I asked the folks at Cal Fire about rooftop sprinklers and fire retardant gel after some of you wondered about how effective those would be. Your questions came after I posted tips on how to protect your home from fire – whether it’s in Huntington Beach or somewhere near the Cleveland National Forest. 
The state fire marshal provides no information or regulations covering those devices or chemicals, says Dan Sendek, Cal Fire spokesman.
“Our main focus is on building materials and ignition resistence,” he says.
Homeowners, he said, should make sure they have a roof ”that can hold an ember for 20 minutes without ignition.”
He’s heard of insurance companies paying to cover homes in a fire-retardant gel, but again, the state is not recommending for or against that. “I’m sure they’re seeing it as a good investment against losses,” he did say, referring to the insurers.
As to the rooftop sprinklers and any possible effect on water pressure, he said, “That would be our largest concern, what impact that would have on the overall pressure. That is probably contrary to the direction we would like to go.”
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All these devices may indeed help, but remember many of these homes went up due to small embers that blew into the attic space through roof vents (which all attics need to prevent moisture buildup and rot). The OCFA and others should look into new regulations and designs on these vents that could prevent sparks and embers from coming in.
I installed roof top sprinkers on my house yeard ago.
All water lines to homes have pressure valves. Why on the sprinkler system on a roof could there not be a restricter valve that would make the flow more like a mist that was just enough to keep roof and surrounding area wet? We certainly don’t water running down the street but one of the major conditions of fire problems is low humity (there are very few major fires during a rainstorm). This would give the effect of higher humity without overburdening the water system . Installing the system would surely require inspection to meet a standard but a damp roof is far less likely to catch fire than a dry one.
Smells of job protection to me … what would all the firefighters do if each home in an at risk area had auto activated sprinkler system to protect the house as the fire rolls by.
MorningRush, seems like a very fine mesh screen would prevent sparks from getting in tha attic. Any spark small enough to go through would be of no danger. Maybe a buck a vent.
I was always told necessity was the mother of invention, look at a problem and figure out how to solve it. Very fine mesh seems like a lodigal solution it a very serious problem. And sprinkles on the roof is another.
What if the sprinklers on the roof used swimming pool water instead of from the meter? There were more than a few pools in the burned area, so why not use that available resovoir? Seems like a good idea to me, along with other fire abatement procedures. This should be required for any home in the hilly areas, since that is where the brush fires have always been. Tile roofs are not enough if the embers get under the eaves, etc.
embersnuff.com: In July my husband installed a non-chemical roof sprinkler water system. During the recent Chino Hills, Yorba Linda, Diamond Bar fires, we immediately turned on the system with one turn of a valve. Our roof was saturated in minutes. The firefighters were impressed and stated that had people had this system, many of the homes wouldn’t have caught on fire due to flying embers.
We’ve decided to now install them as a business to help homeowners give their home a fighting chance. Check us out at embersnuff.com or call (800) 570-7999.
Yes rooftop sprinklers help, I install and service rooftop sprinklers and also sell Portable Home Fire Pumps. Your biggest problems with Rooftop systems is water pressure, mos’t citys like Malibu or Yorba Linda Ca. run out of water pressure. I talked with people from the Yorba Linda area they said when they were told to evacuate some stayed to try and save there homes from the fire but NO water came out of there hoses, Beautiful homes burnt to the ground many with swimming pools filled with 1000’s of gallons of water. Sprinklers on your roof are of no use if theres no water or pressure. The systems I install have duel inlet valves so the Rooftop sprinklers can be powered by home water pressure or a Portable fire pump, if you own a swimming pool it will provide you with about 6-12 hours of water for your sprinklers (depending on size of pool) or a Portable Fire Pump, and the Portable Fire Pump will also give you 2 extra fire hose lines off the pump. Sprinkler Installation starts at $1300.00 plus and the Portable Fire Pumps (complete kits) start at $1695.00 These are 150PSI Fire Pumps with Honda Engings not internet aftermarket Crap…If you would like more info you can call me at (949)295-8162 or visit emergencyfirepumps.com