Wood decks can be the bane of firefighters attempting to protect a house from a wildfire. They are flammable, of course, and can sometimes be easily ignited when a fire burns under them. The horizontal surface can also accumulate leaves and pine needles, providing a fuel bed which traps burning embers and provides additional fuel loading which can lead to flame impingement upon the structure.
Some of the newer decking materials made of synthetic material are flammable and produce toxic gas when they burn.
Many jurisdictions have banned decks attached to or near a house made of flammable material. But San Diego County recently approved a new deck system called LifeTime Lumber as being compliant with building codes within their fire hazard severity zones if it is attached to exterior fire resistant walls. It is made from thermoset polymers and up to 68% fly ash. Fly ash is a residue produced when coal burns, such as at a coal-fired power plant.
I was amused when reading a press release issued by LifeTime Lumber, touting its fire resistance:
Thermosets are frequently used in aerospace applications where maximum strength and inflammability is required.
You would think that a company building their business plan partially around the fire resistance of their product would know that the words “flammable” and “inflammable” have the same meaning.
From Dictionary.com:
in⋅flam⋅ma⋅ble [in-flam-uh-buhl]
–adjective
capable of being set on fire; combustible; flammable.flam⋅ma⋅ble [flam-uh-buhl]
–adjective
easily set on fire; combustible; inflammable.
