Enhanced Safety from Fires and Storms: How Brick Protects Your Home

Why do firefighters choose brick for their homes? What happens to brick in a hailstorm? When disasters threaten your family, home, and belongings, brick will gives you the time and protection you need. Not to mention, it’s an energy efficient and sustainable building material! Both studies and testimonies of real homeowners prove brick offers unbeatable protection.

Brick Gives You 90 Minutes of Fire Protection

Studies show, on average, clay brick slows down the spread of a fire by up to 90 minutes, giving firefighters more time to save you and your family. Bricks are manufactured by firing clay at extremely high temperatures, far above most building fires. After firing, the bricks are completely dry and heat-treated. In a fire, they don’t ignite, melt, or release toxic gases and smoke. Even better, bricks store heat, meaning it stays longer in the brick it slows down the heating up of adjacent materials.

The time delay created by fire-resistant brick gives you more time to evacuate safely. Unlike wood, bricks don’t contribute fuel to the fire or lose structural strength. When the fire is over, brick structures may also require less to repair. By contrast, vinyl siding has been known to melt or curl under hot sun and melts down quickly in a fire. When you need it most, bricks are the best protection against fire damage and your safest choice in building materials.

Brick Withstands Severe Storms and Water

Nothing protects you from severe weather like bricks. As a kiln-fired stone product, brick is built to stand strong against wind, water, and wind-blown debris. Wood, vinyl, and fiber cement cladding can’t match it. It’s not just the wind and water to watch out for during a storm. Brick takes the hits from blowing debris. Brick homes exceed Florida’s 34-mph impact resistance requirement for high velocity hurricane zones.  

Check out these dramatic demonstrations of brick’s resilience to impacts.

Whether it’s a natural disaster, severe storms, or water from fighting a fire, moisture and high water do serious long-term damage. An independent study of building products found that brick controls moisture better than other exterior materials. Mold, rot, insects, and corrosion were all minimized compared to other materials. When you’re choosing to build, repair, and care for your property, choose brick for real protection.