In recent decades, California fire season has become longer. Each year fire season starts earlier. The reason is humans.
I hear you saying wait, humans do not create lightning, stronger storms, or hurricanes. While we do not physically start those weather conditions, we contribute to their intensity and frequency.
The greenhouse gases we spew every day from manufacturing, agriculture, and the vehicles we drive are significant factors. Those greenhouse gases change the weather, making it stronger and the earth warmer.
While we have begun to reduce those greenhouse gases over the past few decades, we have not done enough. So, how do we protect our lives and property from wildfires?
Fire protection tanks are the first step.
Why fire protection tanks
Why fire protection tanks? It will reduce the chance of total loss to your business or private property. It is also required for all businesses in California to have a fire protection tank. These water tanks must meet local, state, and national requirements. That includes NFPA22, AWWA, CBC2016, and NSF 61 standards.
How do they work? You invest in the tank(s) and maintain it. When a wildfire begins ripping through the area your tank will provide water for your property.
Once installed the water level must be monitored and kept at proper levels. You should also inspect the tank once a month looking for damage or leaks. If you find any they should be repaired immediately.
The tank can provide water to an exterior and interior sprinkler system. These systems allow you to provide time for employees or your family to evacuate. It helps keep your roofs wet during a fire so that a hot spark won’t ignite the roof. They also allow you or the fire company to have water to wet your property and buildings down during a fire.
Depending on how many tanks you have it can also help keep your property line wet helping to reduce the chances of the fire spreading across your property.
What other steps can be employed to prevent total destruction?
First, purchase a protection water tank and maintain it properly. Check the water level once a month to be sure the level is correct. If you have a large property such as manufacturing or agriculture you may want to invest in more than one tank.
Second, follow these steps:
- Create a fire break along the perimeter of your property. The fire break should be a minimum of three feet wide. It can be done by keeping that area clean of debris or removing vegetation and replacing it with gravel.
- Keep the property clean of debris; loose papers, dead leaves, dry twigs, and branches anything that will burn.
- Remove all dead or dying vegetation from shrubs and plants by pruning and raking the area.
- Use controlled burns to help you maintain your property of overgrown dying or dead vegetation.
- Create a plan of action for fire evacuation, and fire prevention and do a drill every month so that everyone knows what to do.
- Recycle plastics, glass, paper, cardboard, etc. that way they cannot catch fire.
Fire protection tanks can greatly reduce the loss we suffer during a wildfire. But, they also help protect the community because they can keep the fire from spreading across your property to your neighbor’s property.
These tanks come in various sizes and different styles. There are poly tanks (plastic) and metal tanks. Which one and what size you need will depend on your business, the acres you own, and how much equipment you are trying to protect. You may need two different sizes depending on how you wish to employ them. We do recommend you have sprinklers, both interior and exterior systems.
What other steps must we take?
We must all work to reduce greenhouse gases by using green energy options to power our manufacturing, offices, retail, private homes, etc.
Manufacturing and agricultural business can change their fossil fuel vehicles to electric vehicles.
Switch the peak use of electricity to off-peak hours. Store the energy in thermal storage units.
Carpool or use public transportation as much as possible. Businesses can offer work from home, so their energy use is reduced.
Businesses can offer their employees rewards for doing their part with carpools and using public transportation. That reward could be an employee of the month or a gift certificate.
The more we do to clean up the emissions and reduce the use of fossil fuels the healthier the planet will be and we can reduce our effects on the weather. We might start to see a short wildfire season.