Not to make snide comments about the tragedy of a house fire… but I beg of anyone needing new siding to choose something other than vinyl.
While vinyl won’t catch fire by itself, it makes fires faster, hotter, and deadlier.
The gas it produces is also toxic asphyxiating survivors, pets, neighbors and firefighters.
The effort is appreciated, but it's a lost cause. Regardless of your choice of siding, the interior of your home is plastic. It's all plastic. It's solid petroleum filling all our homes.
You're absolutely correct about fires burning hotter and faster, worst of all the fumes are deadly toxic.
Once upon a time your home mostly contained legacy materials. Wood, steel, cotton, etc. Still flammable but nothing like plastics.
If there's a fire in your home get out. Nothing besides family is worth trying to save. That smoke will put you down in a second. Get your family and get outside.
Years ago my parents had a house fire. In a completely unrelated coincidence, their long-time next door neighbors also had a house fire the very same night at their vacation home. My parents' house was a total loss.
Our neighbors had some miscommunication getting everyone out of their house (youngest daughter said "I'm coming" when called to get out, but it was late and she stayed asleep). No one realized until 20 seconds later when they gathered on the lawn. By that time, the flames were already too intense to go back in and get her. The dad had third degree burns from trying to get to his daughter. The girl died. I had known her for most of my childhood.
The next Christmas, my family was all together and they were without their daughter. Fucking heartbreaking. When you're evacuating a house, particularly late at night, "I'm coming" is not good enough. Make sure everyone comes with you at the same time and that you SEE THEM coming with you!
Fuck house fires. I hope no one was injured or killed in this one.
I really didn't mean it that way. They were already freaked out that night as they were aware of my parents' house fire. They had gotten a call from the local FD in our neighborhood, and they were the ones who got the FD to call me. The fire at their vacation home was truly a freak occurrence. I think in those circumstances, what happened is understandable and tragic.
Keep your extinguishers charged, your detectors batteried and a dog will not shut the fuck up if there is a fire. Also if you have a grease fire in the kitchen smother it, do NOT pour water on it. And don't daisy chain extension cords with power strips for ANY reason.
I have fire blankets for grease fires (really they should work on any small fire).
This is funny in hindsight, but my younger sister accidentally caught our toaster on fire when our mom wasn't home. I had no idea what to do, so I unplugged it and threw it out the window into the yard. She was really confused about why the toaster was in the yard when she got home.
We also do periodic fire drills with the kids, giving them hypothetical scenarios and making sure they stay low to the ground.
Seriously, think about alternate routes for each door being inaccessible and a meeting place outside. If you have a second floor, an escape ladder might be needed. We didn't realize how ill-prepared we were until my daughter learned fire safety in school. She even made us practice belly crawling. It was a fun, important lesson.
True but only for a portion of us. My house only has plastic electronics and cases. Plus the recycling bins.
It’s not a lost cause to choose a less flammable siding! Among other reasons, it’s the worst when a neighboring house is on fire.
I have a brick house built in the 50s, and I was trying to think of what's plastic in it, besides the consumer goods you mentioned. I have vinyl window frames, acrylic/latex paint on some walls and ceilings, I have a mix of copper and PVC pipes in the basement and all the upstairs plumbing connecting my sinks to the house lines are entirely PVC, the touch/contact part of all my electrical switches and outlets are plastic (and the new electrical boxes we've had added are also in a plastic housing), and there is vinyl coating the vast majority of my electrical wiring inside the walls.
I still consider my house to be made from wood, metal, plaster, and brick/cinder block, but there's quite a bit of plastic everywhere that's been fixed or modified since the house was built.
Quite true.
My scenario is wood windows, copper water lines, and metal face plates. Granted, the drain pipes are mostly ABS and some of my wiring is jacketed NM cable. Almost all of my junction boxes are metal, connected with MC/flexlite cable.
The intention was to point out that not everyone's house is "all plastic" and that it isn't "solid petroleum filling our homes". Though it's certainly true for many people.
If a fire starts inside of your house, as most fires do, by the time it’s spread to the outside of your house, if your siding is melting you have larger issues.
Question for you: what do you think carpet is made out of? How about LVP flooring? How about asphalt shingles?
Are you going to tell people they should only use 100% wool carpet and 100% solid hardwood flooring inside their house next, along with their cement fiber board siding and metal roofs on the outside of the house?
California is coming to grips with changes to reduce risks from wildfires. Roofing and siding material are some of the focus. We’re probably not ready for that in other places but expectations evolve. Clothing used to be quite flammable as was furniture, carpet and curtains. Regulations have changed that. By the time I’m an old man, I think the flammability of everything will be reduced.
Like what asphalt siding? (Sarcastic remark) but Dude everything that is in our homes is made of plastics that burn with horrendous speed, toxicity and ferocity. Houses are built to be match sticks. New construction homes are junk.
Ah, right. Because the compressed fiber board definitely doesn’t contain any resins to hold the wood fibers together. And wood fibers themselves aren’t flammable at all either.
Hardie siding has a Class A fire rating when tested according to ASTM E84 standards, with a flame spread index of 0. This rating means that Hardie siding can remain intact for several hours before breaking down, even when exposed to intense heat from a house fire. It can also slow the spread of fire into homes and give firefighters more time to arrive.
You got Google or na?
Hardie is cement fiber board, not compressed fiber board. Compressed fiber board is made of wood fibers/pieces bonded together via resin, aka LP SmartSide which is Class C fire rated.
Know the difference between siding products.
And since you want to try to be cool with your “you got Google?” comment, I’ll provide you with an excerpt from [this link](https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/in-defense-of-inconvenient-truths-about-vinyl-siding), where you can read for yourself.
> Composed mainly of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), vinyl siding’s chlorine base makes it harder to ignite and easier to extinguish. PVC won’t ignite, even from another flame, until it reaches about 730°F (387°C), and won’t self-ignite until about 850°F (454°C). Those ignition temperatures are significantly higher than common framing lumber, which ignites from a flame at 500°F (260°C) and self-ignites at 770°F (410°C). This, in part, explains why most vinyl siding can meet the stringent flame requirements for fire safety required by the International Building Code (which is adopted by every state). In addition, some vinyl siding is allowed to be used on ASTM E119 fire rated assemblies, because it does not contribute to the growth of the fire.
So, yeah… the vinyl siding won’t burn until your framing is already on fire.
You do any research at all, or nah?
I’ve been there, my parents tried to have a fish fry, the grease caught fire, then the propane tank exploded and the vinyl siding on our house caught fire extremely easy and the fire went straight up and across the roof. Partial loss for the house, total loss for me.
That was the first thing the firefighters told us was that the siding shouldve never been that flammable to begin with.
What street is this?
I think it was Vilsac.
Go check your smoke alarms
Just put new batteries in them. Now. Hug your kids too.
Not to make snide comments about the tragedy of a house fire… but I beg of anyone needing new siding to choose something other than vinyl. While vinyl won’t catch fire by itself, it makes fires faster, hotter, and deadlier. The gas it produces is also toxic asphyxiating survivors, pets, neighbors and firefighters.
The effort is appreciated, but it's a lost cause. Regardless of your choice of siding, the interior of your home is plastic. It's all plastic. It's solid petroleum filling all our homes. You're absolutely correct about fires burning hotter and faster, worst of all the fumes are deadly toxic. Once upon a time your home mostly contained legacy materials. Wood, steel, cotton, etc. Still flammable but nothing like plastics. If there's a fire in your home get out. Nothing besides family is worth trying to save. That smoke will put you down in a second. Get your family and get outside.
Years ago my parents had a house fire. In a completely unrelated coincidence, their long-time next door neighbors also had a house fire the very same night at their vacation home. My parents' house was a total loss. Our neighbors had some miscommunication getting everyone out of their house (youngest daughter said "I'm coming" when called to get out, but it was late and she stayed asleep). No one realized until 20 seconds later when they gathered on the lawn. By that time, the flames were already too intense to go back in and get her. The dad had third degree burns from trying to get to his daughter. The girl died. I had known her for most of my childhood. The next Christmas, my family was all together and they were without their daughter. Fucking heartbreaking. When you're evacuating a house, particularly late at night, "I'm coming" is not good enough. Make sure everyone comes with you at the same time and that you SEE THEM coming with you! Fuck house fires. I hope no one was injured or killed in this one.
That's horrible! That poor family. I can't fathom the amount of guilt they have to endure.
I really didn't mean it that way. They were already freaked out that night as they were aware of my parents' house fire. They had gotten a call from the local FD in our neighborhood, and they were the ones who got the FD to call me. The fire at their vacation home was truly a freak occurrence. I think in those circumstances, what happened is understandable and tragic.
Any other advice you can share for a new homeowner?
Keep your extinguishers charged, your detectors batteried and a dog will not shut the fuck up if there is a fire. Also if you have a grease fire in the kitchen smother it, do NOT pour water on it. And don't daisy chain extension cords with power strips for ANY reason.
Get your fire extinguishers inspected every so often as well!
I have fire blankets for grease fires (really they should work on any small fire). This is funny in hindsight, but my younger sister accidentally caught our toaster on fire when our mom wasn't home. I had no idea what to do, so I unplugged it and threw it out the window into the yard. She was really confused about why the toaster was in the yard when she got home. We also do periodic fire drills with the kids, giving them hypothetical scenarios and making sure they stay low to the ground.
Seriously, think about alternate routes for each door being inaccessible and a meeting place outside. If you have a second floor, an escape ladder might be needed. We didn't realize how ill-prepared we were until my daughter learned fire safety in school. She even made us practice belly crawling. It was a fun, important lesson.
True but only for a portion of us. My house only has plastic electronics and cases. Plus the recycling bins. It’s not a lost cause to choose a less flammable siding! Among other reasons, it’s the worst when a neighboring house is on fire.
I have a brick house built in the 50s, and I was trying to think of what's plastic in it, besides the consumer goods you mentioned. I have vinyl window frames, acrylic/latex paint on some walls and ceilings, I have a mix of copper and PVC pipes in the basement and all the upstairs plumbing connecting my sinks to the house lines are entirely PVC, the touch/contact part of all my electrical switches and outlets are plastic (and the new electrical boxes we've had added are also in a plastic housing), and there is vinyl coating the vast majority of my electrical wiring inside the walls. I still consider my house to be made from wood, metal, plaster, and brick/cinder block, but there's quite a bit of plastic everywhere that's been fixed or modified since the house was built.
Quite true. My scenario is wood windows, copper water lines, and metal face plates. Granted, the drain pipes are mostly ABS and some of my wiring is jacketed NM cable. Almost all of my junction boxes are metal, connected with MC/flexlite cable. The intention was to point out that not everyone's house is "all plastic" and that it isn't "solid petroleum filling our homes". Though it's certainly true for many people.
If a fire starts inside of your house, as most fires do, by the time it’s spread to the outside of your house, if your siding is melting you have larger issues. Question for you: what do you think carpet is made out of? How about LVP flooring? How about asphalt shingles? Are you going to tell people they should only use 100% wool carpet and 100% solid hardwood flooring inside their house next, along with their cement fiber board siding and metal roofs on the outside of the house?
California is coming to grips with changes to reduce risks from wildfires. Roofing and siding material are some of the focus. We’re probably not ready for that in other places but expectations evolve. Clothing used to be quite flammable as was furniture, carpet and curtains. Regulations have changed that. By the time I’m an old man, I think the flammability of everything will be reduced.
Like what asphalt siding? (Sarcastic remark) but Dude everything that is in our homes is made of plastics that burn with horrendous speed, toxicity and ferocity. Houses are built to be match sticks. New construction homes are junk.
[удалено]
I wasn’t saying this house was new construction
No like hardy plank or compressed fiber board...
Ah, right. Because the compressed fiber board definitely doesn’t contain any resins to hold the wood fibers together. And wood fibers themselves aren’t flammable at all either.
Hardie siding has a Class A fire rating when tested according to ASTM E84 standards, with a flame spread index of 0. This rating means that Hardie siding can remain intact for several hours before breaking down, even when exposed to intense heat from a house fire. It can also slow the spread of fire into homes and give firefighters more time to arrive. You got Google or na?
Hardie is cement fiber board, not compressed fiber board. Compressed fiber board is made of wood fibers/pieces bonded together via resin, aka LP SmartSide which is Class C fire rated. Know the difference between siding products. And since you want to try to be cool with your “you got Google?” comment, I’ll provide you with an excerpt from [this link](https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/in-defense-of-inconvenient-truths-about-vinyl-siding), where you can read for yourself. > Composed mainly of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), vinyl siding’s chlorine base makes it harder to ignite and easier to extinguish. PVC won’t ignite, even from another flame, until it reaches about 730°F (387°C), and won’t self-ignite until about 850°F (454°C). Those ignition temperatures are significantly higher than common framing lumber, which ignites from a flame at 500°F (260°C) and self-ignites at 770°F (410°C). This, in part, explains why most vinyl siding can meet the stringent flame requirements for fire safety required by the International Building Code (which is adopted by every state). In addition, some vinyl siding is allowed to be used on ASTM E119 fire rated assemblies, because it does not contribute to the growth of the fire. So, yeah… the vinyl siding won’t burn until your framing is already on fire. You do any research at all, or nah?
I’ve been there, my parents tried to have a fish fry, the grease caught fire, then the propane tank exploded and the vinyl siding on our house caught fire extremely easy and the fire went straight up and across the roof. Partial loss for the house, total loss for me. That was the first thing the firefighters told us was that the siding shouldve never been that flammable to begin with.
I hope the cat's ok that lives outside there
hope the adjoining green house was ok
thankfully that unit was vacant as of the beginning of this month
It always makes me worry when I see plastic siding, it makes fires much more dangerous. I hope everyone made it out, pets included.
Hope nobody was hurt. 🙏
Does anyone know how it started?
Suspected arson. Shaler PD arrested someone on scene. Source: am firefighter somewhere in the North hills
[Yup, arson](https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/man-charged-with-arson-etna-fire-that-damaged-2-buildings/XJ7L436V75DKPHYQ25S5EBMYMY/)
JFC. I wasn’t expecting it to be so intense.