Fire

[CraigStu]

No not mine but our SIL's brother. House, one car, garage completely gone. So far the thought is lightning strike. Dam, I helped for 2 days digging through trying to find guns, jewelry etc. Single story structure but it's amazing, and made me sick, how deep the debris of the ceiling, trusses, and roof pile up. We were often digging 15-18" down to get to the floor to open a safe or hoping to find some specific item. So it has got me thinking for sure. We have a 2 story + concrete basement house. So far my list is;
- Alarm system w/ heat and smoke sensors, thinking Simplisafe because we had just their break-in sensors in a previous house and I liked the company.
- I had walled off a corner in the basement for a--o and firing devices but concentrated on keeping people out. Never thought about fire. So looked at the fire rated 5/8 drywall to add on. That **** is heavy and I don't think my 71 yr wife and 78yr me could move it very easily. Also looked at Hardy Board stuff. Q, is the 1/4" backer board fire proof. That could be useful due to it's light weight even if I use multiple layers.
- Shed to move all the gas and chemicals out of the basement and garage to. I have enclosed under our deck to keep the tractor mower in but seeing his house I think that is too close. And of course it's all wood. The car they lost was outside the garage maybe 3ft from the door.
Your thoughts on materials and anything else will be greatly appreciated.

 

[loganb]

Double layer 1/2" can be used for greater fire resistance when 5/8 isn't feasible. Believe to meet code you have to fire tape and offset seams....should confirm that if code is required.

Insulation like mineral wool(Rockwool) is basically fire proof and is great at sound insulation as well

Managing surrounding vegitation is one of the big lessons from the California fires. Setting up defensible perimeters, getting rid of shrubs like cedars or other high fuel load plants adjacent to the house. You can look up WUI fire code and get some good guidelines for reducing exterior fire risk regardless of if you're in an indicated WUI area.

Reducing the fire load and managing the flammable stuff like oils, gas, finishes etc will help slow the spread and give more time for fire dept to get there. Are the amounts of flammable items reasonable for your use? Can you put them in flammable cabinets if they aren't already? How are soiled rags being disposed of?

The other thing to be aware of is how far from a fire station are you? Is it paid or volunteer? For most rural areas with volunteer depts, insurance companies assume for policy rates that a fire in the house results in a total loss so act accordingly. Have the right amount of insurance with good documentation of the contents.

How are the fire extinguisher's? Are they present and current? Are they the right type and in the right spots?

For a different perspective, search for some of the stories of the LA fires Pallisades etc. Some of the owners of the houses that didn't burn and now live in essentially wastelands wish for different outcomes. Their house was saved, but the contents are all smoke damaged and they now live in a desolate area with unknown timeframe until it rebuilds.

 

[PCustoms]

Gas and extremely flammable items shouldn't be in the basement IMHO.

Most everything else is replaceable. Insurance is beefed up and paid for annually, realistically but the time it's discovered and the volunteer department from the next town over gets here it's a total loss.

I have some old family albums and 1 sentimental item stored in a firesafe inside a drywalled/concrete room. Assuming no water damage they should survive.

 

[Whitworth]

Li ion batteries make me nervous. You're thinking of tools, but they're everywhere. Laptops, iPhones, kids' gaming stuff, even gaming chairs. I threw an old gaming chair onto the fire pit once and the battery went off like a cherry bomb.

 

[STClurker]

On the after side of things (which of course, nobody wants to happen), make sure you have enough insurance. For example, I learned that not only does one need enough insurance to rebuild the house, there needs to be enough to clear away the old one, also certain things may not have enough coverage without specific riders (tools and firearms for example).

I know this isn't an answer to what you asked, but when has that stopped anyone on this forum

 

[carlaisle]

Nothing says those 4x8 sheets of 5/8" fire rated drywall need to be installed seamlessly. It's roughly 2.2 lbs psf. Ripped in half along either axis and you're looking at about 35 lbs per piece, which is probably manageable. If the seams are cause for concern you could fire caulk them before taping, but that's overkill. Two layers with offset seams would be overkill, too, but it's nice to sleep without worry.

Hardie backer board doesn't burn, but it's pretty fragile. I'd use the cut down pieces of drywall before Hardie for this purpose. The 1/4" 3x5 board weighs a bit more than a half sheet of fire rated drywall.

Flammable liquids would ideally be stored as far away as is convenient and practical, but maximizing safety quickly renders their location inconvenient and impractical so some compromises are typically made. Read your insurance policy. Many include specific limitations on what they will and will not cover. i.e. if you have a fire and more than 1 gallon of gasoline was inside the home, they won't pay out. Oxyacetylene torch in the basement? Even if it's a lightning strike they might not pay out. Etc.

If you've ever been around a good sized bon fire you should have an idea of the heat generated. 3' of clearance is nothing.

The problem with fire damage is that even if whatever catches on fire isn't completely destroyed, you'll wish it was before you get what survived cleaned of the soot, smell of fire, rust, etc.

 

[CraigStu]

Logan B I saw the 1/2" fire drywall listed. It comes in doubles but help at L or HD to get it in the trailer and then moving just singles at home would probably be workable. No Code needed. The house is 7 yrs old and of course built to code. Anything else I do is above and beyond. We have 2 extinguishers in the garage, 1 in kitchen, and 2 in the basement but I plan on buying more.
PCustoms right now the garage has 4gal of diesel, the basement 2 gal chainsaw gas mix and 3-4 gal of thinner type chems. Oh and there is 5gal gas on the landing outside the garage man door. I am thinking all that can go in a shed. I could also buy a metal storage cabinet but the brother had several cheap gun safes and we found out what good a plain steel box is. No good at all. We are going to the bank next week to look at larger safe deposit boxes thinking yeah all the deeds, licenses, SS cards, birth certs, can be replaced but it is a pain in the ****.
carlaisle thx for the info on the different materials. Thx all for the ideas and info. I have a list to start on tomorrow.

 

[ptt49er]

Dealing with a recent total loss fire at my folks place. My biggest take aways so far... Make sure you have enough coverage and do a video walk thru of the entire house, every drawer, cabinet, closet, tool box drawer, storage tote... Everything!

 

[pima67]

down here the local Chase bank stopped renting safety deposit boxes due to lack of lock smiths who can drill and replace locks (or so they said) So I bought a fire safety box for those important docs and put it in a corner of the garage I figured would be the least harmed in a fire.

 

[nadogail]

I cultivate my circle of neighbors, coworkers, and church acquaintances so I have someone to ask for help.
Sometimes I need to help one of them, just like a saving account needs deposit to grow to be worth something