Fire Prevention

[The Stig]

Most of us store an overwhelming amount of preps in our homes. Should our homes bes lost to fire we'd face a huge loss of our supplies.

So....how "fire proofed" is your home?

Smoke detectors?
Fire extinguishers?
Sprinklers?
Fire proof safes for important documents?
Alarm system with monitoring to report issues more quickly?

[Vodin]

Save a copy of all our important Documents on CD/USB drive and place it with a parent/bank lock box/BoB.
Insure your residence appropriately.
I have Fire Extinguishers around my residence.
Smoke alarms are in each area. They are all main line Voltage activated with battery back up.
Safe:I have documents backed up.
Don't have a company 'monitor' your house if you allow it they know what and where you got (if you include video surveillance)

Last night we had golf ball hail, water rose to where it was 20' from my fence (normally about 100 yards from my fence) and tornadoes close by. Wife and I went to bed fully clothed with the documents and key items at a fast exiting point to grab on the way out. And always have the hounds from hell sleeping in our bedroom at the foot of the bed. In order it goes weapons, documents, dogs and shoes. Then exit as a team never solo.

[Echo2]

We have many large fire extinguishers.....all buildings at BOL have metal roofs....made of masonry....

A pond with a large pump and enough hose to reach the main buildings....

And we have a '68 fire truck....500gal pumper...:)

[ladyhk13]

Do any of you keep a rider on your homeowners policy covering your weapons? It's kind of a double edged blade...if you don't have it and there is a loss, it can be huge due to the cost of them (especially the antique collectible ones) on the flip side then an outsider knows about your stash.

[izzyscout21]

I just plan on pee'in on it...........

Seriously though, I'll have a serious response after I get some sleep......

[Echo2]

Do any of you keep a rider on your homeowners policy covering your weapons? It's kind of a double edged blade...if you don't have it and there is a loss, it can be huge due to the cost of them (especially the antique collectible ones) on the flip side then an outsider knows about your stash.

Yup....had to....my policy only covers to $4000.....So I dispersed a few to family homes....and upped my policy.....

[cwconnertx]

I have a separate policy, have had several, but currently have the NRA endorsed policy where you don't have to provide serial numbers or anything except for individual weapons over $2500. So currently only my 50 bmg rifle is listed.

[rentprop1]

I live across from a huge state forest, the previous owner installed an 1 1/4 pvc line from the well to the roof for a jerry rigged fire sprinkler system for forest fires, I cut the line to fill my pool, but could easily put it back in place, as long as I can run my well pump off the generator, if I had to leave , I could fill the gen with fuel, start the water flow and bug out
Not sure how the FD would feel about the gen full of fuel running in the middle of a forest fire, but the cascade of water off the roof and flooding my yard should be an equal consideration

[Twitchy]

We have many large fire extinguishers.....all buildings at BOL have metal roofs....made of masonry....

A pond with a large pump and enough hose to reach the main buildings....

And we have a '68 fire truck....500gal pumper...:)

where do i signup? :D

eh... We have a fire safe, good for 30 minutes active fire, fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, etc...

Now, when i get a place of my own fire prevention will probably be one of the largest preps i have simply because I've dealt with a house fire in the past... if i have my way, sprinklers in the main residence, with a 500 or 1000 GPM water pump hooked up to a water source with 2 inch and a half attack lines... preferably, on a mobile platform (Gator, pickup, you get the idea)... That would be useful for any number of things from small grass fires, bonfires that get out of control, etc. Not cheap though :/

edit: If this post didn't make any sense, its because i was tired!

[ladyhk13]

where do i signup? :D

eh... We have a fire safe, good for 30 minutes active fire, fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, etc...

Now, when i get a place of my own fire prevention will probably be one of the largest preps i have simply because I've dealt with a house fire in the past... if i have my way, sprinklers in the main residence, with a 500 or 1000 GPM water pump hooked up to a water source with 2 inch and a half attack lines... preferably, on a mobile platform (Gator, pickup, you get the idea)... That would be useful for any number of things from small grass fires, bonfires that get out of control, etc. Not cheap though :/

edit: If this post didn't make any sense, its because i was tired!

It's ok, everyone is allowed brain farts once in a while

[Sniper-T]

I had a house fire a few months ago, and had the fire extinguishers and the tools to put it out. The extinguishers have since been replaced, and added to, I have three water pumps and all the associated tools (I would like more hoses), and a large pond to pump from.

I would like to cut some trees, and clean up some brush yet, to get the burn zone a little farther away from the house, but over all, I am in pretty good shape.

Here's a good link for some information, including a quiz at the bottom to how firesafe your home is. There is also a decent pdf at the bottom worth downloading...

Alberta SRD - FireSmart (http://www.srd.alberta.ca/Wildfire/FireSmart/Default.aspx)

[The Stig]

Save a copy of all our important Documents on CD/USB drive and place it with a parent/bank lock box/BoB.
.

Forgot about that one. Good point Vodin.

We just got a safe deposit box at the local bank and have begun filling it with papers. Need to get the thumbdrive of all the important info over there too.

Good call.....definitely part of a good fire prevention/response plan.

[Sniper-T]

Here's a brief blurb about fire suppression from 1909. Personally, I think I am going to make a couple of these up. Esp for the garage.


Hand Fire Extinguisher.—Another
device consists of a mixture of suitable
substances combined in a glass
vessel, which must be thrown upon the
fire with sufficient force to break the
glass. To make hand grenades or fire
extinguishers of this sort take pint or
quart fruit jars or any large bottles
,and charge them with a mixture of
equal parts of sugar of lead, alum,
and common salt, dissolved in water.
Keep these tightly corked in various
parts of the house. To extinguish a
fire throw one or more of these bottles
into or just above the burning
parts, so that the liquid will fall upon
the wood or flames.
Or charge these bottles with a mixture
made of 2 pounds of common
salt, 1 pound of muriate of ammonia,
and 3 quarts of water. Dissolve, bottle,
cork, and keep at hand in various
parts of the house for emergency.
Throw the bottles into the fire with
force enough to break them.
Or dissolve pearlash, soda, wood
ashes, or common salt in the water
which is being dashed upon the flames
from pails or pitchers, or in which
are soaked cloths to beat out the
flames.
Fire Extinguisher Hand Grenades. —Fill round bottles of thin blue glass
with a mixture of equal parts of common
borax and sal ammoniac or calcium
chloride. Add, just enough
water to dissolve these substances,
thus making strong saturated solutions.

Sorry for the formatting

[The Stig]

Do any of you keep a rider on your homeowners policy covering your weapons? It's kind of a double edged blade...if you don't have it and there is a loss, it can be huge due to the cost of them (especially the antique collectible ones) on the flip side then an outsider knows about your stash.

Yep. My regular homeowners policy only covered so much....which would have been about 1.5 of my rifles. So I had to go the rider route to protect us financially.

Don't really care about some drone in Bolingbrook Illinois knowing about my guns. My local agent is a different matter but the risk of financial devastation outweighs the remote chance the world melts down and my local insurance agent begins raiding policy holder's homes looking for loot.

[izzyscout21]

I have a separate policy, have had several, but currently have the NRA endorsed policy where you don't have to provide serial numbers or anything except for individual weapons over $2500. So currently only my 50 bmg rifle is listed.

cwconner:

shoot me pm....I've been wondering how that policy works.....

[Twitchy]

Sniper, 50' coupled hose sections are rather affordable if you get them second hand... I can post an ebay link to a reputable seller if you wish!

[Sniper-T]

by all means twitchy. I'm always looking for more hose. I'm sure others would appreciate it too.

tx

[Twitchy]

moonnguyeno | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_from=&_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ssn=moonnguyeno&rt=nc)

Here ya go!

[Twitchy]

just a general rule of thumb on the hose, if its a 2 and a half inch line, at least 2-3 guys on the line... for residential fires, generally, most departments will use several 1.5 inch lines on two man crews... that is at least how they do ti down here... Obviously, in our case, unless you have the structural safety gear to fight a fire actively, your basically going to be spraying water into the structure from windows... It would also be advisable to practice with the equipment you have to be proficient in it... Make sure you aren't over pressurizing your pump, etc.

[GunnerMax]

I am going to get fire extinguishers once I get home. I also have a fire escape ladder for the top floor. Also I plan on having a basket of some sorts with a line on it to lower my daughter down from the top floor.

My documents are going to be in a pelican case. everything is insured.

[rentprop1]

a question on fire extinguishers, if they still read full, but have past the expiration date, most are still good, I know that here in FL the certification process if just a bunch of B.S. I have emptied 3-4 year expired extinguishers at work ( for fun ) cause the rep told me they cost the same to have them filled versus certified

[Sniper-T]

One of my extinguishers was a disposable kitchen one, 8 years expired, had a test button on it. It performed flawlessly. The other one I used Was 2 years expired but the guage read full. It performed flawlessly. I have several other 'current' ones.

When I replaced the used ones, I asked about filling/testing/certification/etc., and was told that it costs less to have a full extinguisher certified, because you are not paying for the material fill. It actually wasn't a huge saving, but depending on the size of the extinguisher, it added up quick

[Echo2]

Having helped an inspector.....all we did was to take the ABC extinguishers (powder type) and turn it upside down.....then smack it with a rubber mallet a few times at the base.....check the pressure....change the tag.....then hang it back on the wall.

[Socalman]

Protecting your preps from disaster is a strong consideration for us. We live in California earthquake territory. (Is that redundant?) We are also located in the foothills of a brushfire area and did survive one fire in the 1980's. As a precaution for earthquakes we do have food and water preps stored in 3 locations, in the home proper, some in the detached garage and some in a separate shed. Should we have a SHTF situation occur where we did not have to get out of Dodge, everything can quickly be brought back into the main house for protection.

I have two fire extinguishers on hand. One is a dry chemical type located just inside the laundry room door and can be reached from the kitchen. The other is an older water/air pressure type located in the garage. My son used the water one on two occasions to save neighbors homes from fires.

[Fidel MD]

All of the above, plus careful landscaping to minimize the chance of wildfire hitting our buildings (which have steel roofs anyway).

We also have a dedicated gas-engine fire pump connected to our water cistern (and a draft line into the pond), and a couple of hose stands around the buildings. The system serves double-duty, we can use it to clean the buildings and roofs, dampen the dust down, and have really intense water fights.

Being monitored doesn't do much for us - the closest response is more than 30 minutes away. A few years ago we had an oven catch fire in the kitchen, and by the time the first-in engine arrived the fire was out (I let them do overhaul). Had we not been there, the house would have burned to the foundation. Between the insurance and the wife, I bought a new kitchen and new appliances.

I do host a yearly party for all the emergency responders (law enforcement, fire depts including USFS, EMS including the medevac guys) to keep them involved in getting here faster. And the EMS guys kind of work for me anyway.

[Fidel MD]

Having helped an inspector.....all we did was to take the ABC extinguishers (powder type) and turn it upside down.....then smack it with a rubber mallet a few times at the base.....check the pressure....change the tag.....then hang it back on the wall.

Which is why I watch the guys recharge my extinguishers. In California they are licensed by the state, and are required to open the extinguisher up and put a dated sticker on the siphon tube to prove they did... Not all states are as rigorous.

Holding dry chem extinguishers upside down every now and then is a good thing. You should be able to feel the powder moving inside: If not, get it properly serviced. This is particularly important for extinguishers in vehicles, the vibration can cause the powder to pack down.

- - - Updated - - -


Protecting your preps from disaster is a strong consideration for us. We live in California earthquake territory. (Is that redundant?) We are also located in the foothills of a brushfire area and did survive one fire in the 1980's. As a precaution for earthquakes we do have food and water preps stored in 3 locations, in the home proper, some in the detached garage and some in a separate shed. Should we have a SHTF situation occur where we did not have to get out of Dodge, everything can quickly be brought back into the main house for protection.

I have two fire extinguishers on hand. One is a dry chemical type located just inside the laundry room door and can be reached from the kitchen. The other is an older water/air pressure type located in the garage. My son used the water one on two occasions to save neighbors homes from fires.

Pressurized water extinguishers are great for Class-A (wood, paper, natural cloth) fires....and you can refill/recharge them at the gas station, if you don't have an air compressor. We take one camping to help put out evening fires, and I have used them to treat people and dogs suffering from hyperthermia.

- - - Updated - - -


moonnguyeno | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_from=&_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ssn=moonnguyeno&rt=nc)

Here ya go!

Don't forget the PPE - at least brush coats, proper helmets with eye pro, firefighter gloves.

[realist]

Living in wildfire country this year has really hit home. We are not far from the Lake County fires. After looking at them critically so many people all they could do is grab and go. One of the houses which made it through was an all concrete home. Although this would be the way to go I can't get a concrete truck to my location due to a 60 ft bridge which would not handle the weight. So plan "B" for my property is to put in a root cellar.......okay it will be bigger than a normal root cellar............the wife would roll her eyes if I said the B word. I figure I could get in a small Conex box and bury it. This would make it fireproof and so long as the entrance was properly protected we could get in it to ride out the fire. Obviously evacuation would be best but we have a one way in one way out road so if a fire cut it we would be screwed. So I am looking at a place of safe refuge too as well as storage of our things.

Thanks for the tips on the fire extinguishers, it was something I had not thought about.

You are so right about the PPE.....

[Kesephist]

Living in wildfire country this year has really hit home. We are not far from the Lake County fires. After looking at them critically so many people all they could do is grab and go. One of the houses which made it through was an all concrete home. Although this would be the way to go I can't get a concrete truck to my location due to a 60 ft bridge which would not handle the weight. So plan "B" for my property is to put in a root cellar.......okay it will be bigger than a normal root cellar............the wife would roll her eyes if I said the B word. I figure I could get in a small Conex box and bury it. This would make it fireproof and so long as the entrance was properly protected we could get in it to ride out the fire. Obviously evacuation would be best but we have a one way in one way out road so if a fire cut it we would be screwed. So I am looking at a place of safe refuge too as well as storage of our things.

Thanks for the tips on the fire extinguishers, it was something I had not thought about.

You are so right about the PPE.....

I'm no builder, but I have a thought.

Cinder blocks and dry cement mix. Bring them in and mix up batches on site.

Did Cali do away with their stupid no-underbrush-clearing laws in the face of all these wildfires, or are they still far more concerned about preserving field mouse habitat? I mind some years back some poor schmuck got fined $5k for clearing all the brush around his place, and his was one of the few places still intact in the face of a wildfire.

That one way in/out thing... is that a matter of geography, or is there, if you needed to do it, an unpaved or cross-country way out?

[realist]

I have killed all the saber toothed frogs in our area so I do not have to worry. I have been thinking about doing just what you said with the cinder blocks. I have also looked at ICF insulated concrete forms which I like the best it would just be very labor and time consuming. But that was for the living space. I need a place of safe refuge from a fire because of our location.

As for the clearing of brush the recommended distance is 30 feet is a joke in some area, I think it should be at least 100 feet. This may make your place stand out but it is better having it burn to the ground. One thing on my list is a gas powered pole saw for pruning up the surrounding trees.

One thing I found interesting as well as frightening is houses in the fire zone of the lake fire were burned completely in some case in 15 minutes, that's a hot fire. At one point the fire was burning 1,000 acres per hour! Flaming embers were being blown up to a mile in front of the fire and this was adding to the fire which was also causing its own wind. So part of my education is to plan for the worst and enjoy the best..........

[Fidel MD]

One of my cousins has a horse ranch near Ione....she's been sheltering animals displaced from the fires nearby. She posted a pic today of her going for a ride: NO SMOKE!

[realist]

We only had a couple of days of smoke. We were lucky in that we are to the west of the burn area and the wind blows it inland.