Rebuild Fire Resistant Houses

By Author: eampact
Total Articles: 1
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Homeowners in the U.S can build and improve their homes to be more resilient against increasing climate extremes. We aim to educate homeowners about relevant climate risks and solutions to reduce potential damage to homes and save lives. In this series of blogs, we share stories of climate-resilient homes.

Eric Miller, a Building Enclosure Professional and Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) Specialist, LEED AP BD&C, shared his experience and his recent work on residential projects focused on fire resilience and his take on what it means to build right.

Miller supported the rebuild of the Daily Residence in Santa Rosa, CA after they lost their home in the Tubbs fire in 2017. Miller visited the fire-ravaged region property before the rebuilding and witnessed staggering devastation. Everything was incinerated including portions of the remaining concrete foundations. The Dailys wanted to rebuild with a material that was less flammable than wood and still environmentally friendly. They chose Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs).

Before the Tubbs wildfire struck, the risk of wildfire was not on the Dailys’ ...
... minds. After losing their home, they decided to choose an alternative to wood that would be less flammable and improve the home’s thermal stability and energy- efficiency. Although ICF buildings are not 100% fireproof, Daily believes that they are much more fire-resistant relative to wood. Another consideration for the ICFs was their rigidity during seismic events since the Dailys’ property is located a mile away from an earthquake fault line. In fact, they recently experienced a 5.1 earthquake in October 2022, and they felt safe in their home being more resistant to seismic shaking relative to wood. Read about building strategies for earthquakes in our blog.

https://www.eampact.com/blog/rebuild-fire-resistant-houses