Wood Shingle Combustibility Demonstrated in Los Angeles
Staff Correspondent
The extreme combustibility of untreated wooden shingles was demonstrated for all media recently at the Los Angeles County Fire Department training facility in the City Terrace area.
According to Dick Friend, community relations officer for the department, the intent of the demonstration was to illustrate the reaction of different types of roofs under fire conditions. The story was seen on TV that night by several million persons.
The department built a series of small houses, each with a different type of roofing material. This included class A-rated asphalt shingles, mineral-base shakes, concrete tile, and mission tile. Smoldering charcoal was shoveled onto the roof panels.
A studio wind machine provided a wind of up to 20 mph. Within five minutes, the untreated wooden roof was well involved in fire. None of the other roof coverings ignited.
Los Angeles County lawmakers are considering relaxing a current requirement for a class C roof in all non-brush areas of the county. Current codes call for a class C in these areas, and class B in high-hazard brush areas. The fire department covers thousands of square miles of watershed area.
