Products That Protect Houses From Fire
Reprint from Local 8 KFMB TV website
Don't Waste Your Money

As we've seen this week, anything you can do to slow down or stop your house from burning is a must. We've seen the benefits of tile roofs and clearing away trees, but there are other products that can potentially save your property, or life.

Wood siding contributes to the quaint look and feel of towns like Julian, but with fires ravaging much of our county, we're reminded how important it is to use building products that won't contribute to the loss of property and life.

Here in the Toll Brothers housing development at Encinitas Ranch, they're using a product called James Hardie siding. It looks like wood, but they say it doesn't burn like wood.

"You can hold a blow torch to it all day long and it's not going to catch fire," said Jeff Konek of James Hardie.

So we put it to the test.

We put this intense flame directly on the siding, and waited. After more than six minutes, it's scorched, but it has not burned.

Makers of the product warn: the transfer of heat through the siding would eventually allow other flammable materials to catch fire, but much like tile roofs, it's a drastic improvement over wood or vinyl siding.

For the interior of your house, Firefree 88 says it creates a foam-like blanket that prevents flame and oxygen from reaching whatever it's painted on.

A group of firefighters were very skeptical, but they agreed to try it out. They painted one board with Firefree 88, and another with regular interior paint. After time to dry, they were ready to go.

In less than a minute, both boards were charred. But after a little more time, the Firefree 88 board appeared to be bubbling, while the other started to burn.

After 27 minutes, the regularly painted board had burned through. But not so for the Firefree 88 board. Later, when firefighters scraped off the burn, they found most of the original wood - which didn't burn.

While nothing may be able to insure your house never burns, these products could give you valuable time.

Firefree 88 costs $65 a gallon. James Hardie siding is about the same prise or less than traditional siding.