The thinking behind the list
Product picks are only useful if you know why one thing comes before another. These guides cover the decisions.
The Home Ignition Zone, Explained
FireSmart Canada and NFPA Firewise divide the space around your home into zones. Here's what each one means and what to buy for it.
Sprinklers vs. Gel vs. Retardant: Which Active Defense Should You Buy First?
Three product categories claim to protect your house when the fire arrives. They work in different ways, on different timelines, and at very different prices.
How Far Should Trees Be From Your House?
The official setbacks in Canada and the US, what the research actually found, and why 'cut down all your trees' is the wrong answer.
Why Houses Burn When the Forest Doesn't
Post-fire photos keep showing destroyed homes surrounded by green trees. Understanding why is the single most useful thing a homeowner can learn.
Is There Such a Thing as a Fireproof House?
No — and the people who study this for a living are blunt about it. What exists instead is an ignition-resistant house, which is a lower bar and a far more useful one.
Does Home Insurance Cover Wildfire?
In Canada and the US, yes — fire is a standard peril. The real problems are underinsurance, what counts as an evacuation, and in parts of the US, whether you can get a policy at all.
How to Build a House That Survives Wildfire
What the codes require, what the best voluntary standard adds, and what the extra actually costs — which, if you are already building to code, is about two thousand dollars.
Retrofitting an Existing House: What's Worth It
Real 2024 costs for every component, the roughly $10,000 bundle that buys the most protection, and an honest admission that nobody has published a proper cost-effectiveness ranking.
Smoke and CO Alarms: What to Buy and What the Law Says
The evidence on what actually works, and the placement and CO rules for Ontario, BC, Alberta, Quebec and the US — which differ more than you would expect.
Rural Water Supply: Dry Hydrants, Cisterns and What the Fire Department Needs
Past the end of the water main, the fire at your house is fought with whatever arrives on the truck plus whatever your property can supply. Here's how that actually works.
Do You Need Residential Sprinklers?
The strongest evidence in home fire safety, the objections that don't survive contact with the data, the one that does — and why they do nothing about wildfire.