Matt Risinger from the Build Network offers important lessons learned from two homes that survived the recent LA fires. In this video, he explains the concepts of home hardening, creating a defensible space around the perimeter of your home and any combustible structures on your property, as well as sharing resources such as IBHS’ Wildfire Prepared Home and NFPA Firewise communities to over 2.4 million viewers. 

Matt showcases Wildfire Defense Mesh as an important tool, that's low cost and high impact with protecting your property against the threats of Wildfires.

Wildfire Defense Mesh is honored to be featured as a specialty ‘Wildfire Product’ that meets the requirements of Wildfire Prepared Home, NFPA Firewise and California Building Code Chapter 7A (vertical install), and ICC IWUI code when mesh is specified. Seeing this level of engagement, interest, and participation in what can be done to help create community resilience is incredible, and we hope that lessons learned from Los Angeles inspire you to connect with your neighbors, friends, and family to prevent future tragedies from wildfires.

A low-cost solution from Australia

Utilizing our Australian heritage and IP, we have developed specific Meshes for wildfire protection for the U.S Market. As the cost of building and retrofitting new homes increased, Wildfire Defense Mesh was created as a ‘low-cost, high-impact’ solution to help protect Californian and American communities

‍

Building a perimeter defense system with Wildfire Defense Mesh

When looking at a house, we look at what barriers can be implemented to lessen the impact of wildfire threats. Looking at your perimeter and working inward, Matt suggests.

Using 5’ wide rolls of WDM 98 mesh attached to an existing metal, non-combustible fence to help prevent dangerous embers from passing through. While a WDM 98 perimeter fence is not designed to stop all embers, it will have an impact. See what Matt has to say about the effectiveness of using WDM with your metal fencing.

‍

Creating a Wildfire Prepared Deck

‍

As Matt correctly states, deck’s can be a huge source of ignition. This was seen at the Marshall fires in Colorado and over and over again. Using Class A decking material is a great solution, but it can be costly to some homeowners to replace. Research from IBHS shows that enclosing your deck vertically (4’ and under) will help with debris buildup under your deck, but then embers from penetrating this area, igniting that dry debris. As deck’s need ventilation, it’s not suggested to fully enclose them with a material that will prevent air flow.

‍

Here is a before and after image from a deck enclosed with Wildfire Defense Mesh in Pasadena, CA that withstood the Eaton Fire.

See the pile of ashes in the aftermath picture? Those were the burning embers that would have gone under the deck space, likely igniting anything combustible in it's path.

‍‍

Wildfire Defense Foundation and Soffit Screens

Vents such as gables and soffits are a prime entry point for dangerous embers and a common source of ignition in attic spaces. Wildfire Defense Mesh comes in rolls you can cut to fit yourself, as well as a variety of standard sizes that are pre-cut and framed for your convenience and ease of installation. See what Matt has to say about how easy it is to guard against common ember-entry points. 

‍

Ventilation protection when in non-wildfire-prone areas

While we mostly focus on WUI and other wildfire-prone areas, it’s important to keep in mind that all homes are susceptible to all types of potential fire events, and our defense mesh is an integral addition to any and all homes, regardless of their vicinity to WUI areas. Watch as Matt shares an unfortunate story about how an ember from a chimenea (outdoor fireplace) destroyed a family’s home.

‍

Overall, Matt’s video is a fantastic resource for any homeowner, builder, contractor, architect, etc to receive an understanding that we are not powerless to create resilient building stock against the threats of wildfires.