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Help Deter Wildfire Spread with DaVinci Polymer Roof Tiles

From coast-to-coast, the number “1” is very important when it comes to wildfires. All it takes is one lightning strike, one smoldering ember from a campfire, or one dropped cigarette to spark disastrous results — especially in several drought-stricken states.

On July 1st, the National Interagency Fire Center issued their report that several key areas of the country will have above normal wildland fire potential through the summer months. Areas include portions of California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Idaho. And, there’s potential for this “above normal” classification to expand to New England states in August.

Why are we sharing this scary weather prediction? Because DaVinci Roofscapes polymer roofing tiles are Class A fire rated with the proper underlayments. That’s important to know — especially if you install roofs in the geographic areas listed above.

As you might imagine, choosing “A” rated lightweight roofing systems is smarter to selecting a “B” or “C” rating on your roofing products. And, in some locations, an A rating is required by local codes.

Having attained a Class A fire rating means our composite shake and synthetic slate tiles have attained the best fire rating that is available in the market. It also means that our composite roofing products meet the following criteria:

  • Intermittent Flame – an assembly of tiles is subjected to an intense flame with a strong air current for two minutes then turned off for two minutes. This procedure is repeated 15 times. After the final flame cycle the air current is continued and the assembly observed for an additional hour to look for failure.
  • Spread of Flame –  flame and air current are applied for 10 consecutive minutes and then observed until the flame deck recedes. Once the flame deck recedes the assembly is checked for maximum spread of flame.
  • Burning Brand – a burning brand is placed on an assembly of roofing tiles with a high volume of wind behind it. The decking of the assembly is constantly monitored for 90 minutes to see if any fire burns through.  If fire burns through the roof deck anytime during the 90 minute trial, the tiles fail.

    To see our video on fire burning demonstrations, visit Fire Codes and Your Roof: Class A vs. Class C Codes