New statewide building regulations governing construction in fire-prone wild-land areas went into effect this year - more than three years after similar restrictions were implemented for San Diego's unincorporated areas.
"After the 2003 fires, San Diego County stepped up to the plate early and did some progressive moves and addressed wild-land/urban interface issues as opposed to waiting for the state process," said Assistant State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover. "We told locals, if you have an immediate need, your process is much shorter than ours, and in some areas they did that and made the standards more restrictive than the state's."
Manufacturers of building materials, though, have taken that time to gear up for the new state regulations and develop and test products that will meet tough new standards. The result is a compilation of state-sanctioned products such as siding, decking and windows that should ease the minds of residents who choose to live in homes on the edge of fire-prone terrain.
While there are no guarantees that the code restrictions, in concert with defensible landscaping, will ward off fire, rigorous product testing should pay off in terms of saved homes, fire officials believe.
"I think it's important that folks understand that the code changes make a difference when used with good, defensible space and vegetation management," said Hoover. "If we're to continue to build in the wild-land/urban interface, we need to provide good tools for structure protection and survivability.
"This is a much different approach. In the past, we didn't talk about fire exterior to a structure. It was not in the code before. Our building codes typically concentrated on inside the structure."
Key among the product categories certain to attract consumers' attention are decks, a common feature in homes designed for year-round outdoor living.
Increasingly, composite decking materials such as Trex are growing in popularity because they eliminate the need for regular maintenance and staining. It's taken some time, though, for manufacturers to develop a product that would bear up under the new testing standards.
"For San Diego County, the rules are not as new, but because of the state code, the manufacturers are being forced to create more products or show that they comply because all over the state they will now be used for new construction in high wildfire-prone areas," explained Steve Quarles, a technical specialist for the state fire marshal's office and an adviser with the University of California Cooperative Extension.
"There are definitely manufacturers of decking material that before would not have complied with the state provisions and now they do. They had to change their formulations."
State fire officials point out that just because a product isn't listed on the fire marshal's Web site does not mean it doesn't meet the state code. But consumers will still have to do their homework to make sure a building material has passed the required testing.
"We try to be a one-stop shop for consumers, builders, the manufacturers, the designers and for local fire and building officials," said Ben Ho, chief of the state's fire engineering division.
Among the tests mandated by the state for decking is one where the underside of a deck is ignited in a commercial testing lab. At no time during a 40-minute period can the energy released by the flame exceed 25 kilowatts per square foot of decking, said Quarles. A second test measures how readily a flame spreads across the deck surface.
In San Diego County, manufacturers of decking material also have to pass a test in which a burning ember is placed on the deck, after which the planks are observed for 40 minutes to see whether burning debris drops, if the deck breaks apart and whether the decking material eventually extinguishes itself, according to Quarles.
"There had been several small companies who had a Class A composite decking product suitable for application but they're small companies, and it was expensive, so now what has happened is the largest companies like Trex and Fiberon are coming out with Class A decking that's PVC-based," said Jeff Badelt, general manager of J&W Redwood's corporate operation.
"This new generation allows the board to retain color, and it's good at simulating the earth tones of natural wood. No one wants a deck that's all plastic and shiny-looking."
Trex expects to have its new fire-resistant decking on store shelves soon and is awaiting approval of its use in California, said Scott Fedor, senior product manager for Trex. The company will have two new products: Trex Escapes, a PVC-based decking, and Trex Accents Fire Defense, a composite product of recycled plastic and reclaimed wood fibers that is treated with a fire-retardant additive, Fedor said.
Such lumber products as heavy timber (thicker than normal wood planks) and fire-retardant-treated wood should also meet stricter requirements.
Unlike the state, San Diego County also stipulates what size lumber must be used for the under-structure of decks.
Typically, composite decking and lumber treated with a fire-retardant material are more costly than heavy timber. Deck builder Scott Dubois said he tries to work with people's budgets when choosing what material to use.
"The fire-treated wood is probably technically a little bit better, but heavy timber will be just as good because it won't flash burn where embers fall on it and ignite," said Dubois. "And the framing is pressure-treated, which helps retard fire."
Rich Geary, marketing consultant for Hoover Treated Wood Products, based in Georgia, said his company is prepared to meet the expected demand in California for its exterior treated products.
"People are going to continue to build out (in fire-prone areas). I don't know how we stop them," said Geary. "Not everyone wants to live in a downtown high-rise."
