Wildfire victims look to nontraditional materials, methods as a solution to rebuilding homes

By Phillip Palmer
ABC 7 Eye Witness News
March 14, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

LOS ANGELES — Many fire victims are facing a daunting question: How do I rebuild? With what? …Ryan Palos used ICF, Insulation Concrete Forms. Their home is designed and permitted as non-combustible and built using only foam, concrete and rebar. There isn’t much that would identify it as nontraditional, but by eliminating wood from the structure, they also reduced their risk of fire. …Evangeline Iglesias will use Emergent Construction to build her home. Emergent has printed several homes in Redding and even one on the campus of Woodbury University in Burbank and will only require 30 hours to print the walls, which can save up to two months on construction time while offering incredible flexibility. …A home made with concrete is clearly fire resistant, but in Paradise where the Camp Fire destroyed 90% of the town’s homes, a house made with hay is also groundbreaking in its ability to resist fire.

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