Ontario can have more than 1,200 wildfires in a given year. These fires can
threaten communities and destroy homes and cottages. While those living in
forested regions face a serious risk of wildfires, the following simple
preventative measures limit the ignition potential of your home and reduce the
risk of property loss, damage and injury.
Any kind of vegetation around your home or cottage is combustible and can aid
a fire in spreading from the forest to your structures. Trees, shrubs, grass,
your woodpile – even fallen leaves - act as fuel to a wildfire. A good fuel free
space gives firefighters a better chance to save your home from an advancing
fire.
Priority Zone 1
The first 10 metres of space around your home needs to be your first priority.
It is the most critical area to consider for fire prevention. Remove any shrubs,
trees, fallen trees or dead branches in that space and use fire resistant plants
for landscaping. Deciduous trees have low flammability rates while evergreens
are much more combustible.
Keep your lawn well watered and the grass mowed short. This will help prevent a
grass fire from spreading directly to the house.
Firewood should be stacked at least 10 metres away from the house and covered
with a non-flammable cover. Sparks from a wildfire can land in the woodpile and
a fire there will spread quickly to the house.
Remove all flammable material from within five metres of any fuel tanks on your
property. If a wildfire spreads to the tank, it could explode and the area would
be too dangerous for firefighters to stay.
Priority Zone 2
This priority zone extends from 10 to 30 metres. Prune trees to a height of one
to two metres to inhibit the spread of fire up a tree. Reduce the number of
evergreens and ensure that the tops of neighbouring trees do not touch.
Priority Zone 3
This zone extends from 30 to as far as 100 metres or more. If possible, reduce
and manage potential fuel sources by removing trees, dead woody debris and thick
shrubbery that might allow fire to climb up into the canopy and spread from tree
top to tree top. The idea here is not to remove all combustible material but to
thin the area so that fires will be of a low intensity and easier to extinguish.
When you are building or remodelling, consider using more fire-resistant
materials to increase your home’s longevity. Roofing materials such as steel,
asphalt, tile and ULC treated shanks are ignition-resistant, and steep steel
roofs do not collect leaves or tree needles. Sparks from a wildfire landing on
these types of roofs are less likely to start on fire.
Similarly, siding materials such as stucco, metal, brick, concrete, and
aluminium or steel offer superior ignition-resistance and log walls are thick
enough to be fire resistant for a period of time.
Large, single pane windows will not prevent radiant heat from a wildfire from
igniting materials such as curtains inside the house. Double or triple glazed
energy efficient glass provides insulation and reflects radiant heat. Also use
non-flammable blinds inside your windows.
The eaves around your roof should be boxed in and screen should cover attic vent
openings to keep sparks out of the attic. Embers can collect in open eaves and
set the house on fire. Similarly, the underside of wood decks attached to the
house should be enclosed. Dry grass or sparks and embers under the deck can set
the house on fire.
Should a wildfire approach your property, damage can be limited if
firefighters have easy access to your home.
If the access road to your home is not named or marked, post a sign with the
name of the road in reflective letters where it can easily be seen in the dark.
Similarly, post the house number in reflective numerals so it can be seen from
the road.
If a fire truck can’t get close enough to your house, firefighters may not be
able to protect it. Keep your driveway as short and wide as possible to allow
access for a fire truck.
If your driveway includes a bridge, build a bridge that is wide and strong
enough to hold emergency vehicles such as fire trucks. Remove flammable
vegetation from at least five metres on each side of the driveway. Flammable
vegetation too close to the road will make it unsafe to travel during a
wildfire.
While these tips may not prevent a wildfire from approaching your home or
cottage, they will help increase the chance that your home will survive the
threat of wildfire.
- 30 -
|
||||||||||||||||||
