Fire-resistant paint is very expensive, used mostly on commercial buildings, but it could become mainstream after a season of ubiquitous fires across the West.

About 50 houses and outbuildings have been burned down from wildfires in Oregon this year, according to David Widmark, a spokesman for the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland.

Intumescent paint, made of ceramic fibers, expands when exposed to high temperatures and forms an insulating and protective layer between a fire and a structure. The fire-resistant paint reduces flames from spreading as its latex-based material swells.

Although fire-resistant paint is mainly used by architects, general contractors and commercial builders, a company called International Fire Resistant Systems (IFRS) intends to make its fire-resistant product, Firefree 88, available to the retail market in two years.

”We know it’s an invaluable tool for fire protection, but we don’t want to release to Home Depot or Lowe’s until we can set up a plan to meet the needs of the buyers,” said Steve Beck, president of IFRS. ”We are customer service oriented, and we want to make sure there are plans in place to distribute and provide great service with the product.”

The fire-resistant coating manufactured by IFRS, based in San Rafael, Calif., can be sprayed, rolled or brushed on. It has been inspected and approved by the Underwriter’s Laboratory, a nonprofit product safety testing and certification organization.

The coating is nontoxic and can be washed off with soap and water. IFRS’ product is environmentally safe when it burns and has low levels of volatile organic compounds commonly found in paint.

”Firefree 88 has been used to meet fire codes, reduce material and labor costs as well as save time,” Beck said.

”Our coating can be used on wood, fiberglass, plaster, tin, steel, plastics, and, of course, sheet rock.”

The Ravinia Festival Outdoor Amphitheater in Highland Park, Ill., coated its panels with Firefree 88 to reduce toxic smoke from fiberglass in the event of fire. The Highland Park Fire Department approved the method in lieu of sprinklers at Ravinia, but IFRS recommends that its product is used as a backup to sprinklers. It cost the amphitheater $20,000 for the paint and application, compared with $140,000 to install a sprinkler system, according to IFRS.

”The paint performed incredibly well,” said Pat Sanders, general manager for the Ravinia. ”The test results were amazing; we passed with flying colors. It was the right decision since a sprinkler system would have required massive engineering and water lines.”

After Salmon Creek United Methodist Church in Vancouver, Wash., completed building its gymnasium ceiling, the local fire department required an additional layer of sheet rock to meet fire codes. To remove all ceiling fixtures, add sheet rock and paint would have taken four weeks, according to IFRS. The church alternatively applied Firefree 88 and the gym was completed in four days.

So far, the fire-resistant paint has not been widely used by homeowners. Its high price is a deterrent.

”In the three and half years that we’ve carried fire-resistant paint, we’ve never sold it to a customer who wanted to paint their whole house,” said Mike Haggren, owner of Northwest Protective Coatings in Lynden, Wash. ”We’ve had a lot of inquiries, but it would cost several thousand dollars just for the paint.”

Compared to interior or exterior paint available at a local home improvement store, which runs for about $10 to $30 a gallon, Firefree 88 costs about $60 to $65 per gallon, Beck said.

Ryan Barr, project manager for R.G. Brinkmann Construction Co. in Chesterfield, Mo., and Bruce Reid, project manager of DPR Construction in Portland, don’t think fire-resistant paint will penetrate the residential home market anytime soon even though both contractors use it for commercial buildings.

”We use it very sparingly because of its high costs,” said Barr. ”We really only use it to meet certain code requirements.”

Rather than coating a house with fire-resistant paint, Reid suggests investing in a clay tile roof because the roof is the most vulnerable part of a home near a wildfire. ”That’s a more reasonable thing to do,” he said.

Mike Skeels, a fire inspector for the Bend Fire Department, said the paint is not yet specifically designed for residential homes but it seems appropriate to apply it to existing wooden houses.

”If people have wood sidings, it can work as an extra layer of safety and reduce potential ignition,” Skeels said. ”It will increase resistance to fires, but it’s not a cure-all.”

Home insurers Farmers Insurance Group and Allstate do not offer discounts for homeowners who use fire-resistant paint. While intumescent paints have been on the market for more than 40 years, it has not convinced insurance companies of its value.

”At this point, the insurance companies haven’t rallied behind this,” said Douglas Hollums, who has worked for three major insurance companies and is now an agent for Allstate in Bend. ”Insurance companies go by hard numbers. There needs to be a history of homes that use this fire-retardant paint and make fewer claims to the companies.”

Monica Lee can be reached at mlee@bendbulletin.com.