I am planning on building a home. What are some modern fire safety concerns?

Answer 1

1 electrical shorts.
2 combustible material storage
3 fire suppresion equip...extinquishers etc.
4 quality of construction material..use copper wire instead of aluminum.etc.
You should check the local bldg codes if you're doing the work..a contractor should know already and his work needs to be inspected.

Answer 2

if you're concerned about fire, make sure you are building where the local fire dept can get to you in a timely manner
Perhaps in an arid region in a heavily wooded area is not the best location. But if you want to be on a mountain side away from it all ,look into alternative building materials, You can get concrete form framing, metal buildings, dome houses are made of fiberglass type material (not sure what fire resistance that has). No matter what materials you choose to frame with, always practice good fire safety. Don't let trees and shrubs grow to thick or close to your home, Don't leave candles burning unattended, make sure wiring is safe, and you don't have gas leaks. Don't stack stuff up around anything with a pilot light or store flamables near them.
several years ago a friend of the family stored a gas can near the water heater, their toddler was playing nearby and spilled it and was seriously burned.
follow basic fire safety guidelines and have faith your local building inspectors are doing their jobs throughout the building process.

Answer 3

The best part of new construction is that you don't have to rip and tear stuff apart and renovate when you add wiring, outlets, heater tubes and so on. That being said - I would highly recommend you put in an automatic sprinkler system - the cost is minimal during new construction compared to the overall cost of the completed structure - and it's a MAJOR undertaking should you decide after all of the interior work is completed to have one installed. The cost is also recovered should you decide to sell at a later date - and it's an excellent selling feature to boot.
There's at least one town in my area that has mandated an automatic system in all new construction - and I think it is a great idea.
Absolutely maintenance free and totally automatic should a fire break out - what better piece of mind could you ask for?

Answer 4

yea, what LeAnne said!! ditto.

Also, if you don't have an obsession for wood, look into autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) for the walls...it just DOES NOT burn. There are several companies that will engineer and manufacture a package for you. You can only use it above grade though.
...and how about steel trusses, and metal standing seam roof...(cool).
you homeowners insurance rate will drop too.