Virginia Fire Shows Problems With Vinyl Siding

LOUDOUN County, Va. -- A fire on Tuesday destroyed a truck parked in the driveway of a home in Loudoun County's Broadlands community.

Loudoun County Chief Fire Marshal Keith Brower says the fire was a good example of how the material used in building homes can inhibit or encourage fire spread.

The truck was being used by a gutter installation company on an almost completed home at 21975 Auction Barn Way. Despite the burning truck's proximity to the home, the house suffered only minor damage with some discoloration to the siding.

But a home about three times the distance away lost a whole wall of siding. That siding melted. The difference says Brower is that the melted siding is made of vinyl.

Vinyl siding meets the building code and is used around the world. Brower and others in the fire service have long cited vinyl siding as a contributing factor in fires spreading from one home to the next.

9NEWS NOW attempted to contact the Vinyl Siding Institute in Washington, but has not received a response. In the past the trade organization has defended the use of the material.

On its website, under the heading Siding With Safety, the Vinyl Siding Institute provides this safety information about fires:

Safe homes use fire-safe claddings, which include vinyl siding. Why does vinyl siding provide good fire performance? It is composed mainly of polyvinyl chloride, more commonly known as vinyl or PVC. Due to its chlorine base, vinyl siding does not ignite quickly and is inherently flame-retardant.

Brower says the house closest to the fire was finished with Hardy Board. Hardy Board is a composite material of wood and masonry fiber.

Chief Brower believes if the house closest to the burning truck had vinyl siding instead of Hardy Board, the fire would have likely spread to the home. Brower says the resulting fire would have provided much more radiant heat that could have also ignited the neighboring home.

Republished with permission of WUSA-TV.