WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:04.040 KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp the 2 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:10.240 House Whisper on demand on the iHeart Radio app. In 3 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:16.239 our continuing topical coverage of the southern California wildfires, we 4 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:21.079 have been discussing steps toward fire hardening your home. I 5 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:24.800 do a fire hardening show every single year, right before 6 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:27.559 quote unquote fire season, which is like, you know, nine 7 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:32.719 out of twelve months these days. But in the spirit 8 00:00:32.840 --> 00:00:35.880 of dealing with and helping you with what is happening 9 00:00:36.119 --> 00:00:40.280 right now, you know, we've pushed aside other scheduled topics 10 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:43.960 and we're covering this again for you. This is an overview. 11 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:46.399 If you want more in depth and go back into 12 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:51.799 the podcast archives and simply find the Fire Hardening Show 13 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:54.679 and you'll see a full dedication. After we're done with 14 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:58.439 fire hardening, I want to move on to what comes next, 15 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:01.759 but there are some very specific and interesting questions that 16 00:01:01.960 --> 00:01:02.799 are coming. 17 00:01:02.600 --> 00:01:08.599 Up a result of this. Let's lose our music. 18 00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:14.000 Bed there if you can, Homer, thanks. There are some 19 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:17.319 specific questions coming up this A lot of our callers 20 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:19.920 are asking these kinds of questions. In fact, I just 21 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:23.359 had some clients who live in Malibu text me an 22 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:29.680 interesting story that was posted about what about kind of 23 00:01:29.719 --> 00:01:35.439 heroic efforts to protect our homes? Everything from fire sprinklers 24 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:41.680 to external field sprinklers, to personal water reservoirs, to paying 25 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:45.359 an exorbitant amount of money to have a personal fire 26 00:01:45.480 --> 00:01:49.359 hydrant on your own property for the protection of your home? 27 00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:51.760 How effective are these? Are they? 28 00:01:51.799 --> 00:01:55.040 Good ideas? This kind of stuff I want to take. 29 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:56.840 I know I was going to talk about fire gel 30 00:01:56.920 --> 00:02:01.280 and I'm going to, but I have on the line 31 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:05.239 with me while he's available, somebody that I want to 32 00:02:05.239 --> 00:02:08.639 have this conversation with, a very very dear friend of mine. 33 00:02:09.039 --> 00:02:15.919 Also somebody who has been involved with wildfires for countless years. 34 00:02:15.919 --> 00:02:18.240 Well not countless, I mean he's not ancient, but he 35 00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:24.680 is a good friend countless years. John White, John, are 36 00:02:24.759 --> 00:02:26.039 you there, buddy? 37 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:30.280 Good morning. It was twenty eight and a half years 38 00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:32.000 and I am now retired. 39 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:35.360 Okay, all right, so we did count them, I said, countless, 40 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:39.439 but you just counted them, So that's good. John is 41 00:02:39.479 --> 00:02:42.680 a very very dear friend. He is a client, a 42 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:47.400 design client as well. But our friendship just continues as 43 00:02:47.879 --> 00:02:51.400 most of our clients do. John is one of those 44 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:55.199 guys who called me and said, hey, how you doing, 45 00:02:55.400 --> 00:02:57.520 Are you guys safe? Do you need to come out here? 46 00:02:57.639 --> 00:02:59.800 Do you need to you know what? Do you need? 47 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:02.199 I'm here for you. He's just one of those people. 48 00:03:02.280 --> 00:03:06.280 But most importantly in terms of this conversation, instead of 49 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:12.680 me doing this whole CV of yours, can you tell everybody, John, 50 00:03:12.840 --> 00:03:15.960 you know what you've been working on for the last 51 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:20.360 twenty eight years that you're now just literally recently retired from. 52 00:03:20.759 --> 00:03:24.120 Yeah, for the last twenty eight years. Since nineteen ninety six, 53 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:27.199 I've been or was a heavy equipment operator for the 54 00:03:27.240 --> 00:03:30.560 State Fire Department, which is a fancy way of saying 55 00:03:30.599 --> 00:03:34.520 that I took a bulldozer and scratched line to bear 56 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:37.960 mineral soil around vegetation fires. 57 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:39.960 And that's for CAL fire. 58 00:03:41.199 --> 00:03:42.240 That's correct, CAL fire. 59 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:48.039 So John has literally been in the thick of it 60 00:03:48.199 --> 00:03:51.039 on one of those bulldozers when it's you know, all 61 00:03:51.080 --> 00:03:54.919 hell is breaking loose literally around John. I wanted to 62 00:03:54.960 --> 00:04:00.199 talk to you about a very very specific thing. We've 63 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:06.319 got some calls, We've had questions. I've had emails about 64 00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:11.280 what about the idea of getting big fire hoses for 65 00:04:11.400 --> 00:04:14.360 my house and a personal fire hydrant for my house 66 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:18.079 and a personal reservoir for my house with a backup 67 00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:21.240 pump and a generator, and or making a deal with 68 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:26.160 the water company and tapping into lines. What about you know, 69 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:31.319 water dropping water like a water curtain off the edge 70 00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:33.839 of my home. What about fire sprinklers on the top 71 00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:37.639 of my roof or on the perimeter of my property. 72 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:40.560 The thing that concerns me the most. You know, we 73 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:43.160 can just talk about anything that comes to mind in 74 00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:46.040 those terms. But here here's my initial thought that I 75 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:49.879 want you to respond to. I'm a bit concerned about 76 00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:54.199 manually operated systems when it comes to this. I really 77 00:04:54.240 --> 00:04:57.279 don't have a problem if the water. If you have 78 00:04:57.399 --> 00:04:59.560 the money and you want to put in a ten 79 00:04:59.639 --> 00:05:03.120 thousand goll and buried water tank somewhere on your property 80 00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:07.120 and have your own dedicated pump to it that automatically 81 00:05:07.319 --> 00:05:11.319 or when you turn it on, will feed perimeter sprinklers 82 00:05:11.959 --> 00:05:15.600 that are basically kind of just moistening and dampening the 83 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:18.639 perimeter of your house. Hey, go for it. Okay, you're 84 00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:22.399 not drawing from the municipal water supply at that point, 85 00:05:22.519 --> 00:05:25.639 you're not taking away from firefighters who are in the neighborhood. 86 00:05:25.879 --> 00:05:28.920 And you turn them on and leave My concern is, 87 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:31.199 as I was just reading in this article here of 88 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:35.000 a home in Malibu where the guy's got a personal 89 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:37.920 fire hydrant, he paid an amazing amount of money to 90 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:44.560 tap into the actual water supply, and he's got firefighting clothes, 91 00:05:44.759 --> 00:05:49.480 and he plans on staying and protecting his house. I 92 00:05:49.480 --> 00:05:53.920 get concerned about that because my experience has been that 93 00:05:55.079 --> 00:05:59.240 there is no one hundred percent bullet proof defense of 94 00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:02.680 a home. And what if somebody is encouraged to stay 95 00:06:02.759 --> 00:06:05.560 home and fight a fire against their house with a 96 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:09.199 hose and they miss their window of evacuation and it's 97 00:06:09.240 --> 00:06:12.519 simply not going to happen. The hose, no matter how large, 98 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:15.199 is simply not going to protect the house. Is that realistic? 99 00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:18.959 Is that a stupid concern on my part? Or am 100 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:19.759 I making sense? 101 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:21.680 Well? 102 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:24.560 I guess first and foremost, it's a question that I 103 00:06:24.600 --> 00:06:28.399 often pose back at people, including some of our own people, 104 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:33.759 is do you have enough? And the response I usually 105 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:36.360 get from that is people look at me and say 106 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:38.839 do I have enough? What? And it's like, do you 107 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:41.120 have enough water? Do you have enough time? Do you 108 00:06:41.160 --> 00:06:47.399 have enough power? Manpower? Do you have enough equipment tapping 109 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:52.360 into say a personal fire hydrant. That's not a bad idea, 110 00:06:52.399 --> 00:06:54.680 and none of these ideas are bad ideas, but you 111 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:58.199 have to truly evaluate is it going to be effective 112 00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:04.000 cost effective when it's needed. You know, in this case, 113 00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:07.639 such as what happened or what's happened on the Palisades 114 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:13.319 fire is too many engines, too many people asking for water, 115 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:15.879 the system is not designed to handle that. It's not 116 00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:21.480 economically feasible for them to design a system like that. 117 00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:23.879 So you might spend a great deal of money for 118 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:27.480 your own personal fire hydrant, but is there going to 119 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:31.800 be water in it when the next Palisades fire happens. 120 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:35.319 Chances are no. You know, when you've got hundreds, if 121 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:39.920 not thousands of hydrants open, well probably hundreds, maybe not thousands. 122 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:44.079 When you have hundreds of hydrants open, it's going to 123 00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:45.920 the system is quickly going to run out of water. 124 00:07:46.920 --> 00:07:50.199 And if that's to be expected, like say, you can't 125 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:53.439 you can't build a system big enough to handle a 126 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:57.160 conflagration that occurred in the Palisades or the Eden Tire. 127 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:03.240 So you know, little hydrid, Yeah, you can do it. 128 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:06.800 And for the five or ten acre fire that's near 129 00:08:06.839 --> 00:08:08.800 your home, it might not be a bad idea. But 130 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:11.720 when it's a wind driven fire like the Palisades fire, 131 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:14.000 it's really not going to buy you anything. 132 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:19.519 I got you, all right, John, Can you hold that thought. 133 00:08:19.639 --> 00:08:21.959 I'm just they're tapping on my shoulder because we've got 134 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:23.360 to go to break. Can you hang on with me 135 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:24.199 for one more segment? 136 00:08:24.240 --> 00:08:24.399 Bun? 137 00:08:25.399 --> 00:08:26.040 Absolutely? 138 00:08:26.600 --> 00:08:29.319 Okay, all right, great, we're going to pick this right 139 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:32.840 up right after we get the latest news. 140 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:37.279 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from 141 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:39.559 KFI AM six forty. 142 00:08:40.440 --> 00:08:45.600 Here with you on this smoky Sunday morning, January twelfth, 143 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:49.399 twenty twenty five, as the Los Angeles Greater Los Angeles 144 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:52.960 area wildfires continue to burn, even though we are making 145 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:56.080 some progress, and let's hope that progress holds as the 146 00:08:56.080 --> 00:08:59.159 winds pick back up again. But we are talking about 147 00:08:59.159 --> 00:09:02.360 fire hardening your home and then transitioning to what comes 148 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:05.960 next and right now, because of a few questions that 149 00:09:06.039 --> 00:09:08.440 I get a lot and and a lot that have 150 00:09:08.519 --> 00:09:11.559 just streamed in this morning regarding what I would call 151 00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:15.320 kind of extreme measures when it comes to getting a 152 00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:21.120 home ready or preparing for a possible wildfire incursion on 153 00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:23.960 your home, I've got on the line a very dear 154 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:27.480 friend of mine, and they just recently retired from Cowfire 155 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:30.159 Commander John White, John, you're still with me, bud. 156 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:34.600 Yes, I am. It's heavy fire equipment operator, not commander. 157 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:37.799 Oh well, okay, fine, that's fine. 158 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:43.679 Heavy people go ahead. I appreciate that. I totally appreciate that. 159 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:50.919 My bad, my bad John literally is one of the guys, 160 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:54.480 or was one of the guys on those bulldozers that 161 00:09:54.559 --> 00:10:00.759 you see being drawn into fire areas during wildfires. And specifically, 162 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:04.519 I mean to kind of oversimplify the process, you know, 163 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:08.960 clearing areas of ground down to bare soil, so that 164 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:14.960 there is so these creating these swaths of non ignitable 165 00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:18.399 areas in order to create lines to stop the fire, 166 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:21.200 to hold the fire, defensible zones and so on and 167 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:23.559 so forth. I thought John would be a great person, 168 00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:26.759 and he was because I love how you said in 169 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:29.279 response to my question about what about all of these 170 00:10:29.320 --> 00:10:33.039 extreme measures, and your response was basically, well that you 171 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:35.919 normally ask people are you going to have enough? And 172 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:38.440 the question of enough, do you have enough manpower? Do 173 00:10:38.519 --> 00:10:39.480 you have enough water? 174 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:41.279 Do you you know? And will you have it? On 175 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:41.759 the day? 176 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:44.919 And I think where right where I had to cut 177 00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:46.639 you off as we were going to break. But we're 178 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:51.120 back now to address it. You had said that that, okay, 179 00:10:51.159 --> 00:10:54.960 your own personal fire hydrant, if there's a multi acre 180 00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:59.679 fire nearby, maybe that's a great idea. But in a 181 00:11:00.039 --> 00:11:03.519 you know, a perfect storm condition like the Palisades fire, 182 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:07.720 who knows whether there's even going to be pressure in 183 00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:11.480 that system, because you know Palisades. That was one of 184 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:14.399 the issues is that there were such draw such demand 185 00:11:14.440 --> 00:11:18.519 from so many companies fighting so many facets of the fire. 186 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:21.799 Plus in addition, the house is being burned, pipes breaking 187 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:26.759 open and losing water in that direction, that pressure was low, 188 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:30.320 and pressure was an issue. And so it's a question 189 00:11:30.360 --> 00:11:32.039 of is it a bad idea. No, I guess it's 190 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:34.240 not a bad idea. Is it going to pay off 191 00:11:34.279 --> 00:11:41.080 for you? If it's a perfect storm scenario, that's that's debatable. Now, 192 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:46.440 if you have your own personal reservoir and a pump 193 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:49.559 driven by your own generator system and you're not relying 194 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:55.360 on the municipal water pressure supply, maybe that's a better scenario. 195 00:11:55.960 --> 00:12:00.039 That's also a much more expensive scenario. And again the 196 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:03.240 question for me comes down to, all, right, let's say 197 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:08.240 somebody has that system. John shouldn't that be ideally kind 198 00:12:08.279 --> 00:12:11.039 of an automated system where you set it and walk 199 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:14.759 as opposed to And I'm responding to some clients of 200 00:12:14.759 --> 00:12:17.159 ours who sent us an article about a home in 201 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:21.159 Malibu homeowner in Malibu who's literally he has taken a 202 00:12:21.159 --> 00:12:24.080 little bit of fire training apparently, and he's got a 203 00:12:24.159 --> 00:12:27.960 full on, you know, fire department fire suit, and he's 204 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:31.679 planning on staying put the next time flames are approaching 205 00:12:31.720 --> 00:12:35.480 his house. And I wonder if you know, when you've 206 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:41.279 got multiple individuals with all of the equipment necessary who 207 00:12:41.320 --> 00:12:45.960 are super trained, I mean career trained individuals to fight fires, 208 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:51.919 attacking fire lines, and there's an evacuation order for your neighborhood, 209 00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:58.200 is it smart or stupid to stay home as the 210 00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:01.840 loan firefighter of your home when you're not even a 211 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:07.080 firefighter missed the evacuation window and expect that the system 212 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:09.200 that you've paid so much money for is somehow going 213 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:11.240 to save your house. 214 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:15.919 Well, it's certainly a can of worms. First and foremost. 215 00:13:15.960 --> 00:13:18.200 I would be remiss if I didn't suggest to everybody 216 00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:23.039 that the first line of defense is defensible space, a 217 00:13:23.159 --> 00:13:28.000 hundred foot clearing around your structure of highly flammable material 218 00:13:28.360 --> 00:13:31.360 is going to be the first line of defense that 219 00:13:31.639 --> 00:13:37.759 has the best opportunity to save your structure. Secondly, I 220 00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:40.480 would only go as far as to point out what 221 00:13:40.679 --> 00:13:45.240 happened during the Esperanza fire in the Banning Pass when 222 00:13:45.559 --> 00:13:50.440 a full crew of professional trained for service firefighters lost 223 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:53.759 their lives because they were trying to stay and defend 224 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:59.480 a structure. If it can happen to professional trained, highly 225 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:04.679 trained firefighters, you can only imagine that somebody that's taking 226 00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:07.840 a couple online courses is not going to be prepared 227 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:10.559 to handle it. The other thing is, again it goes 228 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:14.039 back to do you have enough of anything? And do 229 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:17.320 you have enough time? Having your own ten thousand gallons 230 00:14:17.320 --> 00:14:22.559 of water tank and a sprinkler system or any sort 231 00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:27.080 of system to utilize that is not a bad idea. Again, though, 232 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:29.679 timing is going to be everything, because you're going to 233 00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:32.440 have to sit down and figure out how many gallons 234 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:37.600 per minute your system is using and how long that 235 00:14:37.639 --> 00:14:40.799 ten thousand gallons would last, and then time it perfectly 236 00:14:40.919 --> 00:14:46.879 so that the flame front reaches your house just before, 237 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:51.679 or excuse me, just after your fire suppression system kicks in. 238 00:14:52.039 --> 00:14:56.320 Because if you start your system at eight o'clock and 239 00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:00.639 it's only good for one hundred and ten minutes, and 240 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:04.799 the fire doesn't reach you until ten o'clock, chances are 241 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:08.759 you've wasted your ten thousand gallons of water. So there's 242 00:15:08.799 --> 00:15:12.679 there's so many variables. It's it's really not a good practice, 243 00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:17.000 especially in the conflagration like the Paradise Fire, to to 244 00:15:17.080 --> 00:15:20.639 try to stay behind and save your house. And unless 245 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:24.600 you really feel confident in your skills and your timing, 246 00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:31.080 it's it's a very risky thing to do. And at 247 00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:33.480 the end of the day, all these things are just stuff. 248 00:15:34.120 --> 00:15:36.720 They're you know, yes, there they are lifetimes and memories 249 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:38.960 and I get that, and I can't tell you how 250 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:42.559 many times I've seen lifetimes of memories burnt to the ground. 251 00:15:43.320 --> 00:15:46.840 But at the end of the day, you're alive to 252 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:49.000 realize that it's just stuff. 253 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:56.279 M I love how you put that, not that not 254 00:15:56.960 --> 00:15:59.159 just that it's just stuff. But at the end of 255 00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:03.159 the day, if you are alive to suffer the loss 256 00:16:03.559 --> 00:16:06.840 of your stuff, you're ahead of the game. It is 257 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:10.799 better to be alive to have and feel the loss 258 00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:15.159 of your stuff than to not be alive by the 259 00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:18.120 time the fire is done. And I think your message 260 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:21.360 to everybody on as they start to play. The most 261 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:25.440 valuable thing your perspective has given us this morning, John 262 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:29.559 by Far, is these these ideas of like do you 263 00:16:29.720 --> 00:16:34.159 have enough? Do you have enough time? How much water 264 00:16:34.279 --> 00:16:36.759 do you have on hand? When do you start your system? 265 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:42.200 Because undoubtedly, undoubtedly, unless you're you've got enough water to run, 266 00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:46.600 let's say your automated sprinkler system for you know, twenty 267 00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:50.440 four hours plus, undoubtedly an evacuation order is coming, and 268 00:16:50.840 --> 00:16:54.240 ideally you're getting out of there hopefully, you know, not 269 00:16:54.519 --> 00:16:58.080 just ten minutes before the fire arrives. Hopefully you're getting 270 00:16:58.120 --> 00:17:01.440 out of there well before the potential of the fire 271 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:04.680 arriving at your home. And like you said, ten thousand 272 00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:07.599 gallons sounds great, but if it's all used up, you know, 273 00:17:08.279 --> 00:17:13.000 two hours before the fire arrives, then then the system 274 00:17:13.480 --> 00:17:16.880 has done nothing in terms of helping you out. John, 275 00:17:16.920 --> 00:17:18.559 I'm not going to keep you any longer, my friend. 276 00:17:19.160 --> 00:17:22.839 I absolutely appreciate and love your perspective on this. It 277 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:26.119 has helped a lot of people just kind of ground 278 00:17:26.119 --> 00:17:29.559 themselves insanity when it comes to this, because these are 279 00:17:29.880 --> 00:17:34.000 terrifying experiences, but they're not the kind of thing that 280 00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:39.319 we and they tempt us to go to extremes, but 281 00:17:39.960 --> 00:17:42.759 extremes are what they are, and when we find ourselves 282 00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:47.400 literally standing in the extreme, it's an entirely different experience 283 00:17:47.480 --> 00:17:51.759 than just thinking and planning for it. And John, I 284 00:17:51.799 --> 00:17:55.200 appreciate you, appreciate all you've done and all you continue 285 00:17:55.240 --> 00:17:57.400 to do, and thanks for being with me on the show. 286 00:17:58.359 --> 00:18:01.079 Give me a call any time, all right, but we'll. 287 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:04.680 Talk soon, all right. When we return. 288 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:07.680 I will talk to you about something you can do 289 00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:13.279 that is proven to be effective in many, many instances. 290 00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:17.359 Is it a silver bullet, No, but proven statistically to 291 00:18:17.400 --> 00:18:20.559 be effective before you evacuate, Something that if you have 292 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:24.640 it on hand, you will likely have time to deploy 293 00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:27.920 before you leave and it could make a big difference. 294 00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:32.400 And that is some form of fire gel for your home. 295 00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:34.359 We'll talk about that right after. 296 00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:38.599 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from 297 00:18:38.680 --> 00:18:40.119 KFI AM six forty. 298 00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:44.799 You are Home with Dean Sharp, the house Whisper. Thanks 299 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:47.160 for joining us on the program today. I hope you 300 00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:51.400 are safe and sound wherever you are listening to my 301 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:55.359 voice this morning, especially if you are here in southern 302 00:18:55.440 --> 00:19:01.920 California and dealing with or anywhere near or ongoing wildfires 303 00:19:02.200 --> 00:19:05.160 that are continuing to burn. It looks like we're making 304 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:08.400 some progress on them, some significant progress on all of 305 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:12.400 the firefronts, but it's not over, and with the winds 306 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:15.599 kicking back up, there is still plenty of concern out 307 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:19.680 there and plenty of devastation left in the path. We're 308 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:23.160 going to be talking about how we restart after an 309 00:19:23.160 --> 00:19:26.400 event like this, any natural disaster, but it's specifically in 310 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:29.920 our case, these fires. But right now I want to 311 00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:34.440 finish talking about just a brief overview of fire hardening 312 00:19:34.519 --> 00:19:36.599 your home, and then we're gonna see if we can 313 00:19:36.599 --> 00:19:42.279 take some calls to review amber proof vents for your 314 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:45.240 attic or if you've got to remodel in your future, 315 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:49.599 consider remodeling your attic into a conditioned attic space where 316 00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:52.759 no vents are required. If it is a last minute 317 00:19:52.839 --> 00:19:57.799 thing and you are facing evacuation or evacuation warnings for 318 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:02.039 your area and you don't have proof vents obviously you 319 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:06.880 can't get them now, then consider simply taping off your vents, 320 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:09.200 the vents that you can reach. Anything you can get 321 00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:14.279 too safely tape off those vents, duct tape masking tape 322 00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:16.400 whatever the case may be. You're like, that stuff's not 323 00:20:16.440 --> 00:20:18.480 going to hold up to a fire once it's burning 324 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:19.480 at the base of my wall. 325 00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:20.079 No it's not. 326 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:24.519 But I'm not talking about the fire arriving at your house. 327 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:28.200 I'm talking about stopping tiny little embers from entering into 328 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:31.720 your attic. So if all else fails before an evacuation, 329 00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:33.839 tape off those vents. It's not going to hurt anything 330 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:36.640 inside the house for a couple three days to have 331 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:40.319 the attic vents taped up. Okay, tape off the vents 332 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:44.599 for your house before you leave. Fire Rated windows obviously 333 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:48.480 it's code under new construction and major remodels, but also 334 00:20:48.759 --> 00:20:52.640 voluntarily you can change those out for your home. If 335 00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:56.880 that's not in your budget, then fire rated window film 336 00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:59.200 that will hold the glass in place even if it 337 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:02.480 shatters because of the heat of the flame. We talked 338 00:21:02.519 --> 00:21:06.759 about defensible space with my guest and good buddy John 339 00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:12.319 White from cow Fire. Defensible space, no question, the best 340 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:15.799 deterrent that you can use for the fire line actually 341 00:21:15.799 --> 00:21:18.759 approaching your home, and that is one hundred feet away 342 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:22.519 from your house. Clear out and eliminate as much flammable 343 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:27.440 stuff as possible and especially right before you leave. Get 344 00:21:27.559 --> 00:21:30.759 junk away from your house, Get stuff away from leaning 345 00:21:30.839 --> 00:21:34.839 up against the walls, stuff that is that is tucked 346 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:37.759 up underneath your eaves, get it away, Get it as 347 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:42.039 far away from the house as possible. And with John White, 348 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:44.680 as you heard over the last couple of seconds, I 349 00:21:44.799 --> 00:21:48.839 was talking about more extreme measures. Okay, Now, one thing 350 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:51.720 I should say when I say fire sprinklers in this situation, 351 00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:55.880 I'm not talking about in house fire sprinklers. Those are always, always, 352 00:21:56.160 --> 00:22:00.839 always a great idea, okay, in home fire suppress systems. 353 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:04.319 They are not that expensive to retrofit into a home 354 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:06.960 if it is a concern of yours, and it would 355 00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:12.079 be wise to include those in any remodel budget, major remodels, 356 00:22:12.119 --> 00:22:16.200 especially new construction. They are required throughout the state of 357 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:18.720 California now, no matter what the size of your house is, 358 00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:25.720 and statistically they save lives almost always and save property usually. Okay, 359 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:29.039 But the fire sprinklers that I was talking about are 360 00:22:29.079 --> 00:22:34.759 ideas about field sprinklers, private personal hydrants, reservoirs, and so on. 361 00:22:35.079 --> 00:22:37.480 And you heard John tell us that at the end 362 00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:40.200 of the day, it's a question of how effective and 363 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:42.160 how efficient those things are going to be and the 364 00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:44.880 timing of it. Do you have the time, do you 365 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:48.359 have the resources, will you have the water pressure? And 366 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:50.799 at the end of the day. The point is this, 367 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:55.160 if an evacuation order comes for your home, evacuate. Don't 368 00:22:55.319 --> 00:22:58.680 be foolish and stay home and pretend to be a 369 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:01.519 trained fire fighter with a garden hose. 370 00:23:01.880 --> 00:23:03.160 Do not do that. 371 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:07.119 Get out and move on because it is as John 372 00:23:07.160 --> 00:23:10.160 put it so well, it's just stuff. Better to survive 373 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:13.400 and feel the loss than for you not to survive 374 00:23:13.480 --> 00:23:18.480 the fire and be the loss. So that is the 375 00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:22.079 fire hardening of your home. In a nutshell, the overall list, 376 00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:24.519 I'm going to add one thing to it, and this 377 00:23:24.599 --> 00:23:28.640 isn't really fire hardening. Well, I back up, I'm getting 378 00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:31.440 ahead of myself. I promised before the break that the 379 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:34.559 last item on the list. Forgive me for getting ahead 380 00:23:34.559 --> 00:23:38.839 of myself. Here something that has been proven effective in many, 381 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:43.599 many circumstances, many instances. Fire gel. Now you've heard Dean 382 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:46.920 say fire gel. What is this suff fire gel stuff? 383 00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:50.319 Fire gel is very simply this. It is a gelatinous 384 00:23:50.359 --> 00:23:55.599 substance that kind of gets foamy up. It comes in 385 00:23:56.400 --> 00:24:01.000 you know, one gallon and five gallon the canisters, it 386 00:24:01.079 --> 00:24:04.640 can hook onto a garden hose, much like like your 387 00:24:04.680 --> 00:24:08.640 Miracle Grow fertilizer hooks onto your garden hose when you 388 00:24:08.680 --> 00:24:11.279 spray it across your shrubs to fertilize them, you know, 389 00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:14.519 So you run water through your hose, it mixes with 390 00:24:14.599 --> 00:24:17.319 the gel and then becomes a sprayer and a distribution 391 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:22.079 nozzle for the gel. The fire gel is a fire 392 00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:26.279 retardant gel and it clings to surfaces. Now again, is 393 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:29.759 this a silver bullet that's going to absolutely save your house? No, 394 00:24:30.119 --> 00:24:35.319 there is no such thing. But could this potentially help? Absolutely? 395 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:38.160 And statistically it has proven to do so. And the 396 00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:43.000 reason I like it is because number One, you can 397 00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:45.759 store this stuff indefinitely. It's not a risk to you. 398 00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:50.160 It's literally the very definition of non flammable. You can 399 00:24:50.200 --> 00:24:54.000 store it long term. Number Two, you can disperse it 400 00:24:54.119 --> 00:24:58.559 very quickly. So if you're in a an evacuation warning area, 401 00:24:58.759 --> 00:25:02.000