We strongly recommend covering all exposed surfaces for best protection with the goal to cover anything combustible that can give the fire a foothold in your structure. Each structure has its own special features or vulnerabilities to deal with but first fire priorities are generally the roof, eaves, decks, large windows, and fire facing walls. If your roof is fire rated Class A it is made of material that does not burn, metal, slate, clay, or concrete. Class B is fire treated material but some fire burdened communities don’t allow its use. But having either is a big help.

Eaves are a major fire and heat trap so make sure you cover them. Burning debris is blown and trapped against your home and that heat rises and is focused under the eaves and extremely hot and a major ignition point. Next, cover the walls of your home, especially the lower parts that may trap blown burning debris against the structure. Finally wooden decks should be protected. Make sure if the deck is near the ground and is open below that you seal that area so burning debris and embers can’t blow under and start a fire. This is another major fire trap.

Some people will get a 1 or 2 fire shields each year and add to their ability to protect until they can cover the whole house if needed. Even if you just cover the roof and facing walls you have greatly increased the chances of your home surviving.

There is no one right way to wrap a structure, but there are some easy basics that help get the job done. Make sure you start with a plan. You may feel in the beginning you’re not sure, but after you have covered one wall you will be pro, and after two walls, an expert. It quickly makes sense.

Break the project into panels or blocks, IE.. The roof, the front of the house, then the right side, then the back and so on. Assemble your tools needed. Something to prop up the roll to spool off material and cut to size. Chicken wire and cutters, tape measure, ladders, step stools, staple guns and staples, needle nose pliers for staple removal, tie wire, sunglasses if deploying during the day, soaker hose if deploying water, and any others you need.

The best time to install is early in the morning or late evening before the winds pickup, light allowing. Always be careful when on ladders, roofs, transporting material and with tools.

First, attach the fire shields to the structure so they are firmly held in place. Example: If starting with the front of a cabin assuming the front wall is 30 feet across and 9 feet tall. Spool off 30 feet of material and staple it securely starting at the left side bottom of the front wall. Spool off another 30 foot piece and place it above the first layer overlapping the bottom by at least 2 inches. This wall is almost done. Continue around the structure until all combustible surfaces are covered.

Now attach the chicken wire overlapping the seam and stretch it tightly across the fire shield using staples to secure it. This will provide excellent wind resistance. Staple and stretch chicken wire on eaves, walls with recessed windows or doors, anywhere wind could be an issue, the more the better. Use a large Sharpie pen and outline windows and glass doors on the shields so you know where they are and a ladder isn’t thrown against the wrap and hits the window on removal. On removal, carefully remove staples with needle nose pliers mark each panel’s location, lower front, upper front, right side lower etc. Fold or roll the material for reuse on the next fire.

Once the structure is wrapped secure it for the wind gusts with the chicken wire. Remember the winds will attack the structure for hours so make sure there are no loose flaps that can be pulled off. The chicken wire should be stretched and stapled as needed protecting seams, corners, and eaves. It is inexpensive insurance and reusable.

The first time you wrap a structure it will take longer. Make sure you have 3 or 4 people to help for 4 or 5 hours. It may go faster but the second time you wrap it will take half the time it did the first time. That is about the same amount of time it would take to spray with foam. But once your shields are up your home is protected for days, weeks, or until you take them down. And your home will be cooler because all that heat is reflected away, a big air conditioner without the power bill.

Fire Shields have taken years of research, development, and feedback from professionals to determine the right combinations of materials and sizes needed to achieve their goal, to protect structures from wildfires and bushfires.

There have also been extensive government and university studies, including the latest research project by professor Fumiaki Takahashi, at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, (available on our home page) on the effectiveness of structure wrap to protect structures threatened by wildfires.

As a result, the US Forest Service and other firefighting agencies still choose fire shields as the best product option to protect historical treasures, critical buildings, bridges, trestles, and equipment when resources are spread thin, water or power are limited, and it's too dangerous to leave a crew behind for structure protection.

Firezat wants all people to take whatever steps they can to protect their homes and possessions for wildfires. Decades of use have demonstrated the structure wrap is a viable resource to help protect homes when fire trucks and crews are not available to every home. They can be reused for years with care. Click here for products and pricing.