FAQ

When it comes to wildfires, roofs are the most vulnerable due to their prolonged exposure to the elements, specifically embers during wildfires.

Stucco doesn’t actually burn, however it has what’s called a spalling effect which causes the trapped oxygen within the porosity of the stucco to explode, thus leaving what is behind it (usually wood) to burn.

Fire ratings rank a material’s surface burning characteristics according to how fast flames spread and how much smoke they produce, according to ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials). The most common test for determining a fire rating is the Test Method E-84, or the tunnel test, which measures how far and fast flames spread across the surface of a given sample material. The results are then classified into three flame spread rating (FSR) groups, Class A-C. Cement would be considered Class A with 0-25 FSR, and oak plywood ranks at class C with 125-185 FSR.

What is Class A material?

Lumber treated with SUN FireDefense earned a Class A (see report here)

Intumescent, which passively helps increase a building’s resistance to fire, and SPF 3000 work differently when reacting to heat. When heated, solutions mixed with intumescent expand and harden on top of whatever material it is coating. Once activated, it hardens and renders the material it’s covering, especially wood, unsalvageable and damaged. Once activated by heat, SPF 3000 expands into the material it is coating, extinguishing fires by preventing oxygen from feeding the flames. Once the heat is removed, the solution contracts to its original state without damage to the surface it covers.

Intumescent coatings are also mostly used on commercial buildings. The solution is more expensive and requires more product per application as it needs a 15-20 ML thick coating to be effective vs. 3-5 ML with SPF 3000. SunFireDefense’s SPF 3000 spray can also last through several fires, once intumescent coatings are activated, they need to be reapplied.

The SPF 3000 solution is non-toxic once it is dry. There is no chemical smell when it burns. Just like a painter, users are required to wear gloves and masks. The solution also contains acetone, which irritates the skin and is flammable in its liquid state.

Turner Maclane (environmental consulting agency) 2018 – conducted an evaluation of wood treated with the patented formula (SPF 3000) to determine if it would pose an environmental or health threat. Additionally, it was tested to define if a normal treatment process would render the treated material to be classified as ‘hazardous waste’ by State or Federal regulatory standards.  All results were “non-detect” for Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs), indicating that there are no VOCs present at concentrations above the laboratory reporting limits. The results also showed that the wood products treated with the solution did not exhibit properties of hazardous waste and do not show any evidence of posing an environmental threat to the structure to which they are applied.   (Test results here)

Sun FireDefense should be applied once every 5 years.

Coating a 5000 sq ft home with SPF 3000 would take approximately 5 days. The Cold Fire system takes longer to install as it is tailored to each home or property.

SPF 3000 works best on wood, stucco, and fiberglass. These materials have porus qualities that allow the solution to expand into whatever it is coating to block oxygen and extinguish flames.