You’ve probably seen buildings and homes with fire sprinklers installed indoors…but what about on the rooftop?
“It certainly saves homes,” said Harry Stutter of Frontline Wildfire Defense, which develops apps and systems to protect homes from wildfires.
We met in a multi-million dollar home on the West Side of Los Angeles that was equipped with special sprinkler technology.
The roof-mounted system sprays a combination of water and biodegradable foam onto the property if there is a real risk of fire.
“It’s the same thing firefighters truck in. You don’t need a firefighter there to apply it,” Statter explained.
The companion app (free for everyone) monitors data from weather forecasts, satellites, cameras, and more to monitor all aspects of the wildfire threat to your home address.
But you can also take it a step further and install a high-tech sprinkler system that sprays water throughout your home in seconds.
The main thing to deal with is flying embers, which are the main cause of residential fires.
“When you look at the distance that embers can travel, it really depends on the wind…When the winds are blowing very strongly, these embers can travel up to 24 miles outside the wildfire perimeter. ”Stutter said.
This system can be activated automatically through notifications and countdowns, or manually through the app.
Although it may seem like a lot of water, Stutter says aggressive soaking uses less water than actually putting out a fire.
“The system actively moistens [various materials that make up the home] So when the embers land on those materials, they become too wet to burn,” Statter said.
Frontline’s system was activated during the recent Los Angeles wildfires.
“At 186 facilities that were in red flag areas, we had 57 systems operating simultaneously at one point during the Los Angeles fires. We’ve been quite successful, and we’ve received numerous reports from customers of systems not working. “We saved their homes from burning down,” Stutter explained.
Sprinkler protection starts at about $500 per month. If not, there are still steps you can take to make your home more fireproof.
“Apply residential hardening to your home: a Class A noncombustible roof, fire-resistant vents, immediate and intermediate zones of the home, and vegetation management around the home,” Stutter concludes. I attached it.
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