Correct terminology is fire resistant. Nothing is fire proof. Steel exterior siding is rated fire resistant. We used Hardi concrete fiber panel exterior siding in a board and batten look which is also rated fire resistant.
We live in remote forested mountain area and experienced two wildfires with zero issues. We didn't evacuate when it was ordered (one can't be forced to evaluate one's home in Oregon) and we didn't even need to use our fire suppression water system. We don't have a fire department that responds to house fires in our area. We depend solely on the forestry department that only responds to forest fires. Since our buildings are considered highly fire resistant, we are able to get affordable home insurance whereas some of our neighbors can't get any home insurance at any price. There are photos of a wildfire at our place on our website if interested:
https://www.borstengineeringconstruction.com/Ramsey_Canyon_Wildfire.pdf
ICF is probably the best fire resistant wall structure you can have. Living in a forest is likely far better than living in a housing development as housing development fires burn far hotter and faster than wildland fires. Housing development fires also generate highly toxic smoke compared to only wood fire smoke. So I think you are well on your way to having a fire resistant and survivable home!
To have a fire resistant home, in addition to having a fire resistant wall structure (e.g., ICF), you need fire resistant doors, windows and roof. We used steel standing seam roof and tempered glass double pane windows. We used fine stainless steel screen to keep embers from entering the building via roof and soffit ventilation paths, etc. Our buildings are single level with full hip roofs having 4 foot roof eaves (a consequence and one of the design elements of their high energy efficiency passive solar design) which provides excellent overall building shielding from the intense wildfire burning ember storm. We have plenty of defensible space and we don't have any landscaping close to the buildings.
We have a fire suppression system with 8000 gallons of water stored in underground concrete tanks that can be pumped at 150 GPM into long fire hoses and fire nozzled long distance or misted as needed to fight a fire or create a fire resistant wet zone. While our buildings are well-sealed and don't allow smoke to enter when the windows are closed and HRV is turned off, we also have full face smoke respirator masks. One needs to be fully capable, prepared and self-reliant when living in remote areas. |