May is Wildfire Awareness Month, and Hoover plays a big role in making our communities safe from wildfires. We specialize in making fire-retardant and preservative-treated wood products that can resist fire and help protect neighborhoods and wild areas, especially where cities and nature meet.
These places, called Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) areas, are tricky to manage during fires. Even though people know it’s important to use fire-resistant materials when building homes, not everyone follows this best practice.
But with wildfires happening more often and getting worse, communities are starting to take fire safety more seriously. One big challenge is finding agreement on the building rules that can help prevent disaster.
Hoover doesn’t just make and sell wood products. We’re committed to helping communities figure out how to be safer from fires. We understand the challenges communities are facing and have actively supported legislative efforts aimed at promoting the use of fire-hardened building materials.
For example, in Colorado, Hoover contributed to the creation of the Fire Hardened Building Materials Bill, which mandates the use of fire-retardant-treated-wood (FRTW) materials in resident real estate properties. This new law ensures new construction meets the safety standards established by organizations like the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (IWUIC), and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
And we’re not just about legislative work—we’re also dedicated to equipping communities with vital fire safety resources.
That’s why we’ve created, “FireWise Construction: Site Design & Building Materials.”
This publication was cowritten by Hoover’s Director of Fire & Life Safety Codes, Dr. Dave Bueche. In it, Dave delves into what it takes for a building to withstand a fire.
The key? Quality defensible space and structural integrity.
The booklet offers practical strategies for enhancing both aspects, with parts of the publication based on the 2009 International Wildland-Urban Interface Code.
So, as we think about preventing wildfires this month, let’s remember how important it is to use materials like fire-resistant wood to keep our communities safe and our natural areas beautiful.
If you want to learn more about fire-resistant wood, you can visit our website, frtw.com or reach out to Hoover’s free support service at 1-800-TECWOOD or tecwood@frtw.com.
