What P.E.I. can learn from Virginia about preventing mulch fires

A small city in Virginia has taken an interesting approach to preventing mulch fires in recent years, which that city's fire chief says has nearly eliminated all significant mulch-related fires as a result.

Ian Bennett, the fire chief of Harrisonburg, Virginia, told CBC News about a rule that's been in place in that city since April 2015 that bans combustible landscape material — like mulch — from being within 18 inches of certain buildings.

The rule applies to all apartments buildings, businesses and industrial buildings that have combustible siding that can easily catch on fire.

"The problem with these types [of buildings] is that they may have sprinkler systems in them, but they're not effective with an exterior fire," he said.

Mulch fires is a topic relevant to Islanders following a blaze last Wednesday that destroyed a Charlottetown apartment building. The cause of that fire has been pinpointed to garden mulch outside the building and Charlottetown's fire inspector is warning people to be careful with mulch.

'So far it's been very successful for us'

Bennett said Harrisonburg has dealt with "some significant fires over the last 15 to 20 years" related to mulch and that the new rule has led to a dramatic drop in mulch fires.

"We haven't had a significant fire due to mulch in a compliant property since this has been [in place]," he said. "So far it's been very successful for us."

After some research regarding flash fires, he said the city found that 18 inches "seemed to be about the sweet spot that people were using to prohibit it from spreading to the combustible siding."

Many apartment managers and home builders were upset with the rule when it was first introduced, he said, and some filed lawsuits against the city.

Despite the legal challenges, the rule "has prevailed."

Fire chief highly recommends the rule

In terms of enforcing the rule, Bennett said they're mostly focused on educating people that the rule exists — because some are unaware that they're not in compliance.

"We'll educate them and say 'you can't do that' and they'll either rake it back 18 inches or some actually have switched over to stone," he said.

Single- and two-family homes are exempt from the rule and so are buildings that have a non-combustible foundation, like brick or stone, which rises at least six feet above the mulch.

Bennett said Harrisonburg is the first municipality in Virginia to implement the rule and he's encouraging other jurisdictions to follow suit.

"If you're using mulch and combustible siding a lot, I would highly recommend it," he said.

"It's a common-sense approach to try and limit these types of fires."

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