Shake & Shingle Bureau fights back

Taking their story to elected officials in California in an attempt to overcome bad press and legislation banning cedar shingle and shake roofs in areas of that state, the Cedar Shake & Shingle Bureau ran a four page advertisement in the December edition of the Calilbrnia Journal. Stressing the cedar shake and shingle products of today are not the same as 20 years ago, the presentation centered on permanentlY fireretardant cedar shakes and shingles. Subject to stringent testing to ensure that they meet all local and national fire codes, these are identified bythe Certi-Guard label and are the onlY wood materials permitted on new roofs in many communities throughout the huge Southern California market.

cluded that pressure-impregnated fire-retardant shakes and shingles retain their protection for the life of the roof. Additional tests continue to prove that the product retains its fire protection after years of exposure to weathering in Southern California's sometimes harsh climate.

In actual practice, two homes roofed with Class B treated wood roofs survived undamaged a fire storm in the Santa Barbara, Ca., fire last summer.

The advertisement explains the vacuum process in a high-pressure chamber which draws air and moisture from the cells of the wood and injects fire-retardant chemicals at pressure up to 150 pounds Per square inch. The shakes andshingles are then thermally cured at tem-

"Unfortunately some media and government officials choose to disregard this proven fact of modern technology," the text points out. "For instance, Los Angeles Fire Chief Donald Manning and his staff continue to claim there is no evidence that pressure-imPregnated shakes and shingles retain their fireretardancy for life in Southern California's unique climate. Yet they refuse to attend tests designed specifically to demonstrate this caPability."

Independent tests by the Forest Products Laboratory, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, proved that pressure-impregnated shakes andshingles showed no significant loss of fire-retardancy after l0 years of continuous severe outdoor weathering. Based on these tests, the Forest Products LaboratorY con- peratures up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit which "locks the fireretardant through polymerization into the wood fibers forever."

Pressure impregnated cedar shakes and shingles musl pass nine tests to prove they are permanently fire-retardant while most roofing materials need to pass only three to obtain a fire-rated classification. Class C and B ratings certify they are effective against extensive exposure to fire, not readily flammable when burning brands or fiery debris are placed on the roof surface and will not create burning debris to contribute to the spread of a fire.