Prepare Home for Wildfires: Internal Sprinkler System, Computer Backups, Fire Resistant Safe

There are a few extra additions to your home you won’t necessarily think about. These can all help during a fire and afterward. It’s time to consider an internal sprinkler system to help put out the fires, then you’ll want something to protect important documents during the event.

Internal Sprinkler Systems Can Reduce the Spread

Businesses and hotels will use internal sprinkler systems. When there is a fire, the systems automatically turn on to help put the fire out. Most houses aren’t built with these, but that doesn’t mean you can’t add them to your home. There are some new rules coming in for new builds in Boulder County, with homes that are more than 4,500 sq ft needing them added if the homes were built from 1995. Any home built in 2013 or earlier of any size will need the sprinkler systems.

This helps the fire departments, especially in the non-urban areas. Rural firefighters will need to act fast but it takes time for them to get to the location. If there is something helping them beat back the fire, there’s a lower risk of it turning into a wildfire.

You’ll need an internal sprinkler system in each room. Even if you’re not looking at a full remodel, consider adding the systems to your home.

Computer Backups for the Aftermath

Today, everything that we do is online and on a computer. It’s essential that we have backups of everything in the event of any emergency. This isn’t just in the event of a fire but if your computer is lost or stolen or even if it just breaks.

When it comes to a fire, you need to make sure the storage is off-site. You can do this very easily now with cloud storage. You could do it all yourself, or you could have a company like BackBlaze or CrashPlan+ to handle it at a cost of around $50 per year.

Everything is handled in the background and won’t affect the speed of your computer. You can make sure your most important documents are handled here, and then you can manage your personal photos yourself if you want. Do you still have physical photos? Invest in Larsen Digital or ScanCafe to handle all the scanning for you so you have digital copies.

Keep Documents in a Fire-Resistant Safe

Passports, birth certificates, adoption paperwork, and even work documents need to be kept safe. You’ll want to put them in a safe anyway, just in case there’s a break-in. Make sure the safe is fire-resistant to protect the documents better in the event of an emergency.

You won’t necessarily have time to get to the documents when there is a fire. You need to take the bare minimum and get everyone out. Plus, firefighters are concerned with putting the fire out and not protecting your documents, so if they’re not in a safe, they’re also at risk of water damage. With a fire-resistant safe, they’re also in a waterproof container to protect them.

Don’t rely on the safes from the big-box stores. They tend to melt and turn the insides to ash. You want a safe that is designed to keep documents below 350F when temperature of the fire can reach 1,700F. It works for an hour, which is usually enough time for the firefighters to get in.