The exterior walls of your home can be affected by direct contact with flame or ember showers. Both the siding of your walls and your windows are potential areas of vulnerability.
Windows can fail before the building ignites, providing a direct path for flames and airborne embers to get inside your home. Installing double-paned windows can increase your home’s chances of survival, since the inner pane will often hold after the outer one breaks.
Ember showers can travel more than mile, especially on windy days. Embers can shower your home’s siding and accumulate at the base. Wooden or combustible siding is more vulnerable to catching fire. Noncombustible materials like stucco, stone, and cement-based siding provide much greater protection.
It’s critical to seal all gaps in siding to prevent embers from getting inside your home.
Double-paned windows are recommended.
