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FIRECOAT, Australia’s award-winning breakthrough in fire protection for buildings, was recently put to the test in California as part of a major burn experiment. Hosted by North Fork Lumber Company, the FIRECOAT team was honoured to be joined by representatives from CalFire, Cal Poly, Caltrans and UC Berkeley.
California has a long track record of wildfire destruction, and the statistics are confronting. The Camp Fire in November 2018 destroyed 18,804 structures and cost 85 lives, while the 2020 August Complex fire affected 7 counties and burned 1,032, 648 acres (approximately 417,900 hectares). And UCLA says it’s getting worse.
Working with international partners is an integral part of FIRECOAT’s business. It’s a part of where we litmus test our products and ideas, and where we build important relationships in our endeavour to provide accessible and innovative solutions to protect structures, people and communities.
At the testing site, 6 small-scale ‘homes’ were built and clad in T1-11 panelling, an external finish typical across the USA. One ‘home’ was treated with FIRECOAT Interior and another with FIRECOAT Exterior, the third ‘home' was treated with the world’s first Wildfire Home Protection Kit and the fourth 'home' was treated with all the products in the Wildfire Home Protection Kit + FIRECOAT Exterior – and lastly there were two control ‘homes’ that were not protected with any FIRECOAT products.
All 6 structures were then exposed to flames equivalent to some of the extreme Californian wildfires of the past few decades.
The 4 homes treated with FIRECOAT successfully survived the fire attack. The test crew were effectively able to scrape off the blackened intumescent coatings, which had expanded in reaction to the flames and covered the structures like a protective pillow.
Beneath the black, the substrates were cool and intact – even the windows, protected with FIRECOAT Window Shield covers, were unscathed. CalFire’s unit chief Kurt McCray remarked, ‘There’s no heat in any of this … we see virtually no damage!’
The untreated ‘homes’ were totally destroyed.
You can watch the burn test for yourself below.
FIRECOAT’s groundbreaking products are developed and manufactured in Australia to meet global fire threats. New polymer technology earned FIRECOAT the world’s first BAL-40 fire rating and made possible an unprecedented level of protection for homes and properties in high-risk wildfire areas, such as California and Australia.
FIRECOAT Exterior and Interior undercoat paints are safe for people and the environment and easy to use, durable and affordable.
They can be applied by brush, roller or spray to most internal and external surfaces, including brick, render, timber, aluminium, steel, concrete and plasterboard, and easily cleaned up with water.
FIRECOAT will soon to be available at ACE Hardware stores across the United States.
