Wildfire protection · Vancouver Island
Protect your home from wildfire embers.
A metal roof that does not burn, and a sprinkler system that wets your roof, gutters and walls down before the fire gets close.
Formed in our own Nanaimo shop and installed across the Island, with the water and power connections done by licensed trades.
We are now booking this work. Tell us about your property and we will email you to book.
Port Alberni and the Alberni Valley, the Cowichan Valley, the Comox Valley, the Gulf Islands and rural properties across Vancouver Island.
Why it matters
Embers arrive long before the fire does.
FireSmart’s construction guidance is blunt about where a house is won or lost: “Sparks and burning embers from a wildfire can travel long distances and quickly ignite flammable roofing material,” and “the roof is the most vulnerable component of your home.”
It says the same about what collects up there: “the gutters on your home provide a place for combustible debris to accumulate and open eaves create an entry point for sparks and embers.”
A metal roof gives those embers nothing to catch. FireSmart lists metal among the Class A fire-rated roofing materials, and a sprinkler system keeps the roof, the gutter line and the walls wet through the hours when embers are landing.
The package
What goes on your house.
Roof and sprinkler system quoted together, so the mounting, the gutter line and the water supply are planned as one job.
The metal roof
Standing seam or exposed fastener, formed to your roof in our Nanaimo shop. Steel does not burn, and it gives landing embers nothing to catch.
Roof and gutter-line sprinklers
Heads along the ridge and the gutter line wet the roof surface, the gutters and the walls below them — the places embers land and debris collects.
Water tank and pump
A dedicated tank with its own pump is the most reliable source, because town water pressure can drop when a whole neighbourhood is running sprinklers at once. A pool or pond can work too. We size the tank and pump to the property for hours of run time, not to a catalogue.
Controls
An automatic trigger or phone activation, so the system can start with nobody at the house. You should already have evacuated, so a manual valve is only ever a backup.
How it works
From assessment to walk-through.
Four stages, with licensed trades on the connections that need them.
01
Assess
We look at the roof, the gutter line, the water available on the property and how exposed the building is.
02
Design
Head placement, pipe runs, pump sizing and controls, quoted together with the roof so nothing gets retrofitted awkwardly later.
03
Install
We do the roof and the sprinkler lines. A licensed plumber makes the water connection with backflow protection, and a licensed electrician wires the pump and controls.
04
Test and walk through
We run the system with you there, show you how to start it, and leave you knowing how it behaves. After that, a yearly service plan covers a spring test before fire season and a fall winterization.
Who it is for
Properties where the forest is close.
Rural and acreage homes, the wildland-urban edge, and cabins where help is a long way off. Port Alberni and the Alberni Valley, the Cowichan Valley, the Comox Valley and the Gulf Islands are where we see it most.
If your property backs onto bush, sits on a slope above it, or is the kind of place a fire crew would struggle to reach quickly, this is the upgrade worth pricing.
Pair it with
Keep the gutter line clear.
FireSmart names gutters as a place combustible debris collects. Two services that deal with exactly that.
Gutter cleaning and roof maintenance
Gutters cleared by hand twice a year, with a photo check of the roof while we are up there.
Seamless gutters
5″ and 6″ K-style aluminium formed on site, with guards available on any run we install.
Price your roof in about two minutes
Find your house on the satellite map, outline the roof and see an estimated range straight away. It is an estimate rather than a quote, and you see it before we ask for any details.
Questions
Wildfire sprinkler questions.
It depends on the roof, the number of heads, the water source and the pump. Tell us about the property and we will email you a quote.
That is part of the design. Pump and control options include backup power, and we will talk through what suits your property when we quote.
Often yes. Tell us what the roof is and how the gutters run, and we will tell you what fits.
Yes, and it works best alongside it. A local FireSmart assessment is a great first step and tells you what matters most on your property.
Some local governments run FireSmart rebate programs, and what they cover varies by area — our guide to roofing rebates in BC explains how they work. Check yours, and we are happy to help with the paperwork.
Tell us about your property.
Send the address and how close the bush is. We will email you to book a look.
Sprinkler systems reduce ember and radiant-heat risk; no system can guarantee a home will survive a wildfire, and you should always follow evacuation orders.