Scorching temperatures can cause spontaneous fires in and around the house, resulting in the loss of personal property and threatening life. Each year, thousands of acres of wildland and hundreds of homes are destroyed during a fire season which lasts from May to October and even longer in some areas of the country.

Dry brush and fierce winds form a lethal combination for fire danger.

One of your best defenses against wildfires is to install fire-safe landscape around the home. Flammable vegetation should be removed and replaced with plants that resist fire. Dead leaves and pine needles should be removed from the roof and gutters, along with any dry brush surrounding the house. Try to create a fire-safe landscape which extends at least thirty feet beyond the house in all directions and up to one hundred feet in highly wooded areas.

In general, plants that resist fire grow close to the ground; have a low sap or resin content; grow without accumulation of dead branches, needles or leaves and are drought-tolerant in some areas. Rosemary, African daisy, ice plant and periwinkle are some of the common species. Contact your local fire department or landscape professional to find out which will work well in your climate.

The first few minutes of a fire are the most critical for saving your home. Fire-fighting professionals must be able to locate your home and gain access immediately in order to be effective. Street signs and house address must be clearly posted. Your street name and address should be printed in letters and numbers that are at least four inches tall, on a contrasting color background. And the sign should be made of fire-resistant material.

If you live in an area where homes are spaced quite a distance apart, it is essential that each homeowner has his own private emergency water supply to supplement whatever public resource may be available. Rivers, creeks, ponds, swimming pools and wells are a few additional sources for water.

One of the major factors in protecting your home from fire is its design and the material from which it is constructed. Brick and stucco resist fire much better than wood siding. If wood siding is what you want, then the thicker the material the better. The undersides of balconies and decks on slopes should be covered with fire-resistant materials like stucco or an exterior grade fire-rated wallboard.

The roof is the most vulnerable part of the house because it can catch fire from a chimney ember, the wind-blown sparks of a wildfire or from another home on fire. Use fire-resistant material when building a new home or re-roofing an existing one.

There are three classifications of fire-resistant roofs with Class A offering the best protection and Class C the least. Clay and concrete tile, slate, composition, fiber-cement and steel are among the most popular Class A products. Wood shake or shingle roofs are the least fire-resistant, and, contrary to popular belief, cannot be made so after installation. Shakes can be pressure-treated prior to installation. However, this process diminishes the life span of the material, sometimes causing a need for replacement in as little as ten to fifteen years.

The roof overhang or eave is a great fire catcher and should be limited in length. Additionally, the overhang should be enclosed or "soffited" with a material that will offer added protection. Attic ventilation located at the eaves should be eliminated and replaced with vents placed on the roof in various locations. All vents should be covered with a non-flammable one-quarter-inch mesh screen to prevent entry from flying embers. Chimneys and stovepipes should be capped with an approved spark arrester which consists of a non-flammable mesh no larger than one-half inch.

Smoke detectors have saved many lives. Fire safety experts report that more than fifty percent of fatal residential fires take place at night when people are sleeping.

Smoke detectors should be installed at the ceiling just within each bedroom and at the common hallway as well. If the home is more than one level, a smoke detector should be placed at each. Be sure to test smoke detectors at least once each month and change the batteries twice a year.

Every home should be equipped with a fire extinguisher. While fire extinguishers may not be useful in extinguishing large fires, they are valuable in putting out small ones that otherwise would escalate. There are different fire extinguishers for various types of fires. There are, (1) wood or cloth fires, (2) flammable liquid fires (oil & fuel), (3) electrical fires and (4) flammable metal fires.

Fire extinguishers should be mounted in easy-to-get-at locations, and each member of the family should have a lesson on how the device is operated.

Finally, create a family escape plan which outlines what to do in the event of a fire. Draw a floor plan of your home and note all of the possible escape routes. The plan should include at least two safe ways out of every room especially bedrooms. Roll-out or collapsible escape ladders consisting of chain or other approved material should be kept at bedrooms above ground level. For more information on fire safety contact your local fire protection agency or the State Fire Marshall.