New book argues wildfire home design overlooks windows and doors

Wide Open to Wildfire, released today, says wildfire-resistant homes can still fail at their weakest openings: windows and doors. The book lands as California digests the lessons of the 2025 Los Angeles-area fires and a major UL report on how homes fail in wildfire conditions.

Why it matters: - Wildfire-resistant building standards can leave a major weak point untested: the full window and door system. - The book argues that homes marketed as wildfire-resistant may still fail if frames, seals, gaskets, hardware or thermal breaks break down under heat and flame. - For homeowners in wildfire-prone regions, that gap can determine whether embers and flames enter the house.

What happened: - Wide Open to Wildfire: Are We Playing with Fire by Overlooking Windows and Doors? was released today on Amazon and in leading bookstores. - The book focuses on wildfire-resistant home design, with a specific warning about windows and doors. - The release comes after UL Research Institutes published a major investigation on Oct. 2 into the 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires, which destroyed more than 16,000 structures.

The details: - UL Research Institutes' report included 175 findings and 266 recommendations. - California's wildfire building standards include one recognized test that exposes windows to direct flame for eight minutes. - Another allowed compliance test relies on multipane glazing with at least “one tempered pane,” but does not require the same direct-flame test of the entire window system. - The book says that omission matters because a window is more than its glass. - The authors say the full system must keep working as a unit when exposed to extreme heat. - Co-author Vinny Curran is CEO of Revyn and has more than 30 years in the fenestration industry. - Curran also evacuated his family from their Colorado home as a wildfire approached. - Curran said, “I've had to leave my home with my family because a wildfire was coming,” and added that “meets code” should be treated as the start of a conversation, not the end. - The book was co-authored with serial entrepreneur and Revyn strategic investor Pete Hopkins and inventor and engineer Kurt Houghton. - Written primarily for architects, the book includes a field guide to specifying windows and doors for wildfire-prone regions. - The book also includes a homeowner checklist for making more informed purchasing decisions. - The book's core message is that no single product can make a home wildfire-proof. - The authors argue that every part of a fire-hardened building envelope deserves the same scrutiny. - Wide Open to Wildfire is published by Lunch Break Books.

Between the lines: - The book is pushing the wildfire conversation beyond roofs, siding, vents and walls to the weakest link in many home designs. - The timing suggests the authors want to shape the next round of code and specification debates while the Los Angeles fires are still fresh in public memory. - The argument is less about one product and more about whether current standards test the home as a connected system.

What's next: - The book is available now on Amazon and through leading bookstores. - Revyn says it aims to advance the performance and accessibility of steel fenestration. - More scrutiny of window and door testing could follow as wildfire rebuilding and code discussions continue in California and other high-risk regions. - The authors are positioning the book as a practical guide for both architects and homeowners making wildfire-resilience decisions.

The bottom line: - A wildfire-resistant home is only as strong as its openings, and the book argues windows and doors have been under-tested for too long. - Revyn's website is More information. - Lunch Break Books is More information. - Revyn's LinkedIn page is More information. - Revyn's YouTube channel is More information.