Measures to Reduce the Risk of Fire Damage to the Roof

The roof is a critical part of the house because it protects the house from various risks, the risk of fire included. However, your roof might not resist fire damage if you don't take the following measures.

A roofing material can either be unrated or belong to one of the three categories of fire ratings. Unrated materials are often the worst as far as potential fire damage is concerned. As for the rated materials, Class A is the best, followed by Class B, and then Class C is the least fire resistant.

Avoid unrated materials at all costs if you want to minimize the risk of roof fire damage. Choose the best-rated roofing material that your budget can accommodate. Talk to your roofing contractor to help you choose the best material for your case.

Even with fireproof roofing material, your roof can still catch fire if some sections of the roof have damage. For example, missing shingles or damaged flashing may allow a fire to reach the unprotected inner structures of the roof and spread. Any gap on the roof that can allow water leaks can also allow the fire to take root and spread, so plug those gaps.

Fire-resistant roofing materials may ignite and burn if you expose them to high temperatures for extended periods. For example, if your roof is full of debris, the debris may catch fire and burn for a long time that the roofing material might also ignite. Therefore, clean your roof regularly to reduce debris accumulation and the risk of fire.

Clear the Area Around the House

Fire needs fuel to burn. Fuel can be anything like wood, leaves, grass, plastic, and various forms of windblown debris. The more of these things around your house and roof, the higher the risk that fire might leap onto the roof during an outbreak. Here are a few tips to reduce the available fodder for fire during an outbreak:

• Trim trees around the house.
• Clear an area around the house to create a buffer zone to reduce the spread of fire.
• Don't stack firewood close to the house.
• Minimize attached structures that may spread fire to the house.

Do everything possible to ensure that any fire around your house won't spread to the roof.

Many roofs have electrical installations or wiring either on or near the roof. Light fixtures, rooftop HVACs, and conduit pipes are some of these installations and wiring. If these electrical systems malfunction, this might trigger an electrical fire that may ravage the roof. Maintain your electrical system to minimize that risk.

Lightning is a discharge of electricity from the sky that ionizes and heats up the air and environment around it. A bolt of lightning can trigger damage and fire even to the best roofs. The best way to reduce the risk of lightning-related fire is to install a lightning arrestor on the roof. The arrestor provides a safe path for the electricity to flow through into the ground.

Lastly, you also probably need to keep your chimney clean if you don't want your roof to burn down. When you light a chimney fire, partially combusted materials form part of the debris and soot that go up the chimney. These products of partial combustion plus other organic debris may ignite and send sparks up to the roof. Clean your chimney regularly to reduce that risk.

Consult Econo Roofing for further ways to make your roof fire resistant. We can also help you repair your roof if it has suffered fire damage. Contact us for all your roofing needs, and you will not be disappointed.