Do this first
What to do right now
- Do not go back onto the property until fire authorities have released it, hot spots persist in attics and under roof assemblies for days.
- Wear an N95 or better and gloves. Post-fire ash contains combustion residues and, in older Burbank housing stock, possibly asbestos from disturbed roofing or insulation.
- Photograph everything before cleanup: scorch marks, melted vent screens, deformed ridge caps, blistered shingles, ash in the gutters.
- Check the attic with a torch for light coming through, charred sheathing, and embers that may still be smouldering in blown-in insulation.
- Do not hose the roof down before it is documented: you will wash away the evidence your adjuster needs.
- Get a licensed roofer to inspect the assembly, not just the surface. Heat damage to underlayment and sheathing is usually invisible from the ground.
Class A and Chapter 7A requirements at a glance
- Class A
- The highest fire-resistance rating for a roof assembly under ASTM E108 / UL 790. The rating belongs to the assembly, not to the visible material alone.
- Where a Class A assembly is required
- New roofs and most reroofs in a Wildland-Urban Interface area, a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone or a State Responsibility Area.
- Ember-resistant detailing
- California Building Code Chapter 7A and California Residential Code R337: noncombustible or ember-blocked ends on barrel tile, no gaps at ridges and hips, and noncombustible gutter and valley detailing.
- Vent screen mesh
- Corrosion-resistant mesh no larger than 1/8 inch, and no vents in eaves or cornices where the code prohibits them.
- Time to collect full replacement cost
- At least 24 months after a declared disaster under Insurance Code section 2051.5, with further extension available in declared emergencies.
- Contractor verification
- Check any contractor at cslb.ca.gov. California treats disaster-area contractor fraud as a felony.
Ember damage is not the same as fire damage
A roof can look untouched from the street and still be compromised. Embers land in the gaps at the ends of barrel tiles, in open ridge and hip courses, and against vent screens. Radiant heat from a structure or vegetation fire a hundred feet away can blister asphalt shingle, soften and deform plastic vents, curl ridge caps and cook the underlayment beneath intact tile. None of that is visible without lifting material and getting into the attic, which is exactly why a post-fire roof inspection in Burbank should be done by someone who works on roofs, not only by a general adjuster.
What Class A and Chapter 7A actually require
Class A is the highest fire-resistance rating for a roof assembly under ASTM E108 / UL 790. In California, new roofs and most reroofs in a Wildland-Urban Interface area, Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone or State Responsibility Area must be Class A assemblies, and California Building Code Chapter 7A and California Residential Code R337 add the ember-resistant details that decide most outcomes: noncombustible or ember-blocked ends on barrel tile, no gaps at ridges and hips, vents screened with corrosion-resistant mesh no larger than 1/8 inch and no vents in eaves or cornices where the code prohibits them, and noncombustible gutter and valley detailing. The rating belongs to the assembly, not just the visible material, a Class A tile over the wrong underlayment is not a Class A roof.
Rebuilding, insurance and the FAIR Plan
If you are rebuilding after a declared disaster, California law gives you longer than the standard policy language suggests: Insurance Code section 2051.5 extends the period to collect full replacement cost to at least 24 months, with further extension available in declared emergencies. Ask your insurer in writing for the code-upgrade or ordinance-and-law coverage on your policy, because bringing an older Burbank roof up to current Chapter 7A standards costs more than replacing like for like. And verify any contractor at cslb.ca.gov before signing, post-fire areas attract unlicensed operators, and California treats disaster-area contractor fraud as a felony.
