WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.720 --> 00:00:04.040 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from 2 00:00:04.120 --> 00:00:05.960 KFI AM six forty. 3 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:12.960 Am six forty live streaming in eighth D everywhere on 4 00:00:13.039 --> 00:00:17.559 the iHeartRadio app. Dean Sharp the house Whisper live with 5 00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:22.320 you this smoky Saturday morning here in Southern California, live 6 00:00:22.359 --> 00:00:26.120 every Saturday and Sunday morning. Follow us on social media. 7 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:30.120 We only do the good kind, I promise, the uplifting, informative, 8 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:35.119 inspiring kind of social media. We're on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook x, 9 00:00:35.640 --> 00:00:39.079 Home with Dean, same handle for all of them. While 10 00:00:39.079 --> 00:00:42.960 you're there, follow us, look at a few videos, share 11 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:46.039 some around with your friends. And of course this very 12 00:00:46.119 --> 00:00:50.079 program also the house Whisper podcast that you can listen 13 00:00:50.119 --> 00:00:56.159 to anytime, anywhere on demand, hundreds of episodes, all searchable 14 00:00:56.200 --> 00:01:00.520 by topic. It is your home improvement reference live library. 15 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:04.040 And if your home is in need of a more 16 00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:08.359 personal house Whisper attention you. Yes, you can book an 17 00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:12.719 in home design consult with me. Yes, me and the 18 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:13.400 tea here. 19 00:01:13.879 --> 00:01:14.120 Uh. 20 00:01:14.359 --> 00:01:18.239 Just go to house Whisper dot Design for more information. 21 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:21.159 You can fill out our contact sheet there house Whisper 22 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:25.040 dot Design for an in home design consult for your 23 00:01:25.040 --> 00:01:28.760 home all right, we are, yes, continuing our coverage here 24 00:01:28.760 --> 00:01:33.359 at KFI of the California wildfires here in a Los 25 00:01:33.400 --> 00:01:38.439 Angeles area. We're taking a particular perspective. I want to 26 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:42.719 talk to you about where we go from here? Where 27 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:46.760 do we go from here? So let me ask this 28 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:51.200 question or pose this thought as it were. Let me 29 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:55.239 pull up my note here. If you've lost your home 30 00:01:55.959 --> 00:02:00.760 or business in these wildfires, what are the steps? Where 31 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:04.640 do you go? Okay? Well, obviously, as I said before 32 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:11.080 the break, the immediate concerns have to be addressed. You've 33 00:02:11.080 --> 00:02:14.000 got to get out, you've got to get safe, you've 34 00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:18.759 got to get to yourself temporary relocated. You need to 35 00:02:18.759 --> 00:02:22.919 get fed, you need medical attention if necessary, and you 36 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:26.719 need to breathe and take a breath. And that's happening 37 00:02:26.759 --> 00:02:31.120 all over the area right now. And that's what these 38 00:02:31.199 --> 00:02:35.479 volunteer organizations and outposts, it's what the Red Cross, it's 39 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:38.800 what FEMA is here to help with. In the short term. 40 00:02:39.400 --> 00:02:42.719 You need to be on the FEMA list. You need 41 00:02:42.759 --> 00:02:45.800 to contact FEMA and make sure that they're aware of 42 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:49.439 you and your property, especially if it has been destroyed, 43 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:54.280 so know that you're a part of that and get 44 00:02:54.319 --> 00:02:58.120 on that list next and they'll offer you some invaluable 45 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:03.319 advice as well. Next step got to call your insurance company. Now, 46 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:06.520 it doesn't have to be a long drawn out process 47 00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:10.280 right now, it's going to be. It is going to be. Unfortunately. 48 00:03:10.719 --> 00:03:14.159 We'll talk more on that, but for now, you need 49 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:17.840 to call your insurance company and you need to file 50 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:23.120 a claim. And that process is it's like I said, 51 00:03:23.159 --> 00:03:24.520 it's going to be long and drawn out. But what 52 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:28.159 if I need relieve right now, Dean? What can I expect? Well, 53 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:32.360 here's the thing. If your house is has been completely 54 00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:37.360 destroyed or radically affected by this, and what's the difference. Well, 55 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:40.520 you know you've heard some stories of people are like, 56 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:45.159 I can't believe my house survived. You know, it's the 57 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:48.719 only house standing in a two block radius, but my 58 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:51.840 house was, for whatever reason, untouched. There are some of 59 00:03:51.879 --> 00:03:57.120 those stories dotted across you know, the great swath that 60 00:03:57.159 --> 00:04:01.159 the fire has taken, or these fires have taken. But 61 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:05.319 that doesn't put them in an optimal situation either. If 62 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:08.439 the entire neighborhood is burned down around you, you shouldn't 63 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:11.400 be in that house. You're going to be surrounded by 64 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:16.639 toxic ash. And debris from not just you know, wildfire 65 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:22.079 burning is one thing. Homes burning with chemicals and being 66 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:26.199 released and now being exposed to the atmosphere around you. 67 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:30.240 Just because your house has been skipped by a fire 68 00:04:30.519 --> 00:04:34.720 does not mean that house should be inhabited in most cases, 69 00:04:35.079 --> 00:04:38.279 Also the local utilities, the infrastructure. 70 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:40.439 Is there even water coming to the property? 71 00:04:40.879 --> 00:04:45.120 Is that water pottible at this point or does it 72 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:47.879 need to be boiled or is there just a no 73 00:04:48.120 --> 00:04:51.920 boiled to just get out until we resolve it. As situations, 74 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:55.920 so just because a property survives and the other outlook 75 00:04:55.959 --> 00:04:58.839 on that, by the way, is that okay? So your 76 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:04.560 house is still standing, smoke damage in that house, no doubt, 77 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:08.480 when every other house around you has burnt down. Also, 78 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:12.759 in the months to come, you're going to be in 79 00:05:12.759 --> 00:05:15.079 a very lonely place. You're going to be surrounded by 80 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:19.120 a massive cleanup activity, and then you'll be surround you'll 81 00:05:19.160 --> 00:05:22.879 find yourself in the middle of a massive reconstruction. So 82 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:25.839 the peace and quiet of your days is going to 83 00:05:25.879 --> 00:05:28.759 be replaced with the rebuilding around you, if in fact, 84 00:05:28.839 --> 00:05:33.720 there is rebuilding around you. So there are concerns across 85 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:36.399 the board. That is the lesson to take away whether 86 00:05:36.439 --> 00:05:39.519 a house is standing or whether a house has been destroyed. 87 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:45.240 If your house, though, has been completely destroyed in the 88 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:48.959 event that resulted in a state of emergency being declared 89 00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:53.439 in California, which these fires obviously have been, then your 90 00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:57.920 insurance company here me Now, your insurance company is required 91 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:02.720 to immediately pay you a minimum of one third of 92 00:06:02.759 --> 00:06:06.680 the estimated value of your personal belongings known as contents, 93 00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:10.480 and a minimum of four months worth of rent for 94 00:06:10.519 --> 00:06:13.399 the local area in which you live. This is the 95 00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:19.480 most important immediate first step part of relief for you now, 96 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:22.480 since you are out of your home, and if your 97 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:27.000 home no longer is okay, the reason to file a 98 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:32.160 claim immediately is to take advantage of those factors so 99 00:06:32.199 --> 00:06:37.600 that you can get yourself first priority, settled and relocated, 100 00:06:38.040 --> 00:06:41.839 because I guarantee you there will even if the plan 101 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:46.040 is to rebuild, there will be no getting back to 102 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:51.800 that property for months and months ahead. Okay, that is 103 00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:55.199 just simply the harsh reality of that. And so first 104 00:06:55.199 --> 00:07:00.000 priority finding a place to settle in, to relocate, to breathe, 105 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:03.360 to rest, and then to take further steps. And we'll 106 00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:06.480 talk about those further steps right on the other side. 107 00:07:06.680 --> 00:07:10.040 KFI in charp the house whisper at your service. 108 00:07:10.120 --> 00:07:11.720 Good Saturday morning to you. 109 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:15.680 I hope it is a better Saturday morning for you 110 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:19.800 than for many who have been affected by these fires 111 00:07:19.879 --> 00:07:23.000 in the greater Los Angeles area. Here we are here 112 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:26.560 covering that, of course, with the KFI twenty four hour 113 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:31.120 news room, Ailing Gonzalez is on hand, taking the tip 114 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:34.279 of the spear and reporting all of the updates as 115 00:07:34.360 --> 00:07:38.399 we go, So for more information, stay tuned. We're the 116 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:40.600 place to be, We're the place to listen to it. 117 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:44.319 What am I doing on the show today, specifically in 118 00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:48.120 regards to these fires today and tomorrow, I'm trying to 119 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:53.079 address some of the larger questions, none of the politics, 120 00:07:53.160 --> 00:07:56.920 none of the criticisms. I'm talking about you and your home, 121 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:00.879 and for those of you who have not fortunately been 122 00:08:00.920 --> 00:08:05.160 affected by these fires, we will be discussing again how 123 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:07.959 to fire harden your home, what are the best short 124 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:11.639 term and long term things to do. But I'm also 125 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:16.079 speaking to those who have been affected by a natural disaster, 126 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:21.639 and if you're listening to us nationwide, these principles apply 127 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:27.120 regardless of the nature of the natural disaster, but specifically 128 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:31.000 here in southern California. The fires that affect have affected 129 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:36.320 very much the last week and are going to affect 130 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:41.000 many many lives for months and years to come as 131 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:43.519 a result. Now, I was just saying this, and I 132 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:45.080 want to finish this thought and then we're going to 133 00:08:45.159 --> 00:08:47.600 go to the phones because we've got some calls that 134 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:52.440 I want to take related to the fire. I had 135 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:57.120 mentioned to you that after you're safe, after you're out 136 00:08:57.159 --> 00:09:01.879 of the zone, after health, immediate can concerns are taken 137 00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:05.399 care of, you know, food, shelter and clothing, that kind 138 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:09.120 of stuff. Getting resettled is going to be really, really 139 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:12.720 key because it's a long road ahead to rebuild. If 140 00:09:12.759 --> 00:09:15.399 your house I'm going to repeat this has been completely 141 00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:20.279 destroyed in an event that is a State of California 142 00:09:20.360 --> 00:09:25.799 emergency declaration event like this one is, then your insurance 143 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:29.360 company is required to immediately pay you a minimum of 144 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:33.000 a third of the estimated value of your personal belongings 145 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:35.919 also known as your contents, and a minimum of four 146 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:38.960 months worth of rent for the local area in which 147 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:45.440 you live. And yeah, those payments are required of the 148 00:09:45.480 --> 00:09:50.559 insurance company whether an adjuster has inspected the home or not. 149 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:54.720 And so don't be sitting there thinking in ignorance. Well, okay, 150 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:57.200 that's great, but what do I do now, because no 151 00:09:57.240 --> 00:10:01.480 one's allowed in the neighborhood where house burned out, So 152 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:04.360 an insurance adjuster can't get in there and inspect it 153 00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:06.919 and start my claim. No, no, you start your claim 154 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:10.360 with the insurance company, and if your home has been 155 00:10:10.360 --> 00:10:14.600 destroyed in this event, then you are entitled to that 156 00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:18.840 whether or not an adjuster has inspected your home at 157 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:21.600 the moment. You can also ask your insurance provider for 158 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:26.720 cash advances for living expenses such as renting furniture, and 159 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:29.399 if you didn't know, there are companies that can come 160 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:33.039 to your temporary home furnish it right down to the 161 00:10:33.080 --> 00:10:40.519 towels and sheets and kitchen utensils if necessary. There is 162 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:44.440 next steps, but our next step right now is to 163 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:46.840 see if we can take a couple of calls. I 164 00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:51.639 want to talk to Jeannette. Hey, Jeannette, welcome home. 165 00:10:54.600 --> 00:10:55.039 Hi Dean. 166 00:10:55.799 --> 00:10:59.039 I live in the foothills in North Fantana. Santa Anna's 167 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:01.159 beautiful hill. But now I look at it and I 168 00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:03.919 see fuel. A month or so ago, you were talking 169 00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:08.960 about fire windows. I'm wondering if you can give a 170 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:11.720 list or put on your on your website a list 171 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:15.519 of reputable companies that I can get estimates from because 172 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:17.879 they are expensive, but I'm looking at it as an 173 00:11:17.879 --> 00:11:20.320 investment to protect the house. 174 00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:25.159 Okay, So let me respond to that, and I'm not 175 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:28.240 I won't publish a list. And the reason is Jeannette, 176 00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:34.360 because every major window manufacturer makes fire windows. But let 177 00:11:34.360 --> 00:11:39.320 me explain what this is, okay, A fire rated window. Okay, 178 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:41.120 So when you say, when you come to a window 179 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:44.159 manufacturer and say I need fire windows because I live 180 00:11:44.200 --> 00:11:48.480 in a wildlife urban interface and I'm you know, required 181 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:50.519 or I'm volunteering to do this for my home. 182 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:52.000 So what this is. 183 00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:55.600 Essentially, the difference between a fire rated window and a 184 00:11:55.799 --> 00:11:58.279 standard window is the glass. 185 00:11:58.559 --> 00:11:58.960 Okay. 186 00:11:59.639 --> 00:12:04.200 The lass is a tempered glass in a fire rated 187 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:09.000 window versus standard annealed glass. It's not about the frame, 188 00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:11.960 it's not about the sashes, it's not about it's not 189 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:16.360 about anything else. It is about the glass. A large 190 00:12:16.919 --> 00:12:21.279 proportion of property damage that occurs in a house, as 191 00:12:21.320 --> 00:12:24.960 far as the way a fire enters a home, the 192 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:29.120 primary the two primary methods by which a fire enters 193 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:32.399 a home are embers. As we've talked about exhaustively, and 194 00:12:32.440 --> 00:12:36.360 will continue to here on the program. Embers getting into 195 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:41.799 attics through vents and so on. But window openings, the 196 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:46.120 penetrations in our home, the holes in our walls, essentially 197 00:12:47.080 --> 00:12:50.360 is the next primary way that a fire enters. Now 198 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:53.519 that's not embers. What that is is when the fire 199 00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:58.120 line itself, when the fire actually reaches the the you know, 200 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:01.679 the the foot of our walls. Here is what happens. 201 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:05.840 Annealed glass. And I won't get into the process by 202 00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:10.679 which glass is made, but annealed glass is standard window glass. 203 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:15.799 It's great, it's super and it does what it's supposed 204 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:20.799 to do. But annealed glass is manufactured at a relatively 205 00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:26.240 in terms of glass low temperature. And as a result, 206 00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:29.840 what happens is if you were to take annealed glass 207 00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:35.679 and warm it up uniformly from all sides, then annealed 208 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:39.879 glass can actually put up with a tremendous amount of heat. Okay, 209 00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:44.120 but that's not what happens. The fire licks up against 210 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:48.080 your house and suddenly the temperatures on the outside of 211 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:52.159 that pane of glass are over one thousand degrees and 212 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:55.240 the temperature on the inside of that pane of glass 213 00:13:55.480 --> 00:14:00.840 is you know, a cool seventy two degrees inside conditioned home. 214 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:05.799 It is that differential which causes that pane of glass 215 00:14:05.879 --> 00:14:10.240 to expand unevenly on the outside and not expand on 216 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:14.519 the inside surface and therefore shatter and crack. Once that 217 00:14:15.080 --> 00:14:18.720 cracks and shatters, then all of a sudden, the flames 218 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:22.480 have an open doorway to actually enter the home. So 219 00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:27.879 fire rated windows are standard windows. They look no different 220 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:31.720 than any other window or door in the house. Nobody 221 00:14:31.720 --> 00:14:33.440 has to worry about, well, how is that going to 222 00:14:33.480 --> 00:14:35.799 mess up the look of my house? There is no difference. 223 00:14:36.120 --> 00:14:39.519 It is an additional expense. And the additional expense is 224 00:14:39.559 --> 00:14:44.080 that the glass in a fire rated window is tempered glass. 225 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:51.360 Tempered glass has been heated and manufactured at thousands a 226 00:14:51.480 --> 00:14:55.720 plural of degree, you know, about five thousand degrees. Tempered 227 00:14:55.759 --> 00:15:00.799 glass can handle the temperature differential between the coolness of 228 00:15:00.840 --> 00:15:03.919 the inside of your home and the extreme heat from 229 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:06.519 fire on the outside of your home and will not 230 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:11.519 shatter and therefore will not open a doorway into or 231 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:14.399 you know, literally a window into your home. 232 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:18.000 If you have a sliding glass door, a sliding glass. 233 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:23.480 Door is tempered glass by code because every fenestration, every 234 00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:28.639 window that dips lower that has glass below in California. 235 00:15:29.159 --> 00:15:32.440 Actually this is I believe the National Building goes. Any 236 00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:38.440 glass that comes closer to the floor than eighteen inches 237 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:43.000 okay below eighteen inches or the floor has to be 238 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:45.559 whether no matter what fire zone you live, and has 239 00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:48.879 to be tempered because now it's in it's not fire 240 00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:51.120 that we're worried about, but it's in the kickzone, right, 241 00:15:51.159 --> 00:15:54.399 it's in a place where somebody can go through it. 242 00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:57.600 So it has to be super strong tempered glass. So 243 00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:01.360 fire windows, Jeanette, it's such a good question. I'm so 244 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:05.399 glad you asked it. Fire windows are windows with tempered glass, 245 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:10.879 not the anneal glass. That's the additional expense. Every major manufacturer, 246 00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:15.200 you know, Anderson, Marvin mill Guard, I mean, just Pella. 247 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:18.919 You just go down the list, every major manufacturer of windows, 248 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:24.559 of reputable, high quality windows will make you a tempered 249 00:16:24.559 --> 00:16:27.080 glass version of the window that you need, and that 250 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:30.399 is by definition, a fire rated window. 251 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:34.080 Okay. So I'll just look at the ones that I'm 252 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:37.399 comfortable with, you know, national name brands, and come and 253 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:39.639 have them, come give me estimates and choose some of them, 254 00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:43.759 and then I'll be fine. Exactly exactly, Okay, awesome, Thank 255 00:16:43.799 --> 00:16:46.320 you so much. Thank you, thank you listen to you 256 00:16:46.360 --> 00:16:47.720 every week. Thank you so much. 257 00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:50.440 Oh, thank you so much, Jeanette for your support and 258 00:16:50.759 --> 00:16:53.879 thanks for that great question. You just helped a lot 259 00:16:54.039 --> 00:16:57.159 a lot of people understand what they need to do 260 00:16:57.320 --> 00:16:59.919 in order to help fire harden their homes. All right, 261 00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:03.759 more when we return your Home with Dean Sharp, the 262 00:17:03.799 --> 00:17:08.680 House Whisper on a very fire smoky weekend here in 263 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:10.720 southern California. 264 00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:14.400 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from 265 00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:16.319 KFI AM six forty. 266 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:22.839 CAMFI AM six forty live streaming, and HD everywhere on 267 00:17:22.880 --> 00:17:26.200 the iHeart Radio app. You are Home with Dean Sharp, 268 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:31.559 the House Whisper. We are continuing kfi's coverage of these 269 00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:36.000 fires this morning. Specifically, I am talking to you about 270 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:41.480 things related to you, your home, your displacement if your 271 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:46.240 home was destroyed or radically affected by the fires. Of course, 272 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:50.960 from my expert perspective in terms of home design and 273 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:55.200 home building and the entire process. Tomorrow's show, I Will 274 00:17:55.279 --> 00:17:58.480 let you know, will be very very much focused on 275 00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:02.720 again reviewing what it takes to fire hard and a home, 276 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:07.759 but also what are these next steps in terms of 277 00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:13.240 insurance claims? And the rebuilding process. When an entire neighborhood 278 00:18:13.559 --> 00:18:16.920 and a regional infrastructure has been affected, you're not going 279 00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:19.599 to want to miss that. And of course we will 280 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:22.519 be giving you ongoing live updates as we do with 281 00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:25.000 Eileen Gonzalez at the tip of the spear here in 282 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:28.680 the twenty four hour newsroom here at KFI. I want 283 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:31.200 to take at least another call if we can. I 284 00:18:31.240 --> 00:18:33.039 don't have a lot of time. I've been playing a 285 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:37.200 little fast and loose with our segment times here just 286 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:39.799 in order to get all the information you need to you. 287 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:45.680 But let's talk to Richard. Hey, Richard, welcome home, Good morning, 288 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:47.119 Good morning sir. 289 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:51.000 How can I help Youah? 290 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:55.680 I called in just to see if you needed any 291 00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:01.960 background on how resident for fire systems are designed and 292 00:19:01.960 --> 00:19:04.119 why they come up shorts. 293 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:06.640 Okay, well yeah, give us a quick overview. 294 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:13.839 Well, essentially, we design our systems to put out a 295 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:18.119 large fire on a single commercial building or a few 296 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:25.319 residential buildings, and we size the pipes to bring the 297 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:30.000 fireflows to that location at a certain velocity, and then 298 00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:36.920 when we look at the reservoir sizing, we look at 299 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:40.480 how long we're going to be pulling water at a 300 00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:44.079 fireflow rate, and it's typically for a very large building 301 00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:48.920 about four hours. So the reservoirs are sized for the 302 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:56.480 four hour fireflow plus some capacity for every day demands 303 00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:02.079 of the water system. So we have so we have 304 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:08.279 a limited amount of reservoir water available based on the 305 00:20:08.319 --> 00:20:09.119 current state of. 306 00:20:09.160 --> 00:20:16.160 Design, right, which has obviously been tested and brought to 307 00:20:16.200 --> 00:20:21.519 its knees by these fires, specifically like the Palisades Fire. 308 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:27.079 Of course, there was already issues about low water pressure 309 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:33.119 during some of those fights, and it was really just 310 00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:38.519 literally the perfect storm. The speed of the fire, the 311 00:20:38.599 --> 00:20:41.160 rate of the fire, the amount of structures that had 312 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:45.400 to be defended and that were on fire, broken pipelines, 313 00:20:46.359 --> 00:20:51.119 compromised lines, all at the same time, too much water 314 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:53.920 being pulled out of the system to fight too many 315 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:59.279 fronts at in too many locations, just literally a perfect 316 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:04.640 storm in which water became a very very limited resource 317 00:21:04.839 --> 00:21:09.880 during that fight. In your opinion, now you're a civil engineer, Richard, yes, sir, 318 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:14.640 in your opinion, is this something that we need to 319 00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:17.920 take a serious look at upgrading. It's not like it's 320 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:20.599 going to be a quick fix overnight. I mean we're 321 00:21:20.599 --> 00:21:24.440 talking about I would imagine hundreds of millions of dollars 322 00:21:24.519 --> 00:21:29.400 of infrastructure upgrade all across the Southland. If if we 323 00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:32.880 were to take this seriously, is that something that's likely 324 00:21:32.920 --> 00:21:39.519 to happen, and should it happens. 325 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:40.160 There's more to it than that. I mean, the system 326 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:42.759 that does well for what it's designed to do, and 327 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:45.640 when we have a wildfire and several homes are involved, 328 00:21:46.240 --> 00:21:48.960 the expectation is that we're going to put air assets 329 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:54.359 in the up to fight the wildfire, right and so 330 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:57.160 when we're not able to do that, then there's obviously 331 00:21:57.799 --> 00:22:03.960 some problems. But the real where you could really make 332 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:06.680 an impact is what you're going to be talking about tomorrow, 333 00:22:07.319 --> 00:22:12.559 where you make the homes defendable by using the windows 334 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:18.960 that are appropriate, moving flammables away from the house, you know, 335 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:22.880 getting rid of landscaping that is inducive to starting a fire, 336 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:29.160 and and there's something else, but I've. 337 00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:31.119 Forgotten it, Richard. 338 00:22:31.119 --> 00:22:32.680 I think you're going to talk about it tomorrow. 339 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:36.119 Yeah, absolutely, my friend, and I really appreciate. 340 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:40.000 I appreciate the call, and I appreciate the insight and 341 00:22:39.640 --> 00:22:45.440 the support as well. So from a civil engineering perspective 342 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:51.599 and from a a water systems designs perspective you know, 343 00:22:51.640 --> 00:22:54.559 you heard it right there, and something to consider everyone. 344 00:22:54.599 --> 00:22:57.200 The fact of the matter is that, you know, we 345 00:22:57.240 --> 00:23:02.359 could approach this from two different directions. You could build 346 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:06.160 every house out of tissue paper and then as a result, 347 00:23:06.599 --> 00:23:12.799 pay billions of dollars to introduce a fire deterrent system 348 00:23:14.319 --> 00:23:19.920 in order to fast respond with you know, millions of 349 00:23:19.960 --> 00:23:23.839 gallons of water every time a tissue paper house gets ignited. 350 00:23:24.599 --> 00:23:29.759 Or or on the individual home level, you could simply 351 00:23:29.799 --> 00:23:33.000 fire harden a home that makes it more difficult for 352 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:38.880 homes to burn and easier for fire services and the 353 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:45.200 existing infrastructure to defend. There's probably some give in both directions, 354 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:50.039 but absolutely in regards to our listeners and what we're 355 00:23:50.079 --> 00:23:53.160 here to talk about on an ongoing basis, You're absolutely right, Richard. 356 00:23:53.839 --> 00:23:56.880 Tomorrow we will continue to talk about how to fire 357 00:23:57.000 --> 00:24:00.119 harden your home, all right, when we come back. Thank you, 358 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:02.960 Richard for the call. I so appreciate it. When we 359 00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:05.839 come back for our final segment here, I want to 360 00:24:05.839 --> 00:24:12.319 follow up something on Janette's call earlier about fire windows, 361 00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:15.680 something that I did not discuss with her. We answered 362 00:24:15.720 --> 00:24:19.119 her question thoroughly, but a lot of you are in 363 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:22.119 situations where you're like you have an older home now 364 00:24:22.359 --> 00:24:26.440 and now, of course it's code code requirement that if 365 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:29.440 you build new or you do a major remodel in 366 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:34.200 a wildlife urban interface, if you're in a high fire 367 00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:37.960 risk zone, then at least the side of the house 368 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:43.160 that faces the interface needs fire rated windows are they're 369 00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:46.880 required by code on new builds, major remodels and so on. 370 00:24:47.400 --> 00:24:52.160 But there is not a regulation that is twisting arms 371 00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:55.519 for people with existing homes who do not have fire 372 00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:58.559 rated windows pushed up against open spaces to have to 373 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:01.200 do anything. And if you're like Jeannette and you're made 374 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:03.400 the decision like I want to do this now, Jeannette 375 00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:08.000 is she's stepping up and doing you know, she's gonna 376 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:09.960 get bids and she's going to change out her windows. 377 00:25:10.039 --> 00:25:13.000 Well that's great. What if you don't have the budget 378 00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:15.039 to do that, Well, I want to talk to you 379 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:17.319 about what your options are and we'll do it right 380 00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:20.000 on the other side of the news in Sharp House 381 00:25:20.119 --> 00:25:26.279 with her welcome home. Thanks for spending this time with 382 00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:29.480 me this morning. It is a privilege. As always, I 383 00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:32.319 am glad that you are here. I'm literally glad that 384 00:25:32.440 --> 00:25:34.759 you are still here. If you live in southern California, 385 00:25:35.319 --> 00:25:38.359 UH and have been affected, which all of us have 386 00:25:38.799 --> 00:25:43.160 to some degree or another, by these wildfires that are still 387 00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:48.559 raging here. Hopefully in the next few hours and a 388 00:25:48.599 --> 00:25:51.799 couple of days before the wind events return, we can 389 00:25:51.839 --> 00:25:56.920 get a stronger handle on these fires, get them under control. 390 00:25:57.200 --> 00:26:00.480 Fingers crossed, and our thoughts and prayers go out to 391 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:04.359 all of the firefighters out there who are helping us 392 00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:06.960 stay safe and who are giving their all to see 393 00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:10.200 it happen. Here on the program we have today and 394 00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:13.559 we will again tomorrow, be talking about fire hardening your 395 00:26:13.559 --> 00:26:17.759 home and also something that we have not talked a 396 00:26:17.799 --> 00:26:21.359 lot about in the past, and that is when everything 397 00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:23.920 is lost, where do you go from there? What are 398 00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:27.920 the next steps in terms of literally who to call 399 00:26:28.200 --> 00:26:31.480 and what to expect. Now, all so far I've shared 400 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:35.640 with you FEMA Red Cross, these are first steps. These 401 00:26:35.640 --> 00:26:39.720