Fire Resistant Home Building
When the Fourmile Canyon fire swept through Boulder in 2010, we saw the destruction and loss first-hand. We immediately educated ourselves on fire resistant home building and have been learning and improving our methods ever since. While it’s nearly impossible to build a 100% fireproof home, we can significantly reduce the risk of a house burning through strategic construction.
Recent disasters such as the Marshall Fire demonstrate that, due to climate change, Colorado’s wildfire risk has increased dramatically. Whereas we thought of wildfires as a summer problem, we’re discovering that they’re now a year-round threat. Not only that, but they’re spreading into areas that we used to consider low risk, such as developed areas along the Front Range. As we look to the future and foresee an increasingly unstable climate, we know that fire-resistant construction is essential for Coloradans.
Immediately after the Fourmile Canyon fire in 2010, we attended many trainings and workshops on fire-resistant home building. We knew that it was essential to build back stronger: to do our best to protect our homeowners from losing their homes in a fire. Ever since we’ve taken the construction & landscaping techniques, we have learned and applied them to every home we build in the mountains or foothills. We’re applying fire-resistant building techniques to all homes due to the rising risk of more extensive and more destructive fires across Colorado.
Due to our experience re-building homes lost to wildfires and having our homes survive fires, we’ve been featured on a variety of news networks to share our knowledge:
Building Back Better – Fire Resistant Construction interview with The Weather Channel
A home that Cottonwood Custom Builders re-built using fire resistant home building practices after the Fourmile Canyon Fire in 2010.
Boulder County has led the way in implementing fire-resistant code requirements, which include:
- A building envelope of non-combustible materials that is impenetrable to ember intrusion.
- Windows that are heat and fire-resistant and can be covered with exterior shutters.
- Landscaping that minimizes hazardous and flammable growth near the building.
- Irrigation systems to dampen area around house during a fire event.
- Decks and patios that protect the home instead of being the kindling that burns.
