With the recent bushfires till strong in our memories, it’s important all Australians know how to prepare their properties for the coming bushfire season. This can help minimize the likelihood of a bushfire starting on your property, as well as making your home more easily defensible. Use our guide below to get your home prepared.
Why prepare your home?
Bushfires can be extreme and difficult to stop, but it’s up to all of us to make it harder for them to spread. Therefore, when you prepare your home for bushfires you’re doing the following.
- Minimizing the opportunities for bushfires to spread: Many fires actually spread through embers, like burning twigs and leaves that are carried by the wind, rather than the fire front itself. Therefore, being prepared means you limit the potential for these embers to start a fresh fire that can go on to join the fire front.
- Making it easier to defend your home: Our preparation guide outlines ways that make it easier for you or firefighters to defend your property, including making it harder for fire to spread on your property, as well as ensuring water is accessible.
- Helping protect your neighborhood: And because you are minimizing the chances of fire spreading on your property, you’re also minimizing the risk to your neighbours. In times of crisis, we all need to look after each other, so do your bit by getting your property bushfire ready.
Stop fires spreading in your yard
Start your preparation in your yard by completing the following steps.
- Keep the lawn short: Tall grass has a higher chance of catching and staying on fire. This can then make it easier for fire to spread.
- Maintain a tidy garden, including removing fallen leaves and twigs: Dried leaves, twigs, and branches make excellent kindling for fire and make it easy for a spread. Therefore, you need to regular clean up your garden to avoid this risk. Remember to dispose of the organic material appropriately, such as in a green waste bin. Do not pile it elsewhere on your property as this can pose a greater fire risk.
- Cut back trees and shrubs: Just like dried leaves, trees and shrubs can provide fuel for a fire. They also provide a path for fire to travel, such as up a tree or shrub from low-hanging branches to other plants, and even your home. Therefore, keep these plants trimmed, including ensuring a gap between lower branches and the ground and making sure no vegetation overhangs or touches your home.
- Ensure hoses can reach around your home: If a fire does start on your property, you need to be able to extinguish it quickly. The best way to do this is with a hose. Therefore, you need to make sure you can use a hose anywhere around your property. This may mean having multiple hoses and extensions ready to go.
- Advertise that your pool, tank, or dam can be used by firefighters: Typically, residents are advised to leave the firefighting to the experts. But you can help them out by letting them know of any water sources on your property. This can include pools, dams and water tanks. Make it clear by putting a sign at the front of your property and ensuring these water sources can easily be accessed, even if you aren’t there.
- Store flammable materials away from your home: Flammable objects, including firewood and flammable chemicals should be kept as far away from your home as possible. This way, if they do catch, there is a better chance of extinguishing them before they reach your home. It’s best to store these materials undercover as well to minimize the chance of an ember landing on them.
Stop fire spreading to your home
Once you’ve gotten your yard prepared, you can start on your home.
- Repair damaged or missing roof tiles: Ensure that any embers cannot get inside your home through a damaged or missing roof tile. Take the time to fix or replace roof tiles as needed before bushfire season starts in earnest.
- Clean gutters and roof: Roof cleaning is another way you can minimize the chance of a fire starting on your home. Just as you need to remove potential kindling, like leaves and twigs from your yard, you need to remove them from your roof and gutters. Do this at the start of the season and then after any windy days or storms to keep your roof and gutters as clean as possible.
- Install fine metal mesh screens on windows and doors: Mesh screens can be a way to keep embers out of your home, without needing to shut doors and windows. They will also keep out pests like flies and mosquitos. Ensure the mesh itself is not flammable.
- Seal gaps around doors and windows: Any gaps around doors and windows can let in embers which may cause a fire if they come into contact with flammable objects inside. Avoid this risk by ensuring there are no gaps around your doors and windows. This can also stop insects, like ants and cockroaches gaining easy access to your home.
- Enclose all areas under the house: If there is any space under your home, this should be enclosed to avoid an ember landing and starting a fire here. It may be difficult to tell if a fire has started before it’s too late and could cause structural damage to the rest of your home quickly.
- Repair or cover gaps in external walls: If there are holes or cracks in your external walls, these will need to be covered up. Otherwise embers may get through and can light insulation or other materials inside the wall. You can use a temporary patching solution or a more permanent method. Make sure whatever you choose is fire-resistant.
- Attach a fire sprinkler system to gutters: Be proactive about protecting your home with a fire sprinkler system attached to your gutters. It can be used to quickly extinguish fires around your home before they can take hold and become difficult to extinguish.
- Remove flammable items from around your home: If there is a severe fire threat or you are leaving your home, ensure that no flammable items are left outside. This includes outdoor furniture and door mats. These should be taken inside to minimize fire risk outside and around your home.
Follow the steps above to prepare your home for fire season this year.
Social Profile