Custom «Buildings in the Wildland and Urban Interface» Essay Paper Sample

Describe the definition of Wildland/Urban Interface and Intermix.

Wildland is understood as the natural part of the environment that man has not tampered with. In other instances, the wildland may be considered as that land that is as intact places in the world that have left undisturbed and which man has no ability of controlling (Sandberg 2009). The wildland are not developed, this means that they do not have infrastructures such as roads, pipelines and ot6her industrial structures that have been put in place by man so as to make his life easier and comfortable. Wilderness can also be termed to as wildland and they are found in secluded areas such as national forests, ranches, national parks and in urban centers especially in areas that we have rivers and other natural resources that are undeveloped.

On the other hand, the urban interface is a linkage between the media and surrounding environment. The urban interface is geared towards exploring the relationship that exists between the emerging and designed systems that are present in the city. Wildland urban interface are areas that wildland vegetation do meet with the urban structures and development. The wildlad urban interface looks at the point where the urban fuels such as houses do meet with the wildland fuels like forests (Lemp 2010). The urban interface do not only constitutes of the interface alone but also of the fuels and slopes that are continuous and may lead to perils directly to the developments in the urban areas. Wildland intermix looks at how structures have been developed in the wildland and the way they are scattered in these wildlands.

Define methods of protecting buildings that are located within a wildland fire area.

With the current hustles of city life, people are looking for calm places where they can unwind and enjoy the natural breeze and quite life. These are some of the few things that have made most American citizens to prefer building their homes in the wild lands. In most instances, the wildlands are very hazardous and lots of accidents occur. Top of this list are fire outbreaks, to protect the buildings located in these wildlands, there are a number of precautions that have been forwarded by the government, the local authorities and the agents responsible for such perils. Some of those precautions that have been forwarded are discussed here. Of most significance is to obtain a building permit. This makes the authority aware of your existence and the place that you are located in. in cases of emergencies; you can also be traced easily (Lemp 2010).

The electric circulation circuits to be installed underground. The most common danger that faces the wildlands is fires. A small ignition is known to cause very great damages that can not be regulated no matter how hard one tries (Sandberg 2009). Electricity is also a great contribution of these fires and if the electricity cables are built underneath, some controllable measures as far as fire risks will have been curtailed. At the same time, the incorporation of a perimeter protection that will keep the building safe from wild fires and inclusion of these designs to every new mobile park and subdivision that is being built in the wildland areas.

Sandberg (2009) suggests that marking of all pathways and roads at all intersections and identification of all lands and homes in wildlands is a one way manners that can be given as a condition to all those building houses in the wildlands. People have been asked to mark their homes very clearly so as to make it easy for people to access the homes and places easily in times of emergences. Many cases have been identified where it was very difficultly to access some regions in time thus leading to great losses and damage to property. When roads and pathways are well marked responding to emergencies and tracking of the places becomes very easy.

All buildings in the fire prone areas to be made of roofs that are fire retarded commensurate with hazard classifications. In most cases, the roofs of the buildings will determine the extent of the damage caused by the fires. If the roofs are very weak and flammable, then the destruction will be very high compared to when the roofs used are retardant to fires and very tough. The use of such roofs will act as a determinant to what happen in the wildlands. A small ignition is known to cause very great damages, therefore those building in the wildlands will have to fulfill this condition before being allowed to construct in the areas (Sandberg 2009).

Lemp (2010) asserts all vents that are located underground and exterior attics should be covered with adequate screens to prevent firebrands and flames from entering. This covering will ensure that incase there is an outbreak of a fire, the fire can be contained and prevented from further spreading. The covering will also give adequate time for the fire fighters to come up with a better way through which they can regulate the fire and prevent it from causing further damages.

Describe the model Wildland/Urban Interface Building Code.

The different states have got varying codes that guide the buildings being set up in the wildlands. For instance, the California new building codes have two major approaches. The first one involves the removal of all flammable materials from any place around the construction. The second approach is guided towards the construction using materials that are resistant to fire. There are other guidelines specified by the law regarding any home owner in the wildland areas. For example, all home owners are required by law to allow a hundred feet around their premises as a defensive creation that acts as firefighters to protect ones home from any hazard especially the wild fires. From these building codes, homes are protected from ignition by embers originated from wildfires that are capable of flying number of miles from their origin.