October is Fire Prevention Month — a reminder that smart building choices save lives. According to the Brick Industry Association, brick veneer can buy up to an hour of extra escape time during a house fire, making it one of the safest and most durable exterior materials available.
As Fire Prevention Month unfolds, it’s critical to highlight how the right cladding can literally save lives. Firefighters interviewed via the Brick Industry Association report that clay brick siding allows roughly one extra hour of escape time compared to vinyl and fiber cement. Brick Industry Association
Brick is a safer, better bet…That gives us a chance to get in there and prevent damage to the rest of the home. It’s a huge difference for firefighter safety, for the occupant safety, for everybody’s safety.
Tested in the lab and observed in real life
In laboratory testing, brick’s performance is equally impressive: clay brick cladding withstands fire for at least one hour before a breach, whereas vinyl siding fails in mere minutes (around 18 minutes in one test) and fiber cement succumbs in under an hour. Brick Industry Association+1
Even thin-brick veneer systems have been shown to achieve a one-hour fire resistance rating (both exterior and interior exposure) when tested in accordance with ASTM E119 and NFPA 285. Brick Industry Association
A nominal 4-inch clay brick wythe alone provides a one-hour fire-resistance rating for an exterior wall surface. Brick Industry Association+1 In one set of fire tests, anchored brick veneer panels passed a full hour of fire exposure and hose stream testing, with the interior side staying below critical temperatures and no flame penetration. Acme Brick
For homeowners and builders alike, those numbers matter: specifying brick veneer isn’t just about aesthetics or longevity — it can make your home safer in the worst case.