As wildfires surge with a warming climate, researchers at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety conduct controlled house fires at a Richburg, S.C. site to test protective designs and ember-blocking strategies. They burn multiple replicas to observe how construction, vegetation, and exterior features influence fire spread, learning that ignition-resistant walls, vent screens, and a cleared 5-foot buffer improve resilience. The work informs building codes in fire-prone areas, though experts warn that extreme conditions can overwhelm protections. With U.S. wildfire losses averaging about $17.7 billion annually since 2020, the research aims to guide safer housing and prevention, while forecasting a harsher fire season ahead if conditions don’t improve.
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The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety runs a 100-acre site in Richburg, South Carolina, where researchers burn full-scale, non-electrical homes equipped with sensors and cameras to study fire behavior and protective measures.
To simulate real-world conditions, test fires are conducted with winds ranging from roughly 30 to 55 mph, and homes are deliberately designed to resemble typical residences with careful attention to safety and data collection.
Results show that having a 5-foot buffer of nonflammable surroundings and using ignition-resistant walls, double-paned windows, and vent mesh can slow or prevent embers from entering a home, though severe winds can still diminish these protections.
California’s fire code has incorporated some of these findings, emphasizing outside defenses and ember mitigation as crucial components of resilience, alongside improved building materials.
Public-private collaborations have spurred a market for prevention tools like ember-stopping devices and spray retardants, with products such as Safe Soss gaining traction among homeowners and retailers.
Researchers are expanding the program to explore other threats, including hail damage and long-duration exposure tests, by maintaining numerous roof samples and additional weather simulations across the site.