Mulch is widely used in Central Ohio landscapes for both aesthetic and functional purposes. Many homeowners and businesses apply mulch in the spring to help slow the loss of soil moisture during the hot summer months, discourage weeds, and maintain a tidy appearance. There are now many mulches on the market made from a wide variety of materials including ground rubber, pine needles, oat straw, shredded hardwood and cypress bark, pine bark nuggets, shredded pine bark, composted leaves, brick chips, ground recycled pallets–dyed mulches wood, and even cocoa shells.
While mulch can be beneficial in landscape applications, it can also pose a fire hazard. Mulch fires are one of the more common calls the fire department answers during the warm months of the year. These fires are usually caused by cigarettes, matches and other smoking materials that are tossed on the ground before people enter a building or into the median from drivers. Some types of mulch are more easily ignited than others. Typically, mulches that are high in oils such as pine bark and shredded cypress bark, are easiest to ignite according to a study conducted by The Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute. Dyed mulches that are commonly processed from pallets can also readily catch fire. In contrast, cocoa shells, medium pine bark nuggets, and hardwood bark were three organic mulches that were tested in the study and found to be more ignition resistant.
Beware of Mulch fires common in landscaping.
To keep mulch fires out of the landscape:
* Do not discard cigarettes or other smoking materials on the ground, in playground areas, or throw them out of your vehicle.
* Ensure proper clearance to electrical devices such as decorative lighting by following the manufacturer¹s instructions.
* Maintain a minimum of a six-inch clearance between landscaping mulch beds and other combustible items such as buildings, shrubs, etc.
* Use non-combustible mulch such as rock or pea gravel around the gas meter and next to combustible portions of a structure.
* Maintain mulch at a depth of two to four inches to eliminate the chance of spontaneous combustion.
Do you have a fire prevention, fire, or life safety question for the fire department? Submit it to fireinfo@wtwp.com.
Line of Duty” Author: Fire Marshal Alan Perkins, CFPS, is a 32-year veteran of the fire service. A Certified Fire Protection Specialist through the National Fire Protection Association and a member of several similar safety organizations. Perkins is the Fire Marshal for the Washington Township Fire Department, Dublin, Ohio. For more information, contact: Leslie Dybiec, Public Information Officer Phone: (614) 652-3928 Fax: (614) 766-2507 or ldybiec@wtwp.com.
Live Safe Foundation is an Ohio based non-profit organization (501c3), and leading grassroots movement, devoted to making fire safety education, awareness initiatives and life saving tools available on a broad basis to communities, campuses, and institutions in an effort to reduce national fire fatalities and fire losses. LiveSafe aims to help finance fire safety education where means are otherwise unavailable. LiveSafe is developing and sponsoring programs to help groups find the resources needed to advance individual and community fire safety.
Tags: fires, mulch, The Ohio State University
