The Southern California wildfires of 2007 were far more devastating than most homeowners could ever imagine. The fires blazed uncontrollably for days, straining firefighting resources and forcing the evacuation of nearly one million residents. When the smoke cleared, more than 1,500 structures were destroyed and countless more had been damaged.
As reported by the Insurance Information Institute, estimates from Risk Management Solutions as of Nov. 1, 2007, predicted that insured losses would exceed $1.5 billion. This number includes lost business expenses and expenses for those displaced because of the fires. This total also includes the cost of damages to structures incurred from both the fire itself as well as the fire suppression methods.
Therefore, it is important for the industry to understand the exact type of material damage that residential and commercial structures sustain during fire and fire suppression events. Most of these structures are composed of wood, concrete, steel (structural and light-gage), and masonry. However, a combination of these materials is typically present in all existing buildings, so different approaches are required for the diverse materials at the site.
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