Its only October and the Bushfires have began in earnest

[Solus]

You know, CR, that just reminded me of a building technique I read about maybe back in the 70s.

The purpose was to save on heating/cooling costs, but it had a side benefit of being relatively fireproof.

It was build on a deep concrete foundation, either with a basement or without, and the walls were made of the above ground were made of poured concrete or concrete blocks.  Concrete slabs were used for flat roofing.  

It was insulated on the outside with a thick polyurethane coating (which might not be fireproof enough) and then stucco was applied as an outside appearance item.

The polyurethane acted both as insulation and an expansion element between the stucco and concrete.

Theory was that the concrete would "wick up" the low below ground temperatures making the year round temperature of the interior near 55 degrees...with what ever temperature variations the window openings would cause.  Heating and cooling costs would only need to be for adjusting the temp from there.

Maybe something like that would work both to save energy costs and be more fireproof?

[bodean87]

From what I have seen, people won't build a defensible area around their homes. People in fire prone areas need to clear the brush next to their homes instead of allowing it to grow next to their homes.  As a fire fighter you see some homes that just have to be wrote off because you will get men killed attempting to defend them. I haven't been to California but I have seen it a lot in New Mexico and Colorado. Pine trees allowed to grow all around the house. I have even seen it here in west Texas. In 2011 I saw plenty of examples here. I also saw alot that were easy to defend because the brush had been cleared.

[TAB]

you are right on the money with that.  It use to drive me nuts.  I built several cabins( if you can call them that)  in the foot hills(sierra nevadas in ca and tahoe).   some people speced fire resistant stuff, others want trees litterly touching their houses/ cabins.  I remember one couple,  they went the extra mile.  Steel structure, steel roof, hardi(fiber cement) siding, foam sprinkler system, 20' of gravel, 20 addional feet of low growth, under ground propane tank, you name it, they did it.  The had been burned down 4x over 30 years and didn't want it to happen again.     the cabin a mile up the road, shake siding, litterly in the trees. Last it brunt down in the rim fire( the one that just happen) and the other i saw on news coverage intacted.   ok enought ranting about idoits for now lol

[sledgemeister]

you are right on the money with that.  It use to drive me nuts.  I built several cabins( if you can call them that)  in the foot hills(sierra nevadas in ca and tahoe).   some people speced fire resistant stuff, others want trees litterly touching their houses/ cabins.  I remember one couple,  they went the extra mile.  Steel structure, steel roof, hardi(fiber cement) siding, foam sprinkler system, 20' of gravel, 20 addional feet of low growth, under ground propane tank, you name it, they did it.  The had been burned down 4x over 30 years and didn't want it to happen again.     the cabin a mile up the road, shake siding, litterly in the trees. Last it brunt down in the rim fire( the one that just happen) and the other i saw on news coverage intacted.   ok enought ranting about idoits for now lol

part of the problem we have here at least is the "green" contingent preventing the allowing of proper clearance of trees around houses, the allowing of non seasonal burns to remove a lot of ground litter, then they have the nerve to blame this on climate change, go figure. Of course there is also the stupidity factor, people not taking the proper precautions, not developing and practicing fire plans, not checking their firefighting equipment or not having any at all.
Fires have occurred naturally in this part of the world since the time of the first black fella (not a racist term fwiw) they would set fires and burn to encourage new growth to attract roo's and other food sources, its only since modern times were we see a fire and put it out that the natural cycle has been halted, unfortunately when it does occur as it inevitably does it does so with catastrophic consequences because there is so much more fuel about. Also the 100F days and 80mph winds dont help

[Frosty]

part of the problem we have here at least is the "green" contingent preventing the allowing of proper clearance of trees around houses, the allowing of non seasonal burns to remove a lot of ground litter, then they have the nerve to blame this on climate change, go figure. Of course there is also the stupidity factor, people not taking the proper precautions, not developing and practicing fire plans, not checking their firefighting equipment or not having any at all.
Fires have occurred naturally in this part of the world since the time of the first black fella (not a racist term fwiw) they would set fires and burn to encourage new growth to attract roo's and other food sources, its only since modern times were we see a fire and put it out that the natural cycle has been halted, unfortunately when it does occur as it inevitably does it does so with catastrophic consequences because there is so much more fuel about. Also the 100F days and 80mph winds dont help

The same happens here in the USA. Everyone wants to live in nature yet most fail to set up a defensible space around their property. Stay safe and wish you thebest of luck this fire season

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