What You Need to Know about Fire Suppression and Your Roof

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 is understandably still resonant with homeowners and businesses alike in and around our area. Forget Mrs. O’Leary’s cow — the dry wood and a hot autumn combined to create the inferno. We have learned a lot about fire suppression since that awful October so long ago. Your Elk Grove Village home’s roof can be a vital part of protecting your home from fire.

Local Conditions

Fiberglass-asphalt shingles (the most common residential roofing material in America and the overwhelming favorite of local roofers) are rated against fire originating outside your Elk Grove Village home. This means they will hold together under flame, not allowing bits and pieces to blow off, fall off, or generate burning embers.
Avoiding fire-feeding conditions outside your roof is vital for fire suppression. This means cutting back overhanging tree branches, keeping tall shrubs or bushes away from the sides of your home, and gathering up dry leaves to avoid fire-starting spots.

Shingles Fight Fires

Class A-rated fiberglass-asphalt shingles are not fireproof; they are fire resistant, and will not contribute to the spread of a fire originating outside your home. This means they will, essentially, lie there and take it. This sounds flippant, but is not, as described by the experts at Inspectapedia:

During a fire, Class A-rated shingles (the highest fire resistance rating) will not break, slide off, crack, or warp and risk exposing the underlying roof deck
During a fire, your home’s shingles will not allow flame to spread on their underside

Shingles that cannot meet these specifications are not A-Rated and should be avoided.

Local roofers familiar with Chicagoland building codes know to use top-quality fire-resistant materials throughout any re-roofing or new construction. This is another reason — besides preventing Illinois ice dams — to insist on self-adhesive water and ice shield: it typically carries a Class A fire rating under fiberglass shingles, where tarpaper does not.

Inside

Please notice that fires originating inside your home can feed on many materials before encountering your shingles. Local roofers recommend fiberglass attic insulation because fiberglass cannot burn. Any paper backing may burn off, but the fiberglass is, literally, nonflammable glass. Adams Roofing Professionals can provide blown in fiberglass insulation with no paper backing.
Adams Roofing Professionals, the most trusted name in local roofers, is ready to answer your concerns regarding fire suppression and roofing. Contact us today regarding your Elk Grove Village home.