North Carolina · Fire rating guide

Fire-resistant roofing in North Carolina

A roof's fire rating belongs to the whole assembly, and Class A is the highest of the three. Wildfire is a modest risk for most North Carolina homes, but the rating still matters near the eastern pocosins, on wooded mountain lots, for a neighbor's house fire and for your insurer. This guide covers what the ratings mean, how roofing materials compare and what to ask.

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Fire rating

Class A Fire Rated Available

Two layers of GAF VersaShield® over a 15/32-inch plywood deck (ASTM E108 / UL 790).

The metal

Aluminum does not ignite

Embers that land on the roof have nothing to burn.

Fall 2016, NC mountains

At least 26 wildfires, more than 62,000 acres

State Climate Office of NC.

How much wildfire risk does a North Carolina roof face?

For most homes, a modest one, and it is worth being honest about that. North Carolina's large wildfires cluster in two places. In the pocosin wetlands of the eastern coastal plain, the State Climate Office records the 1955 Lake Phelps fire (an estimated 203,000 acres), the 1985 Allen Road fire (nearly 95,000 acres) and the 2008 Evans Road fire (about 42,000 acres), which smoldered in the peat until January 2009. In the western mountains, a drought in fall 2016 fed at least 26 wildfires that burned more than 62,000 acres, according to the State Climate Office's fact sheet.

Spring and fall are the state's fire seasons: dry, windy days after a cold front, and fall leaves that ignite quickly. For a house in the Triangle, the Triad or a Charlotte suburb, the fire rating is mostly about embers from a brush fire or a neighbor's house fire, about the pine straw in your gutters when they land, and about the questions your insurer asks. A Class A assembly with a covering that does not ignite answers all three.

How does a house catch fire from outside?

Usually from embers, not a wall of flame. Burning bark, leaves and debris carried by the wind settle where debris collects: in gutters and roof valleys, against vents, in gaps at the eaves and on decks.

A roof covering that burns, or a roof full of dry pine needles, gives them fuel. That is why the roof, and everything around its edges, is the first thing to get right.

What do Class A, B and C actually mean?

They are the three exterior fire classifications in ASTM E108, also published as UL 790. The tests expose a roof sample to flame spreading across the surface, burning wood brands dropped on it and repeated bursts of flame. The rating belongs to the assembly that was tested: covering, underlayment and deck together. Change one layer and the rating may not hold.

Class A

Severe fire exposure

The highest of the three ratings. The tested assembly resisted the largest burning brand and the most flame exposure.

Class B

Moderate fire exposure

Better than C; not the top rating.

Class C

Light fire exposure

The lowest rating a roof covering can carry.

How do roofing materials compare for fire?

Typical classifications as tested. Any one product can differ, so ask for the product's fire listing and the assembly it was tested on.

Typical fire classification of common roofing materials
Material	Typical fire classification	What to know
Untreated cedar shakes and shingles	Commonly unrated	Wood burns, and the gaps between shakes collect pine needles and leaves.
Fire-retardant-treated cedar	Class B or C; some Class A as a tested assembly	The treatment can weather out over the years. Check the product's listing and age.
Asphalt shingles (fiberglass)	Commonly Class A	Fiberglass-mat shingles are usually Class A. Pine straw and leaves on top of them can still ignite.
Clay and concrete tile	Commonly Class A	Non-combustible, but heavy, and the gaps under the tile need closures at the eaves and ridge.
Natural slate	Commonly Class A	Non-combustible and heavy; the roof structure has to be built for the weight.
Synthetic and rubber composite	Varies by product	Some products reach Class A only with a specific underlayment. Read the listing, not the brochure.
Interlock aluminum	Class A Fire Rated Available	When installed with two layers of GAF VersaShield® underlayment over a 15/32-inch plywood deck, the Interlock roof assembly can achieve a Class A fire rating (ASTM E108 / UL 790).

Can an Interlock roof be built as a Class A assembly?

Yes. When installed with two layers of GAF VersaShield® underlayment over a 15/32-inch plywood deck, the Interlock roof assembly can achieve a Class A fire rating (ASTM E108 / UL 790). Interlock roofs are heavy-gauge aluminum, made in North America by Interlock Roofing and installed in North Carolina by Metal Roof NC, an authorized Interlock dealer.

The panels weigh roughly 0.4 to 0.7 lb per square foot depending on profile, a fraction of tile or slate. Every profile (Slate, Cedar Shingle, Shake, Mediterranean Tile and Standing Seam) needs a minimum 3/12 roof slope.

If your house backs onto woods or pocosin, or your insurer has asked about the roof, say so when you request an estimate, and we'll include the Class A assembly and look at the gutters, vents and eaves with you. More on the system: Interlock roofing in North Carolina.

What else protects a house beyond the roof?

The ground around it. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) divides it into three zones and says to start with the one closest to the house. Most of it is ordinary yard work.

Immediate zone · 0 to 5 ft

The house and the ground within 5 feet of it. NFPA says to start here: make it non-combustible, clear leaves and pine needles from the roof and gutters, and fix loose or missing shingles where embers could get in.

Intermediate zone · 5 to 30 ft

Keep plants, mulch and pine straw managed and spaced, and move firewood, propane and anything that burns away from the house.

Extended zone · 30 to 100 ft

Thin and prune trees and clear dead material, so a ground fire stays on the ground and away from the house.

Roof and roof-edge checklist

Choose a Class A roof assembly. Ask your roofer what the assembly is, not just the panel.
Keep the roof and gutters clear of pine needles and leaves, especially in valleys and behind chimneys.
Screen eave and attic vents with 1/8-inch metal mesh, as NFPA recommends, to keep embers out of the attic.
Close gaps at the roof edges and ridge where debris and embers collect.
Keep pine straw, firewood and propane away from the walls and from under the deck.

Your local fire department or the NC Forest Service can tell you about burn bans and open-burning rules where you live.

What should I ask my insurer about a fire-rated roof?

Ask whether the roof's rating changes your premium or coverage, because each insurer sets its own rules and we can't tell you what a roof will do to yours. Get the answers in writing:

Does the policy ask for the roof's fire classification, its material or its age?
Would a new roof with a documented Class A assembly change the premium or the coverage?
What paperwork do you want after the roof is replaced?

We give you the product documents and the assembly details for your file.

Fire-resistant roofing: questions, answered

What is the most fire-resistant roofing material?

Non-combustible coverings such as metal, clay or concrete tile and natural slate, installed as a Class A assembly. Under ASTM E108 (UL 790) the fire classification belongs to the whole assembly (covering, underlayment and deck), so the same covering can rate differently on a different build-up.

Is a metal roof fire resistant?

Aluminum does not ignite, so embers landing on it have nothing to burn. The fire rating belongs to the assembly. When installed with two layers of GAF VersaShield® underlayment over a 15/32-inch plywood deck, the Interlock roof assembly can achieve a Class A fire rating (ASTM E108 / UL 790).

What is a Class A fire-rated roof assembly?

A roof assembly that passed the most severe of the three exterior fire tests in ASTM E108 (UL 790): flame spread across the surface, a burning wood brand on the roof, and repeated flame. Class B and C are tested against lighter exposures.

Is wildfire a real risk for North Carolina homes?

For most homes, a modest one, but not zero. The largest fires have burned in the pocosin wetlands of the eastern coastal plain, where dry peat soils can smolder for months, and in the western mountains in drought falls such as 2016, when at least 26 wildfires burned more than 62,000 acres, according to the State Climate Office of North Carolina. Spring and fall are the main fire seasons.

Are asphalt shingles fire resistant?

Most fiberglass asphalt shingles reach Class A when tested as an assembly over the specified deck. The weak point is usually what sits on and around them: pine needles and leaves in valleys and gutters, open vents and gaps at the eaves.

Are cedar shakes a fire risk?

Untreated cedar shakes are commonly unrated: wood burns, and the gaps between shakes collect debris. Treated shakes do better, but the treatment can weather out.

Does a metal roof make my house fireproof?

No roof makes a house fireproof. A Class A assembly with a covering that does not ignite takes away the largest target on the house. Clear gutters, screened vents and a non-combustible strip around the walls do the rest.

Will a fire-resistant roof lower my insurance?

Each insurer sets its own rates and rules, so ask yours directly and get the answer in writing. Useful questions: does the policy ask for the roof's fire classification, does the roof's age or material change the premium, and what documents do they want after a replacement.

Can Metal Roof NC price the Class A assembly on my house?

Yes. Tell us when you request an estimate that you want the Class A assembly, and we'll include it in a project-specific estimate before work begins. Call (984) 289-2585.

Sources

Figures are as published by each source. Page reviewed October 17, 2026.

Where we install

The Triangle, the Charlotte area, the Triad and Piedmont, and the coast. See all service areas.

Get the Class A assembly priced.

A project-specific estimate before work begins. Metal Roof NC (Everlast Improvements LLC) · 5301 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27606