A Serious Threat to Your Home, Property and Family
Warm weather is bringing out the landscapers, and with the landscapers come decorative mulch. If you’re not careful with your mulch, it could also bring out a fire truck.
The Naperville Fire Department responded to 107 mulch fires in 2007, and reminds everyone to use some caution and common sense when it comes to landscaping mulch. These fires are particularly dangerous due to their proximity to homes and structures. The fire starts in the landscaping mulch, spreads into the shrubbery and then to the home or building. Other factors such as below average rainfall, extremely dry conditions, warm temperatures and abnormal winds increase the risk of serious damage from mulch fires.
There are a few common ways mulch can catch on fire, but they’re all preventable. Usually mulch fires are small and don’t burn quickly, but when they start next to buildings they can turn into a pretty serious fire.
Mulch that is piled too deeply, more than a few inches, can build up heat and spontaneously catch fire. Mulch is a dead organic material, and it is in the process of decomposing, which generates heat. So try to make sure your mulch is spread out evenly, just deep enough to do the job.
The risk of a mulch fire is more common than one might expect. This is a problem that we all share. Many commercial and public facilities no longer allow smoking inside the facility as a result of today’s laws and policies. Cigarette and cigar smokers often discard lighted smoking material, including lighted matches, into the landscaped areas as they enter the building.
In order to reduce the potential for a fire in landscaping mulch, follow these guidelines:
- Be aware of this danger.
- Recognize when it gets hot and has been dry for an extended time, which enables these fires to start more readily.
- If you smoke, PLEASE use the provided receptacles to discard your smoking material and matches.
- If you see anything smoking in a landscaped bed, put it out if you can and report it to someone inside the building. If the burning material is not thoroughly wet or removed, it may re-ignite.
- Grounds maintenance crews should be aware of the conditions that are favorable for mulch fires and increase surveillance of mulch beds in the afternoon when fires are more likely to occur.
- Provide proper receptacles for smoking materials at all entrances to public buildings and in designated smoking areas. Do not use mulch in or near these areas.
- Provide a minimum of an 18-inch clearance between landscaping mulch beds and combustible building materials. Ensure proper clearance to electric devices, such as decorative lights, by following the manufacturer’s instructions.
- If your landscaping mulch is 4 inches deep or more, go around the house and turn it over occasionally to avoid heat build up.
- When planning an outdoor barbeque, provide receptacles for your guests that smoke.
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