Fire Season Tips

7/13/2021 (Permalink)

Fire Storms seem to be the topic of the day in California during this hot, dry summer. SERVPRO of Chino/Chino Hills wants to share some tips to protect your home against a fire. The last thing anyone needs this year (or any year) is to suffer a devastating loss due to a fire.

 Farmers Insurance recently published some tips that we would like to share that you can easily implement to safeguard your home or business.

1. Remove dead vegetation and lower branches from trees.

This seems like obvious upkeep, and we all know we need to do this to keep up the appearance of our homes, but we've all fallen victim to what I like to refer to as "the honey-do blues." This ailment is of the mental variety and seems to afflict anyone who has ever trimmed branches, pulled weeds, or had to do any amount of landscaping work. Fear not, fellow sufferer! This simple act can help hedge (pun fully intended) the risk of fire damage to your home.

2. Keep the gutters, roof, and outdoor spaces free of debris like leaves and twigs.

In keeping with the first point, dried and dead vegetation can pose a risk of combustion. This is less than desirable when said vegetation is on your house.

3. Move firewood at least 30 feet from the house.

Firewood in southern California? Maybe not. However, the point still stands to reason when you consider that some people store other combustible materials in and around their houses and garages.

4. Use roofing materials that are resistant to fire (Class A).

Many of the houses in and around the Chino area are on the older side. Homes built in the region that are more than 30 years old are likely due for a new roof. Aside from being safer, your roof is also important to the efficiency of your home overall. This might be a good time to look into replacing old composition shingle roofs with newer and safer technology. Slapping another layer of shingles on isn't going to fix the problem in the long run.

5. Install metal angle flashing at the edge of your roof and in areas where your roof meets a patio cover or awning.

Guess what doesn't burn in the event of a house fire? You've got it; metal. This helps prevent the fire from quickly spreading across your roof and making its way into your home.

6. Install dual-pane windows as opposed to single-pane.

This one is important for a multitude of reasons. The first and most relevant to this article are the fire safety benefits. Modern dual-pane windows use tempered glass that is designed not to blow up and send glass shards flying in the event of sudden exposure to extreme temperatures. Tempered glass is also a great idea if you have kids or large animals running around in your home, as it is much more difficult to break or crack than traditional single-pane glass.

 Fire season is always a problematic time of the year for California, but you are ensuring that your home is better suited to deal with any potential threats with these tips. Additionally, if the worst-case scenario were to happen and your home did indeed suffer fire damage, you can rely on SERVPRO of Chino/Chino Hills to help restore your home to preloss conditions. With over 50 years of experience in the fire and water damage restoration industry and over 1,400 franchises across North America, SERVPRO is amongst the premier companies in our respective fields. Our technicians are all IICRC-certified professionals that go above and beyond to not only restore your home; we restore your peace of mind.

If you have experienced a fire in your home, give us a call today at 909-548-3191 to schedule one of our technicians to assess your property. It is our job to make it "Like it never even happened."