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27 Comments

  1. A few things: first, RE: the 100 ft “clear zone” around the dwelling. During construction, when the equipment is on site and it’s easier to do, install a sprinkler (lawn irrigation) system using gear-driven, pop-up rotary sprinklers. There are models that, with adequate pressure and volume of water, can reach 50 feet to keep grass too wet to burn (needless to say, when wildfires are in the area, Step One is “mow real short” and discharge cuttings away from the structure; if your mower will windrow, mowing a circular pattern around the structure will keep throwing cutings farther away).

    You may not use the lawn irrigation system for actual lawn watering, but placing heads adjacent to the structure and aiming them out will give you one more tool to prevent structure damage. (Metal roofs are an extremely good idea, too). Watch out for embers that hit the roof, slide down and get captured by gutters.

    Next, an indoor sprinkler – fire suppression – system. Connected to a 250 gallon pressure tank, or 250 gallon tank with a pump that has a battery backup, can save a house. Fire sprinklers are property protection devices, and they’ll trigger automatically (usually at 130-140 degrees F) to extinguish fires. Is 250 gallons enough? Usually, since residental sprinklers flow at 20-25 gallons per minute per sprinkler head, that’s 10 minutes of fire-dousing water. Since sprinklers will trigger early in a fire, 10 minutes is usually enough to put out a fire when it’s caught early, and 250 gallons limits the amount of water damage to the structure. However, since sometimes more than one sprinkler head may trigger at once, having more than 250 gallons on tap couldn’t hurt.

    Again, installation during construction is much, much cheaper than retrofitting, and newer building codes may allow – in some areas – using plastic pipes, keeping cost low, plus that water tank in the basement also can be a source of emergency water. Just make sure it’s refilled quickly after emergency use because your fire suppression system depends on it.

  2. Nice article JM on one of the less “sexy” but vitally important parts of preparedness. For community or large property use after TEOTWAWKI, old fire apparatus can be found online for sale. I know a couple large acreage owners that have them not only as neat vintage vehicles but also as their first line of defense against fire on their property.

  3. 29 years professional FF. In our water cans and pressurized water extinguishers we would ad a little AFFF, or one of the newer wetting agents. These agents cut the surface tension of water and substantially increase the waters performance. We actually started using it on our pumpers you could flick a switch and our 900 gallon tank would become what we called wet water, or depending on the mix, foam. I don’t know if the stuff is commercially available, but if you stop at your local fire station they usually have empty five gallon pails of the stuff. The Venturi tube can’t pick it all up so there will be about a cup of product left in the jug; more than enough for our purposes in an extinguisher. Dish soap may also work in a pinch as it is also a surfactant. Hope this helps.

  4. Thanks for an excellent article. The subject of a catastrophic fire event is rarely brought up in prepping. I admit this was a blind spot in my own planning, although I do have 4 or 5 fire extinguishers around the house and shop. I particularly like the idea of smoke detectors with AA batteries, and fire blankets strategically placed. I am thankful you provided this information, along with links for products that can fill the gaps.

  5. The need for Fire Self-defense maybe closer than a Post-Apocalyptic Event. I have been a Volunteer Firefighter for over 17 years and we see in many rural areas the lack of volunteers requires more support from neighboring communities. This means more travel time, which now the fire is much bigger by the time neighboring departments get there. Fuel loads are different today, our plastic laden homes burn hotter and much more toxic.
    So get some training on fire extinguishers and wild-land fire defensive measures, just buying stuff will do you no good if you don’t know how to use it and use it properly.
    And learn about your Fire Department, ask for a tour.

  6. Redoubter here. Wildfires are a real threat. The 100 ft.setback from potential fuel and dispersion of assets are very sound advice!

    As an aside, we formed a local AmRRON ham radio group a couple of years ago. Two wildfires have taken off close to us and we heard about both of them immediately via the ham net. One member had to evacuate and fellow hams immediately showed up to help him.

  7. With the massive Detwiler fire ongoing near Central California. What many livestock owners are doing is painting their address on the animals and letting them go in hopes that the animal’s instincts will allow it to escape the fire and be found and returned. This fire has exceeded 70,000 acres, please pray for the resident of the area. I have family in the area and they received evacuation notices several days ago and are finally being allowed to return.

    1. In response to wildfires, they have become very common all over the Rocky Mountain West due to the 100’s of thousands of acres of dead timber caused by the Pine Bark Beetles. So when they say “make sure your campfire is dead out” please do. And to my shame I must admit that a few years back I built a lean-to in the mountains and then built a fire ring and a small fire, it was in the winter and there was patches of snow all around so when I left I put the fire out or so I thought, and about 10 days later I returned to the spot and to my disbelief there was a patch of burnt ground about 8 or 10 square feet and it was still smoldering in the old pine duff on the ground and some roots of a dead tree, fortunately it was winter and not in the dry season or it could have been a disaster. So dose that camp fire and scatter the ashes and then double check. Trekker Out

  8. What’s Inside? (2016, Oct. 22). What’s inside EXPLODING Fire Extinguisher Balls? [YouTube Video].
    Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCRJSJPYy2A

    “What in the world are these fire extinguisher balls and do they work??? We almost blow up trying to find out!! CRAZY!!!”

    Danger, Don’t try this at home…

    Very informative, but very unsafe testing…

    1. I’m not a farmer, and I don’t have any livestock, so I don’t have any experience in this area. Maybe some of the other readers could help out?

  11. I keep a shovel, a metal bucket and a pressurized water extinguisher all summer long in my truck here in eastern WA; I’ve used it more than once. A shovel and dirt work very well. Wait long enough, though and it is too late. Do not die in a wildfire; fall back and regroup.

    1. If it has a plastic top/nozzle you probably can’t get it refilled – just point it someplace safe, empty it out, unscrew the top, put it in your metal recycling bin and buy a new one (with a metal top this time 8-)). If it has a metal top/nozzle, check your local area for fire protection companies – many of them can inspect & refill them.

    1. There’s a product called FireGuard® E-84 (see link in the article above) that you can paint on pretty much any building material. When fire come in contact with it the dried paint expands and forms a char layer that thermally insulates the underlying material. It won’t make something completely fireproof, but it can greatly slow down the spread of a fire and allow you to either put the fire out (if you can safely) or exit the building. It’s not cheap, though – $400 or so for a 5 gallon bucket.

  14. Former volunteer firefighter here. I second the recommendation of pressurized water extinguishers, because they can be recharged and reused indefinitely with only a good hand tire pump. Many talk about how much more dangerous home fires are now because of toxic fumes form plastics. You can take measures to minimize the toxic components in your house. The best advice I will offer is to JOIN your local volunteer fire company. In addition to doing your own civic duty in the defense of your neighbors, you will tap into a network of capable folks who care about their community..What better preparedness is there than that? Also, you will get TRAINING, and familiarity with putting out fires. It’s not rocket science, but knowing what to do makes the difference between being able to put out a pretty big fire with a little water, and wasting a lot of water while failing to put out a small one.

  16. Thanks for the article on fire protection. I am more afraid of fire than I am of a tornado or other disaster. While my location rarely has wild fires,I do live in the country where there are no hydrants and the closest fire department is 20-25 minutes away.

    I have smoke alarms plus CO2 alarms plus a dozen “household” size fire extinguishers in and around the house, garage, vehicles, barns and out-buildings. Thanks to your article I will be adding containers of baking soda around the kitchen stove and fireplace.

    The next time I’m in town I’ll stop by the nearest fire house with some beef jerky and cookies.

  17. The book “Off Grid and Free” is by Ron Melchiore who lives w/ his wife in an extremely rural area in Northern Alberta, Canada. He say forest fires scare him more than anything else & devotes a long chapter to them in his book. He even posted a system of water sprinklers (up on posts) in the clearing around their home. Their last resort was to get into the boat & put into the middle of their small lake.

    1. My preffered extingishers are the compressed nitrogen or CO2,they work by depriving the fire of 2 of its needs;oxygen and heat. Plus it leaves no mess like the chemical ones(try to clean up that stuff)

  18. +1 on having baking soda in the kitchen. My daughter now knows why there is a large box of it on the counter by the stove..

    I came home from work one day to a house full of smoke. She was cooking something and the grease caught fire in the oven. So she is standing there watching it burn and tells me she was just about to go outside and let it burn…yeah really. I tossed some baking soda on it and it went out immediately.

    In a way I am glad she got her own place so she won’t burn down mine. Better though, teach your kids about fire safety, and how to deal with them.

  20. homefirefightingsystems.com has a variety of fire systems including foam, gel, pumps, hoses, nozzles in different sizes and price ranges. I can’t believe people who live in areas of fire danger aren’t aware and prepared for it

  22. Volunteer FF here, when using a water extinguisher, if you add 3 or 4 tablespoons of dawn dish soap, it gives you a poor man’s foam. It works by cutting the surface tension of the water, making it penetrate much better than plain water. You’ll put out more fire with less water. Just add it to the water after you fill it up and pressurize. Doesn’t need to be shaken or anything like that.

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