Fire & Ember-Resistant Continuous Soffit Vent

With a fire & ember-resistant continuous soffit vent, a corrosion-resistant screen blocks airborne embers aimed at the structure while the fire is still far away. Once the blaze gets closer, and the vent reaches a critical temperature, the intumescent coating on the honeycomb matrix structure will expand, resulting in a barrier against flames and embers. After the event center at the Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa, CA, was burned to the ground, the design team at TLCD Architecture was tasked with designing a replacement structure that would offer greater resistance to wildfires common in the region. “There are two main things that cause buildings to combust,” explains design principal Don Tomasi, TLCD Architecture. “One is embers falling on the roof and the other is embers or sparks going up into the attic vents.” Wind-blown embers can fly for miles and they have the ability to enter a structure through vents in an attic, crawlspace, and other spaces. “Vents tend to have negative pressure, so they draw embers in,” said Tomasi. The team selected a fire and ember-resistant continuous soffit vent from Vulcan Vents to help fortify the new Paradise Ridge Winery against the threat of airborne embers.

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Vulcan Vents