Prepare your roof for the unexpected

TOPIC 02

Prepare for the unexpected

7 Min Read

Chapter 01: The spread of fires

All it takes is a single ember

Building owners probably aren’t thinking about roof damage before installation. But you can make sure they’re prepared for the worst.

Whether it’s from a neighboring building or faulty electrical wiring, commercial building fires can escalate quickly. Using noncombustible roofing materials can help mitigate the spread of fires that cause damage, injury and loss of life.

When a gypsum cover board is at the top of the assembly, it protects the roofing system from external fire. If an ember lands on top of the roof and ignites the membrane, the cover board can prevent the fire from spreading and becoming worse.

When a gypsum cover board is in the “roof board position” at the bottom of the roofing assembly, it protects the roof from internal fire within the building. This can prevent the roofing system from becoming additional fuel.

A large burning ember is in the foreground with smaller embers scattered on the perimeter. The roof of a large commercial building is shown below. The tops of semi-trucks can be seen in parking spots next to the building. Graphic text overlay says: Non-residential building fires have increased by 27% from 2013 to 2023. The 2022 national estimates for non-residential building fires and losses were: 129,500 total fires, 140 total deaths, 1,300 total injuries, $3,741,200,000 in dollar losses.

SOURCE:
1 Nonresident Fire Estimate Summaries – Nonresident building fire trends (2013-2022). U.S. Fire Administration (page last reviewed Dec. 2024). https://www.usfa.fema.gov/statistics/nonresidential-fires/

Chapter 02: The rise of severe weather

Don’t let your next job be a storm-damage statistic

Severe storms have become more frequent and widespread in recent years. These include threats such as hail, lightning and severe winds that can cause devastating damage to roofing systems.

See the details below. Then, you can share them with project stakeholders to validate your cover board recommendation.

The image is a chart titled, “Billion dollar severe storm disasters”. Yellow/orange bars show the number of events and a white line shows the cost in billions. The chart shows an increase in both values from 1980 to 2022.

SOURCE:
2 NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2024). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/, DOI: 10.25921/stkw-7w73

Chapter 03: The impact of hail

Hail damage can cost billions

Severe storm damage isn’t limited to a few areas. FM Global-defined hail zones have widened in recent years. Moderate Hail Zones have grown to reach a large part of the United States, while Severe and Very Severe Hail (VSH) Zones carve a path through the center of the country.

The graphic titled, “FM Global Hail Zones” shows a map of the United States with a red zone in the middle of the country and orange/yellow zones extending out around it. The chart points to an area in the U.S. for each fact: $2.7 billion, Denver, Colorado, 2017. Inset picture shows a flooded store. $1.9 billion, San Antonio, Texas, May 2020. Inset picture shows ripped siding next to a window on a house. $2.2 billion, South-central Minnesota, May 2022. Inset picture shows a gloved hand holding a smashed hailstone. Text states: Very severe hail can cause significant damage to entire neighborhoods. These examples [superscript 3] show how hail has caused major devastation in recent years.

Hail Speed

As hailstones increase in size, they pick up speed. Very large hailstones can fall at over 100 mph.⁴ Multiply those speeding hailstones by hundreds, then thousands, and you can see how this kind of bombardment can bring about the billion-dollar damage shown in the chart at the top of the page.

Hail Duration

Hailstorms tend to be short, often only lasting minutes. However, that is plenty of time to create significant destruction. The most severe hailstorms may last up to 30 minutes.⁴

The larger the hail, the greater the damage

Graphic text states “FM Global Hail Categories.” Under a rendered image of a small hail ball it states, “Moderate Hail, Up to 1.75 inches, 8 lbF.” Under a medium hail ball it states, “Severe Hail, 1.75 inches to 2.0 inches, 14.95 lbF.” Under a rendered image of an 8-ball itstates, “Cue Ball, 2.75 inches.” Under a large hail ball it states, “Very Severe Hail, Greater than 2.0 inches, 53 – 58 lbF.”

Just when you thought it couldn’t happen to your commercial roof ...

The costs can be staggering. For a manufacturer, big-box store, school, apartment complex, hotel or hospital, a catastrophic roof failure can cause interruptions in operations valued higher than you may think.

The costs are monetary and emotional, too. And if the damage is great enough, a business may never recover. For proof, see what happened at the Colorado Mills Mall in 2017.

SOURCE:
3 NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2024). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/, DOI: 10.25921/stkw-7w73
4 https://www.agcs.allianz.com/content/dam/onemarketing/agcs/agcs/pdfs-risk-advisory/checklists/ARC-Hailstorm-Checklist-EN.pdf

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