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| Image courtesy of CFA Vicotria |
Bush
fires during the Australian summertime are frequent events due to our hot, dry
climate.
In
2009, Victoria endured Australia's worst ever natural disaster with more than
2,000 properties destroyed and countless others damaged when bush fires ripped
through the state.
October
last year, saw NSW hit by extreme bush fires with around 248 buildings
destroyed.
Currently
WA is enduring it's worst bushfire since 2011 with 55 homes lost to the raging
fires so far.
Our
hearts go out to all the victims of these terrible disasters and the amazing
teams of firefighters working hard and risking their lives to get the fires
under control.
As
the temperatures continue to climb this week we've put together some tips that
the Government Fire Authorities recommend for preparing your home,
(if you haven't already) in order to give it a greater chance of survival if a
bushfire comes your way.
MANAGE
YOUR VEGETATION
The
most common belief when it comes to bush fires, is that the trees play the role
of the major threat. However this is not the case. Fire is actually carried by
the undergrowth below the trees, such as grasses, leaf litter and shrubs. All
plants are flammable, but some are worse than others, so make sure to review
the vegetation on your property and take action where needed. Government Fire Authorities suggest:
- Any vegetation that is less than 6mm in thickness or diameter should be reduced.
- Closely compacted shrubs should be removed if they are close to your house. If these shrubs are located near any windows and happen to catch on fire, they can crack the glass and allow embers inside. Shrubs should also be pruned regularly where they are found underneath the lower branches of trees.
- Trim or remove any loose, flaky bark, sticks, leaves or needles on your trees and shrubs. This bark can lead a fire to climb higher, adding height to flames and allowing embers a greater chance to move and ignite elsewhere
- Keep your lawn mowed, the leaves raked and removed and your garden beds free from weeds.
- When it's windy, take notice of where any leaf litter accumulates. This is where any embers will land if the wind takes them the same way so be sure to keep these areas clear.
- Regularly clear out your gutters and if you can, cover them with mesh to guard them from fallen leaves.
DESIGN
TIPS THAT CAN HELP PROTECT YOUR HOME DURING A FIRE
No
landscape is completely fire proof, but there are many things you can do during
the design phase of your garden that can help you achieve a greater level of
bushfire protection for your home. Elements we always consider in bush fire risk
areas are:
- The use of permeable gravel pathways. These create fuel breaks between the planting and if you have a sprinkler system in place can help the water to move through the surface and dampen other areas you may have missed. An open gravel space surrounding the home is also a good way to stop fire from reaching the house.
- When you create a planting plan, be sure to space out all the plants and trees to avoid a continuous canopy of vegetation to your house. If you make small, spaced out clusters of plants with clear areas in between, this makes it difficult for fires to spread to other areas.
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| Gravel paths surround the house at this property in Wandin North |
THE
IMPORTANCE OF WATER
During
a fire, the most effective fire suppressant will always be water, so ensuring
that your property has enough is integral. There are a number of water storage
options available but the ones we use most commonly in our gardens are tanks
and our billabongs.
Tanks
In terms of how much water storage you need for your tank, the CFA recommends having enough water to last for at least 2 hours of continuous use. This will be completely determined by the size of your property of course, so if you are interested in finding out what size you need, why not speak to our friends at TankWorks. They supplied the tank we used in our award-winning Chelsea garden and have some fantastic sustainable tanks available.
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| TankWorks tank featured in the Trailfinders Australian Garden Presented By Flemings Nurseries |
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| Phil's billabong in Olinda |
Sprinkler
Systems
- Phil himself, owns a 12,000 litre fire tank, which, along with the billabong below the house, connects to a fire-suppression system that curtains his entire home in a wall of water and can be accessed remotely.
- Sprinkler systems like this are an excellent way to extinguish any embers that land on or around your home and Government Fire Authorities believe they should be considered as a very important part of your bushfire survival plan especially if you are living in an area with dense vegetation.
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| Phil's home in Olinda with sprinkler system running |
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| Close up of the sprinkler system in action |
These
are just a few tips for preparing your property for a fire. For further
information on what your local Fire Authority recommends, visit your State
or Territory website:
VIC:
NSW:
QLD:
NT:
WA:
SA:
TAS:
Ultimately,
however, the lives of you and your family are the most important thing to
consider, so make sure you all have a clear understanding of when you will
leave your property, and leave as early as you can. The longer you wait to
leave, the greater the risk to your life.
From
everyone at PJL- stay safe this summer!
Extrinsic factors, such as sprinklers, may not be effective for a number of reasons including mechanical failure, power outage (common in bushfire attack) and if residents are not there there may be problems of not being able to trigger the sprinklers. Perhaps most of Victoria generally receives more rain over summer than we do in SW WA, but we can expect very dry conditions over summer, e.g. we have only had 1 mm to date this year in Balingup in the inland SW. I would worry about the tall eucalypts close to the house because of their constant dropping of litter especially over summer - bark strips, leaves, twigs and gum nuts - all inflammable. It's one thing to recommend raking away leaves, it's another to do this conscientiously every few days over summer. It's a lot easier to remove trees with volatile oils, such as eucalypts, at least 50 m from the house, better 100 m. Another factor is that an intense bushfire with flames crowning in forest trees would carry the flames close to a house if eucalypts are in the vicinity.
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