Fires are always a hazard, but the threat of wildfire is greater during warmer months when homes are empty and people are not prepared for it. Do your homework ahead of time and make sure your home is prepared for a possible wildfire. Research the area that you live in and determine the best place to put up a fire ring, put up tarps to cover your belongings and be aware of any other precautions needed to prevent your home from being destroyed by the inferno. Fire can be deadly and can damage any structure and possessions that it touches. If you want to know how to protect your home from wildfire, here are some tips that you can follow.
First, choose the best spot of your home and the appropriate kind of structure to include in a fire ring. The risk that your home will survive a wildfire can greatly depend on your choices. What if you have a home that has a basement? You can create several fire safety improvements on your home and property as suggested in the following guide. Make sure that there is a concrete slab in place near your foundation or basement, since the presence of a slab can make the fire harder to control.
If your home does not have a basement, consider constructing additional structures above your foundation. These additional structures can include fireproof sheds, storage buildings, or even a garage. There are also some homes that are designed with built in fire safety features. These features may include fire sprinklers and a fire alarm. When installing a sprinkler system, you should ensure that there are no cracks in the system so that the water goes where it is intended to go and there is no loss of pressure.
Another way to protect your home against wildfire is to have a plan for evacuating the area during and after the fire. Determine the safest and most direct paths are to exit the home from different areas of the house. Make sure everyone that lives in the home memorizes this plan. Run family fire drills to help embed the plan in the minds of everyone in the home. Determine a designated meeting place outside the home everyone is to rally to once they safely make it out. This way, an account can be taken to make sure everyone made it out safely.
If you have a home that is built on a hill, you should take extra precautions to keep yourself and your home safe while you are away. You can put up a tarp to keep flames from damaging the building and the area around it. You can also put out any embers that are burning in order to reduce the chances of the fire reaching your home. If you do not have a home on a hill, you should also have a fire lookout plan in place in case of a small blaze.
Make sure you are aware of the weather forecast for the day before and the day after a wildfire will be occurring and have a plan for protecting your home and your pets while you are away. If your home has a basement, be sure and add an escape exit that leads directly to the outside. If you have a second story consider some type of fire escape in case someone gets trapped and can’t make to the staircase. If you live on top of a hill, you can consider putting out a smoke alarm to notify nearby fire fighters.
Brush clearing service is also a smart option for homeowners. Brush clearing is selectively clearing a property of all the smaller-sized vegetation and thick stands of smaller trees. Brush clearing is quick and cost-effective. Clearing the brush around your home can create a defensible space and provide a buffer against a wildfire. Defensible space is vital to improve your house’s opportunity of surviving a wildfire.