Michael Wellborn 4/24/25 Michael Wellborn 4/24/25

Best Fire-Resistant Building Materials for Zone 0 & Zone 1

When defending your home against wildfires, no area is more critical than the first 5 feet: Zone 0. This zone is where embers land, where flammable materials accumulate, and where ignition often begins. But the good news is that you don’t need to undertake a complete rebuild to make meaningful changes—you just need to choose the right fire-resistant materials.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through the best fire-resistant materials for key areas of your home’s exterior that are vulnerable to wildfire risks. Zone 0 and Zone 1 are key components of a broader wildfire defense strategy. Together with defensible space and other protective measures, the right materials can significantly increase your home’s chances of surviving a wildfire.

Let’s dive into the best fire-resistant options for your home.

1. Roofing: Go Class A or Better

Your roof is one of the largest and most exposed surfaces of your home. During a wildfire, it’s extremely vulnerable to ember attacks, which can easily ignite roofs made from combustible materials. For maximum protection, your roof should be made of materials that are Class A fire-rated, which provide the highest level of fire resistance.

Best Choices:

Composite Shingles (Class A): These are a cost-effective option that offers excellent fire resistance.
Clay or Concrete Tiles: Both materials are durable and naturally fire-resistant.
Standing Seam Metal Roofing: A fire-resistant and durable choice that provides long-lasting protection.

Avoid:

Wood Shakes: These are highly combustible and should be avoided in fire-prone areas.
Unrated Asphalt Shingles: While cheaper, these shingles lack sufficient fire resistance.

Source: CAL FIRE - Ready for Wildfire

2. Siding: Choose Noncombustible Materials

Siding is your home’s protective “skin,” shielding it from the elements and wildfires. During a wildfire, siding needs to withstand not only radiant heat but also the risk of embers landing and igniting the structure. Fire-resistant siding materials help protect your home by creating a barrier that keeps flames at bay.

Best Choices:

Fiber Cement Board (like HardiePlank): This material is highly fire-resistant, durable, and low-maintenance.
Metal Siding: Provides robust protection against fire and is long-lasting.
Three-Coat Stucco: A great option for homes in wildfire zones. It’s made of noncombustible materials and can resist heat.

Avoid:

Vinyl: This material can melt easily under intense heat, and it can also catch fire.
Untreated Wood: Wood is highly flammable and should be avoided in high-risk areas.

3. Gutters: Steel Over Plastic

Gutters play a key role in managing rainwater, but they can also be a major fire risk. Debris, leaves, and pine needles can collect in gutters, and when exposed to embers or radiant heat, these materials can easily catch fire. To prevent this, steel gutters with metal guards are the best choice.

Best Choices:

Aluminum or Galvanized Steel: These materials are fire-resistant and durable.
Metal Gutter Guards: These prevent the buildup of debris and provide an extra layer of defense against ember ignition.

Avoid:

Plastic or Vinyl Gutters: These are easily ignitable and melt under heat.

4. Soffits & Eaves: Seal Them Tight

Soffits and eaves are often overlooked but are key points of entry for flying embers. Unsealed gaps allow embers to travel straight into your attic or roof cavities. These spaces can catch fire quickly, especially in a wildfire.

Best Choices:

Boxed-In Eaves with Fiber Cement Soffit Board: This material is fire-resistant and helps seal the gaps that allow embers to enter.
Screened Vents with 1/8" Mesh or Intumescent Backing: These vent covers block embers from getting inside while still allowing airflow.

Source: Berkeley FireSafe Council

Avoid:

Unprotected or poorly sealed eaves and soffits.

5. Windows: Stronger Glass, Less Risk

Windows are another vulnerable part of your home during a wildfire. Heat from radiant heat or flying embers can cause windows to crack or shatter, letting embers enter your home. To reduce the risk, you’ll need to choose windows that are resistant to high temperatures and flying debris.

Best Choices:

Dual-Pane Tempered Glass Windows: These are stronger than standard glass and provide greater heat resistance.
Tempered Glass: This type of glass is designed to withstand higher temperatures without breaking, making it ideal for homes in wildfire zones.

Avoid:

Single-Pane Glass Windows: They shatter more easily and offer minimal protection against radiant heat.
Acrylic Windows: These materials can melt under extreme heat.

6. Doors: Solid Core and Fire-Rated

Your front, side, and garage doors need to be fire-resistant to prevent fire from entering your home. Fire-rated doors provide protection against heat and flames, and should be considered in your wildfire defense plan.

Best Choices:

Steel Doors: Steel is one of the best fire-resistant materials and helps prevent the spread of flames.
Fire-Rated Solid Wood or Fiberglass: These materials are designed to withstand heat and prevent fires from entering through doors.

7. Decking: Wildfire-Rated or Noncombustible

Decks are a common point of vulnerability during wildfires. Embers often settle under decks and can quickly ignite wooden surfaces. To protect your home, consider fire-rated decking materials.

Best Choices:

Fire-Rated Composite Decking: These materials provide a non-combustible, durable surface for outdoor spaces.
Metal Grating or Concrete Slab Construction: These options offer a more permanent, fire-resistant deck.

Avoid:

Wooden Decking: It’s highly combustible and can catch fire from underneath, allowing embers to ignite the deck and spread to your home.

8. Perimeter Ground Cover: Preventing Ember Ignition

Zone 0 isn’t just about the materials on your home; it also includes the ground around it. Creating a non-combustible perimeter helps prevent embers from landing near your home.

Best Choices:

Gravel: Gravel provides an excellent non-combustible ground cover that helps prevent fires from spreading.
Decomposed Granite: This material is both attractive and fire-resistant.
Concrete or Stone Pavers: These materials can create a solid, fireproof foundation around your home.

Avoid:

Bark Mulch: While often used in landscaping, bark mulch is highly flammable and should be avoided in high-risk areas.
Dry Grass: Grass can easily catch fire and should be kept well-maintained.

Bonus: Full-Structure Fire Shielding

Even with the best materials in place, there are scenarios—like a neighbor’s home catching fire—where radiant heat and ember storms may overwhelm your defenses. That’s where full-structure fire shielding comes in.

Our solution is:

Waterless (no plumbing or sprinkler system needed)
Self-sufficient (no supervision required)
Rated to 3,000°F, with deployment designed to protect against ember storms and radiant heat

Final Thought:

Fire-resistant building materials can’t stop every fire—but they give your home a fighting chance. Combined with defensible space and smart upgrades, these materials are one of the most important tools we have in the fight against wildfires.

The Zone Zero Fire Shield team hopes you find this information helpful.

Related Blogs in Our Series:

Creating a Fire-Safe Perimeter

Michael Wellborn 4/18/25 Michael Wellborn 4/18/25

Homeowners Insurance and Wildfires: What’s Covered and What’s Not

As wildfires become more frequent and severe across California, homeowners are learning that their insurance coverage may not offer the protection they once assumed. Insurance isn’t just a formality anymore—it’s a battleground between risk, rising costs, and even the ability to get coverage at all.

Let’s walk through what wildfire insurance actually covers (and what it doesn’t), why policies are being dropped, and how fire prevention—like the Zone Zero Fire Shield—fits into this changing landscape.

What Does Wildfire Insurance Typically Cover?

In California, most standard homeowners insurance policies do cover damage from wildfires, including:

Damage to the structure of your home
Personal property losses (furniture, electronics, clothing, etc.)
Temporary housing costs if your home becomes uninhabitable
Smoke and soot damage, depending on your policy

However, policies vary widely. Some have high deductibles for wildfire losses, others limit coverage amounts in high-risk zones, and many include special exclusions if homes don’t meet local fire-hardening standards.

That’s why it’s vital to regularly review your policy with your insurance agent—especially if you live in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ), like much of Contra Costa County, the Oakland Hills, or areas around Lafayette, Orinda, and Moraga.

The Hidden Gaps: What’s NOT Covered

Here are a few things that are often excluded or underinsured:

Outbuildings and sheds (unless specifically listed)
Landscaping damage (trees, gardens, fencing)
Debris removal (especially after partial damage)
Secondary smoke damage to electronics and air systems
Luxury or high-value items that exceed coverage caps

And most importantly: Your peace of mind isn’t covered.

A Growing Crisis: Canceled Policies and Soaring Rates

California is in the middle of an insurance crisis. Following record-setting wildfires in recent years—like the Camp Fire and Palisades Fires—many major insurers have dropped customers in high-risk zones or stopped writing new policies altogether.

As of 2023, more than 300,000 California homes have lost insurance due to wildfire risk.
In some fire-prone ZIP codes, 1 in 5 homes have had their policy canceled.
The California Insurance Commissioner is currently reviewing a proposed 22% rate increase by major carriers, directly linked to losses from the Palisades Fire and broader risk projections.

Many East Bay homeowners—especially in Blackhawk, Alamo, and the Oakland Hills—have been forced into the FAIR Plan, a last-resort, state-run insurance option with limited benefits and high premiums.

This is why fire prevention is no longer just good sense—it’s becoming essential to remain insured.

The Key Distinction: Insurance vs. Prevention

This is where Zone Zero Fire Shield changes the game.

Unlike fire insurance, Zone Zero Fire Shield is fire prevention.

Insurance will pay to rebuild your home after it’s gone. But our solution aims to keep your home from ever being lost in the first place.

Experiencing a catastrophic wildfire event is traumatic—even if you’re insured. You lose your possessions, your peace of mind, and often your entire neighborhood. The rebuild process can take years, cost more than your coverage, and lead to constant battles with adjusters.

But when your home is protected by a 3,000°F-rated fire shield, you can evacuate with confidence:

You don’t need to pack valuables—your art, keepsakes, and jewelry stay protected.
Your cars, RVs, and outdoor equipment are wrapped and defended.
If you’re out of state or on vacation, we’ll still show up and protect your property.

Instead of enduring a personal disaster, you simply come home to a structure that’s intact.

This isn’t just theory—it’s science. We’ve based our system on decades of data showing that 90% of wildfire home ignitions are from embers and radiant heat from adjacent structures, not direct flame. Our shield prevents embers from entering vents, igniting debris, or damaging windows. That’s the Zone Zero difference.

Learn more at www.zonezerofireshield.com

How Zone Zero Fire Shield Supports Insurability

Insurance companies are increasingly looking for measurable fire prevention efforts when assessing whether to write or renew a policy. Our service can:

Help you retain your current policy by demonstrating active fire defense
Be a valuable asset when applying for new coverage
Potentially lower premiums as fire defense tech becomes more widely recognized

We work alongside fire departments, emergency responders, and local codes to integrate your protection with the broader wildfire defense plan.

We’re not here to replace insurance. We’re here to make sure you don’t have to use it.

Final Word

The wildfire insurance landscape is changing—and not in a homeowner-friendly way. Policies are being canceled, premiums are spiking, and even the most thorough insurance can’t bring back lost memories or keepsakes.

Zone Zero Fire Shield offers a better path: prevention, not payout.

Because rebuilding is expensive. But replacing the irreplaceable? That’s impossible.