Embers: How Forest Fires Spread

Image from "The Terrifying Physics Of How Wildfires Spread So Fast" Forbes Online SEP 6, 2017

FOREST FIRES SPREAD DUE TO BURNING EMBERS

The US Forest Service has found that as many as three-quarters of all homes destroyed by fires, are not ignited by the intense heat front but by wind blown embers.  Embers, also known as firebrands, are twigs and pieces of wood that are carried by wind as much as one mile from the main fire zone.  These embers remain on fire as they are spread by fast moving air currents and land on homes, igniting the home itself and/or surrounding dry brush.  

"A high intensity fire can produce a virtual blizzard of embers." warns the Texas A&M Fire Service in a recent publication.  And these embers are what ignite the majority of homes.

When exposed to fire or extreme heat, No Embers creates a protective char that prevents or greatly slows further burning.  No Embers also prevents the formation of windblown embers by protecting the structural integrity of the underlying wood, so that pieces of burning wood do not break off.  

In the figure above, wood dowels were left uncoated, coated with DAP (currently used to prevent forest fires) and coated with No Embers and then subjected to extreme heat. Only in the No Embers coated sample, the structural integrity of the wood is intact and no embers or ash are formed.  Recently our No Embers solution was subjected to independent testing at Oregon State University and our solution was found to significantly reduce ember formation. Please see this study and new Cone Calorimetry Data for more scientific information.

No Embers solution can be used in two ways:

1) No Embers can be applied in advance of a fire and it will protect the underlying wood from ignition.

2) No Embers can be used to directly attack and extinguish a fire. It is extremely effective in both situations.

Please see our wilfire videos to see this in action.