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Fire safety & soffit vents David Nebenzahl 07-04-2008
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Posted by David Nebenzahl on July 4, 2008, 5:21 pm
Following up on some recent threads here that had to do with house
ventilation, particularly the installation of attic vents, I just read
an article in one of my favorite papers (The /Berkeley Daily Planet/*)
by one of my favorite columnists, their resident home inspector, Matt
Cantor, in which he says that, at least in certain places in California,
soffit vents are now going to be a thing of the past.

Basically, the deal is that such vents make it much too easy for fire to
spread into a structure through them. This is all a consequence of a new
set of building codes applicable to houses in certain fire zones called
the "Wildland Urban Interface", or WUI.

In his article
(http://berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2008-07-03/article/30486), he says:

Most homes today have both attic and foundation vents. Both are an
issue in the new WUI code. Vents normally found in the eaves or
"soffits" (the undersides of enclosed eaves) are completely eliminated
in the new code since we have discovered that these area of the building
are particularly vulnerable to sparks, embers and brands (bits of
burning wood).

He discusses the fire safety aspect of vents, but doesn't address the
ventilation issues raised by this: it looks as if it'll be back to the
drawing board for venting attics. How will one be able to ventilate
one's attic if one can't install soffit vents?

Anyhow, at least for folks living in certain areas, this is something
you might ought to be aware of.


* The name is a complete misnomer, since the paper now only comes out
once a week.

--
"Wikipedia ... it reminds me ... of dogs barking idiotically through
endless nights. It is so bad that a sort of grandeur creeps into it.
It drags itself out of the dark abyss of pish, and crawls insanely up
the topmost pinnacle of posh. It is rumble and bumble. It is flap and
doodle. It is balder and dash."

- With apologies to H. L. Mencken

Posted by on July 4, 2008, 8:28 pm
=2E..
>
> Basically, the deal is that such vents make it much too easy for fire to
> spread into a structure through them. This is all a consequence of a new
> set of building codes applicable to houses in certain fire zones called
> the "Wildland Urban Interface", or WUI.
> ...

That would be a rather special case with limited application.



Posted by Jim Rusling on July 4, 2008, 9:56 pm
jmeehan@columbus.rr.com wrote:

>...
>>
>> Basically, the deal is that such vents make it much too easy for fire to
>> spread into a structure through them. This is all a consequence of a new
>> set of building codes applicable to houses in certain fire zones called
>> the "Wildland Urban Interface", or WUI.
>> ...
>
> That would be a rather special case with limited application.
>
When we had a grass fire here a year ago, most of the houses that
caught fire had wooden fences or dry bushes and the flame went up to
the soffit and then into the attic. I was glad I had chain link fence
and not a wooden one.
--
Jim Rusling
More or Less Retired
Mustang, OK
http://www.rusling.org

Posted by Norminn on July 5, 2008, 9:05 am
Jim Rusling wrote:

>jmeehan@columbus.rr.com wrote:
>
>
>
>>...
>>
>>
>>>Basically, the deal is that such vents make it much too easy for fire to
>>>spread into a structure through them. This is all a consequence of a new
>>>set of building codes applicable to houses in certain fire zones called
>>>the "Wildland Urban Interface", or WUI.
>>>...
>>>
>>>
>> That would be a rather special case with limited application.
>>
>>
>>
>When we had a grass fire here a year ago, most of the houses that
>caught fire had wooden fences or dry bushes and the flame went up to
>the soffit and then into the attic. I was glad I had chain link fence
>and not a wooden one.
>
>
Seems that if flames and embers are close enough to go up into soffits,
it is a lost cause anyway.
The idea of having no soffits and roof vents seems kind of goofy, but
that is what keeps
California going - the absence of attic vents probably would eventually
turn all the brown-outs
to black-outs due to increasing energy consumption.

If fences, shrubs and trees are afire, absence of soffit vents ain't
gonna save a house. A special
circuit on a sprinkler system might - anyone doing that? Are there
still wood shake roofs in
high-risk areas? Anyone who hasn't seen a burning pine tree should
arrange to do so - it
is amazing. Pretty shrubs along the front of the home can turn into a
blow torch.

Posted by hallerb@aol.com on July 5, 2008, 10:18 am
> Jim Rusling wrote:
> >jmee...@columbus.rr.com wrote:
>
> >>...
>
> >>>Basically, the deal is that such vents make it much too easy for fire =
to
> >>>spread into a structure through them. This is all a consequence of a n=
ew
> >>>set of building codes applicable to houses in certain fire zones calle=
d
> >>>the "Wildland Urban Interface", or WUI.
> >>>...
>
> >> =EF=BF=BDThat would be a rather special case with limited application.
>
> >When we had a grass fire here a year ago, most of the houses that
> >caught fire had wooden fences or dry bushes and the flame went up to
> >the soffit and then into the attic. =EF=BF=BDI was glad I had chain link=
fence
> >and not a wooden one.
>
> Seems that if flames and embers are close enough to go up into soffits,
> it is a lost cause anyway.
> The idea of having no soffits and roof vents seems kind of goofy, but
> that is what keeps
> California going - the absence of attic vents probably would eventually
> turn all the brown-outs
> to black-outs due to increasing energy consumption.
>
> If fences, shrubs and trees are afire, absence of soffit vents ain't
> gonna save a house. =EF=BF=BDA special
> circuit on a sprinkler system might - anyone doing that? =EF=BF=BDAre the=
re
> still wood shake roofs in
> high-risk areas? =EF=BF=BDAnyone who hasn't seen a burning pine tree shou=
ld
> arrange to do so - it
> is amazing. =EF=BF=BDPretty shrubs along the front of the home can turn i=
nto a
> blow torch.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

a weather radio remote control system could likely be set up pretty
cheap to transmit a special tone ordering all homes to close
vents......

although the right screening could likely also prvent fire thru the
vents.

in the olden days miners carried real burning lamps covered with metal
screen so they couldnt start fires ith the flame.....

metal creen with firproof mounting.

all new homes in california should be built of reinforced poured
concrete,

Page 1 of 3       1 2 3 > last >>
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