Essential
Bushfire Safety Tips second edition
Contains over 2000 authenticated tips, covering every known bushfire danger and safety factor.
joan Webster
ESSENTIAL
BUSHFIRE SAFETY TIPS
ESSENTIAL
BUSHFIRE SAFETY TIPS SECOND EDITION
JOAN WEBSTER
© Joan Webster 2008 All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, duplicating or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Contact CSIRO PUBLISHING for all permission requests. Based on The Complete Bushfire Safety Book, by Joan Webster, Random House, 2000. First edition of Essential Bushfire Safety Tips published by Random House (Australia), 2001. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Webster, Joan Katherine. Essential bushfire safety tips / author, Joan Webster. 2nd ed. Collingwood, Vic. : CSIRO Publishing, 2008. 9780643095359 (pbk.) Forest fires – Australia – Safety measures. Architecture, Domestic – Fires and fire prevention. 363.379 Published by CSIRO PUBLISHING 150 Oxford Street (PO Box 1139) Collingwood VIC 3066 Australia Telephone: +61 3 9662 7666 Local call: 1300 788 000 (Australia only) Fax: +61 3 9662 7555 Email:
[email protected] Web site: www.publish.csiro.au Front cover (clockwise, from top left): Bushfire, Kangaroo Island (Photo courtesy of CFS Promotions Unit); House under threat at Cudlee Creek (Photo courtesy of CFS Promotions Unit); Fire at Engelbrook Reserve, Bridgewater, SA (Photo courtesy of Pip McGowan); Raging bushfire near ‘The Lynd’, north-central Queensland (Photo courtesy of Bob Mossel; tel +61 8 8261 9528). Back cover: Bushfire, north-central Queensland, July 1991 (Photo courtesy of Bob Mossel; tel +61 8 8261 9528) Set in 9/12 Weidemann Cover design by James Kelly Text design and typeset by Palmer Higgs Printed in Australia by BPA Print Group
Foreword Fire is a chaotic chemical reaction. In a bushfire this reaction moves through a fuel bed that varies spatially in three dimensions, across a variable topography and interacts with a turbulent atmosphere (principally the wind) that varies widely both in space and time. When we add to this inherent variation large volumes of smoke that choke and obscure vision, turn midday into night, and interact with the light of the flames to create terrifying illusions it is easy to believe that this phenomenon is quite unpredictable and that nothing can be done to survive in its path. Large intense bushfire are indeed terrifying, unstoppable and lethally dangerous. But they are predictable. And with planning and preparation people can live safely in the fire prone environment that is rural Australia. The majority of our population is in the larger cities and many people, particularly immigrants from tropical countries, have no perception of the scale or threat of bushfire. Added to this is the continual shift from the cities to the peri-urban rural blocks and recent retirees seeking a tree-change to a quieter place in the bush. It is not surprising perhaps, that when bushfire strikes we see images in the media of people trying to defend their homes dressed only in shorts and thongs – apparently ignorant of the most basic bushfire advice. In this book, Joan Webster has condensed a mountain of knowledge into straight forward advice and instruction. Much of it is common sense; some of it may seem counter-intuitive like wearing woolen jumpers for protection against the heat; and there is much to cover the wide range of situations that can occur. I recommend this book to everyone living or traveling in rural Australia even if they reside well within the suburbs. It is both instruction and a check list of things to do. I urge people to use these tips to prepare themselves and their homes against bushfire and to seek further information from neighbours and the members of our rural fire brigades. In extreme events our emergency services cannot be everywhere, and your safety and survival will depend on your knowledge of what to do before, during and after the fire. N P Cheney PSM Honorary Fellow, CSIRO Former Senior Principal Research Scientist, Bushfire Behaviour and Management Group, CSIRO
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Contents Foreword
v
Acknowledgements
ix
About the author
xi
Introduction
xiii
1 Understanding bushfire
1
2 The killer factors
9
3 The survival factors
12
4 How bushfire destroys houses
14
5 The home as a haven
18
6 A protective home site
20
7 A protective property layout
22
8 A protective garden
30
9 A protective house design
35
10 Protective furnishings
53
11 A refuge room
57
12 Protective equipment
60
13 Water for protection
64
14 Planning ahead
70
15 Protective chores
74
16 Safe burn-offs
82
17 Protecting domestic animals
86
18 Protective travelling
89
19 Evacuate or stay?
96
20 What to do when bushfire threatens
102
Bibliography
109
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Acknowledgements This little book could not have been created without its mother publication, The Complete Bushfire Safety Book (Random House, 2000). So it is appropriate to give acknowledgement here for the cooperation of all rural fire, police and emergency services throughout Australia during my research and writing of it, for their reviewing of pertinent sections and their confidence in my work. The same for scientists of the CSIRO, in particular Phil Cheney, Director, National Bushfire Research Unit, and Dr Caird Ramsay, Director, and Neville McArthur, Senior Research Officer of the Division of Building Research. And bushfire researchers Andrew A. G. Wilson and David Packham, who have a special interest and expertise in the problems of evacuation. The Fire Protection Association Australia. And officers of a multitude of government departments, including Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment, Victoria, and the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology. Their initial help, of course, underlies the accuracy of advice in this little book. A special thank you to my friend Ann Quinton for her suggestions on the text. Her own considerable talent for word use, her ever available frankness and patience with my obsessive perfectionism are a part of her great-hearted helpful nature. Underpinning this was her own interest in bushfire safety. As a young widow with six very young children, Ann saw her own home destroyed during the Victorian bushfires of 1962. None of this support would have led anywhere without the encouragement and confidence of CSIRO publisher John Manger in the potential of Tips, nor Briana Elwood for nursing it through all this to production.
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About the author Joan Webster is an award winning journalist who since 1965 has written extensively on bushfire safety for the public. The author of five published books, her work has been widely published for twenty-five years in newspapers and magazines throughout Australia and performed on television, radio and stage, in various genres ranging through Australian folk history, children’s writing, poetry and topical satire. In all these fields her work has received reviewer and reader acclaim. Joan Webster’s pioneering The Complete Australian Bushfire Book (1986) and its 2000 republication as The Complete Bushfire Safety Book, is considered by bushfire and emergency services the definitive work on bushfire safety for the householder and acknowledged as the most authoritative publication of its type. Her in-depth, ground-breaking analysis of the evacuation dilemma and her questioning of the safety of community refuges have helped shape official policy. Many of the concepts first formulated in this book are now basic fire authority recommendations. The personal Survival Kit; protective window shutters; special needs of children and the frail; care of pets and holiday safety; step-by-step, logistical ‘action lists’ were all devised and instigated by Joan Webster. Joan’s interest in bushfire safety began as a child and at the age of 11, on her own initiative, she put out a backyard ignition that had been unnoticed by adults. In 1964 she was a foundation member of the first municipal organisation for civil defence for bushfire, during which she gained many insights on the evacuate-stay problem. In 1988, in recognition of her work on community refuges, she was appointed consultant to the Victorian Ministry of Education to advise on bushfire safety in schools. In 1989 The Complete Australian Bushfire Book was used by architects and the Ministry of Education as the major resource in the planning and designing of the worldfirst, specially constructed school bushfire shelter at Sassafras Primary School in Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges. In 1990 she received the Australian Fire Protection Association’s Community Service Award.
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Introduction Bushfire authorities urge people to be ready for summer with a safety plan. The encyclopaedic Essential Bushfire Safety Tips has everything you need to know to make your bushfire plan with confidence. Essential Bushfire Safety Tips is the condensed version of Joan Webster’s acclaimed The Complete Bushfire Safety Book, and is specially written for those who prefer the convenience of categorised dot points set out in an easy-to-find, easy-to-understand way. Bushfire tragedies need not happen. Homes need not be destroyed. Lives need not be endangered. Post-bushfire scientific research has found that 90% of homes can be saved from even the fiercest wildfires when defended by one or more people over the age of 10 who know what to do. In the widespread conflagrations we now experience, householders cannot expect a fire unit to be available on each doorstep. Bushfire safety is a personal responsibility. The purpose of Essential Bushfire Safety Tips is to enable and empower this process. Essential Bushfire Safety Tips contains over 2000 authenticated tips, covering every known bushfire danger and safety factor. Its pocket format makes it ideal to keep in the kitchen drawer, car glovebox, or handbag, and it is a ready reference adjunct to its mother publication, The Complete Bushfire Safety Book. Bushfire doesn’t endanger only country people. More than half all bushfire tragedies happen in the grassy, leafy, outer suburbs of cities. Everyone who lives, works, or travels in or near the countryside or urban-fringe needs this book.
xiii
1
Understanding bushfire
Bushfire may seem to be the ultimate uncontrollable element. But it actually behaves in predictable ways. Burning bush does not have to mean burning houses.
To understand bushfire safety, you need to understand bushfire behaviour.
Ingredients needed for bushfires Any fire needs • fuel • heat • oxygen • dryness
For a bushfire these are vegetation high air temperature wind dry air
Ingredients that increase bushfire danger 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
vegetation temperature wind dry air atmosphere terrain features building features
plenty of closely growing plants above 30°C over 20 kph less than 30% relative humidity unstable slopes, ruggedness complex shapes, exposed windows, etc.
Understanding bushfire
1
A change in any ingredient can increase or lessen bushfire danger. Except for the weather, we can change any of these ingredients. This offers us control over danger.
1 Vegetation • • •
Bushfires cannot happen without vegetation to burn. The more widely spaced the vegetation, the less danger to us if it burns. Different types of vegetation burn differently.
How vegetation burns • • • • • • •
Grass and shrubs ignite easily and burn fast and hot. – This fine fuel goes out quickly. Tree leaves ignite more easily than branches and trunks. Tree trunks catch fire more slowly than shrubs but their flames last longer. Trees are hard to ignite without grass, crops, shrubs, or litter beneath them. Forests and gardens with dense undergrowth burn hottest and longest. Fire that gets up into tree tops moves fastest. Fire that runs along tree tops is most dangerous. – Good garden management can keep fire out of tree tops (See Chapter 8, A Protective garden and Chapter 15, Protective chores).
Some fine fuel figures Double the amount of fine fuel • • •
Doubles the height of the flames. Doubles the speed with which a fire travels. – This double-doubling actually quadruples intensity and therefore radiant heat. Increases spotting.
Half the amount of fine fuel • • • •
2
Halves the height of the flames. Halves the speed of the fire. Quarters the intensity and therefore the radiant heat output. – The less radiant heat, the less danger. Reduces spotting. – The less spotting, the less rate of spread.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
2 Temperature of the day • •
When the air temperature is 37°C or higher, be prepared for bushfire. When the air temperature is below 20°C bushfire danger is unlikely (See Chapter 20, What to do when bushfire threatens).
3 Wind • • • •
When the average summer wind speed is 55 kph or faster, be prepared. When the average wind speed is below 20 kph bushfire danger is unlikely. The hottest winds blow from the direction of a desert. The most hazardous winds gust in an unstable upper atmosphere. – Gusty winds make bushfires hard to control.
What wind does • • • • •
Dries out vegetation, making it more combustible. Supplies oxygen to stimulate burning. Fans flames. Bends flames over so they radiate heat onto unburnt material. Blows burning debris ahead to start fresh ignitions.
4 Low relative air humidity (dry air) • • • •
Relative humidity (RH) is the degree of dampness in the air. Low RH is the most critical factor in causing dangerous bushfires. When the relative humidity of the air is 30% or less, be prepared. When the relative humidity of the air is above 60% bushfire is unlikely.
What low relative humidity does •
Evaporates moisture from vegetation and buildings, making ignition easier.
5 Unstable atmosphere occurs •
When weather changes disrupt upper air currents. – When the wind is hot, strong and gusty, be prepared. – On a still day with hazy sky and steady, high air pressure, bushfire danger is low.
Understanding bushfire
3
What unstable atmosphere does • • • • • • •
Hot air is drawn skywards. Winds at ground level become violently gusty. Bushfires become hard to manage. Flames can rise extremely high. A towering column of smoke, called a convection column, forms. – This tells you the most dangerous type of bushfire is burning. Burning debris sucked up can be blown for kilometres and fall still alight. Convection columns may twist and become fire tornadoes
6 Terrain features Slopes • • • •
Fire travelling uphill doubles its speed for each 10% increase in slope. – Up a 20° slope, fire moves four times faster than on flat ground. Fire travelling downhill goes proportionately slower. Flames moving slowly downslope grow four times higher on reaching flat land. As flames move up an opposite slope, their height quadruples again.
Irregular landforms •
Rugged hills and valleys set the air eddying (See Chapter 6, A protective home site).
7 Building features See Chapter 4, How bushfire destroys houses. • Cluttered gardens and complex building shapes also set the air eddying. – These unstable air currents intensify any bushfire.
Any change in fuel, weather, land shape, or building features See also Chapters 6, 7, 8 and 9. • Will change intensity, speed, flame height, and radiant heat output. • Will increase or decrease the danger of a bushfire. • Can increase or decrease the manageability of a bushfire.
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Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Knowledge of bushfire behaviour should be as familiar as a hot, dry wind. You can use this knowledge to protect your property, and your life.
How bushfires behave The flame front • •
A grassfire’s flame front burns out at any given spot in less than 1–12 minutes. A forest fire’s flame front dies down at any given spot in 10–15 minutes. By then: – Grass is burnt. – Shrubbery and undergrowth are down to a sizzle. – Tree trunks burn with disconnected flames.
How fire spreads •
•
By a chain reaction at the fire front. – The flaming edge heats up neighbouring material. – This dries and ignites. – The flame moves on. – The part that was first alight smoulders and dies out. By sparks and embers thrown ahead of a fire front.
Fire’s rate of spread depends on • • • • • • • •
Type and density of vegetation. Temperature of the day. Wind direction. Wind speed. Low relative air humidity. Unstable atmospheric pressure. Slopes or complicated building shapes. The number of new ignitions from sparks and embers.
Understanding bushfire
5
Fire’s speed • • •
The fastest grassfire front known is 22 kph. The fastest forest fire front known is 15 kph. Mild to average forest fire fronts seldom travel more than 5 kph. – Bushfire speed is different from wind speed.
A flame’s life • •
In grassfires- five seconds. In forest fires – less than two minutes.
The heat of flames • •
The heat given out by flames is called radiant heat. The amount of radiant heat from a bushfire is called its intensity.
Radiant heat intensity depends on •
Density of fine fuel (grass, shrubs, and litter). – The more dense the fine vegetation, the more intense the radiant heat.
How radiant heat behaves • • • •
Forest wildfires radiate at least twice as much heat as grassfires. The front of a moving fire radiates up to six times more heat than does its back. At any given spot in a grassfire radiant heat peaks and falls within 90 seconds. At any given spot in a forest fire radiant heat peaks and falls within 15 minutes. – Radiant heat can kill by heat stroke. (See Chapter 2, The killer factors and Chapter 3, The survival factors)
Fireballs These happen when • Oils, waxes, and resins in the leaves of eucalypts or pines ignite. • Fingers of gaseous flames coming from them break off and reach ahead.
6
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
What fireballs can do • • • •
Kill you from heat stroke. Drop hazardous sparks and embers. Crack windows. Burn out very quickly.
What fireballs can’t do • • •
Cause spontaneous combustion. Cause buildings to explode. Travel much further than three times the height of the plant whose leaf-gases fuel it.
Embers • • • •
A bushfire’s manageability depends on the volume of its sparks and embers. Embers getting inside are the prime cause of house destruction during bushfire (See Chapter 4, How bushfire destroys houses). Embers falling on vegetation are the prime cause of bushfire spreading. Embers falling on wrongly-clothed people cause nasty burns.
Where embers fall • •
Most thickly within the first 100 m of a fire front. Only thinly further than 3 km from a fire front.
How far embers can fly • • • •
100 m ahead of burning grass. 2.5 km ahead of burning pine trees. 8 km ahead of a burning eucalypt forest. 35 km when there is a convection column.
Fire’s safer areas •
The back of a fire burns slowest, coolest, and with shortest flames.
Understanding bushfire
7
Fire’s most unsafe areas •
The flame front is the most dangerous part to be near. – The front of a fire burns fastest and hottest. • A flank (side) is the next most dangerous part to be near. – Flanks move slowly. – But a wind change can turn a flank into a front. (See Chapter 19, Evacuate or stay?)
Bushfire tragedy happens only when you misunderstand bushfire’s dangers and misinterpret bushfire safety advice.
8
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
2
The killer factors
People who die in bushfires are seldom killed by contact with flames. They die many metres away: because they wear shorts and thongs and summer dresses; because their heads are uncovered and their lungs unscreened.
The killer factors 1 2 3
Radiant heat. Dehydration. Asphyxiation.
1 Radiant heat •
Kills by heat stroke when the body temperature is suddenly raised too high. – The radiant heat of intense flames can do this within seconds. – Tank water heated by a bushfire to 46°C, kills in three minutes.
The killer effect of radiant heat Is increased by • • •
The amount of skin exposed. How close you are to flames. How long you are near flames.
Is decreased by • • • •
Wearing protective clothing. Keeping back from flames. Not staying for long near flames. Taking shelter. The killer factors
9
2 Dehydration •
Happens when you excrete more fluid than you drink. – This stresses the kidneys. – You can sweat two litres of body fluid an hour at a bushfire.
Symptoms of dehydration You become progressively • • • • • • • •
Sluggish, irritable, impatient. Muddleheaded, tired, sleepy. Unable to sweat and urine becomes scant and dark. Hot, with flushed dry skin. Nauseated. Unconscious. Comatose. Dead without urgent treatment.
The killer effect of dehydration Is increased by • • • •
Not drinking frequently. Wearing heavy clothing for long periods. Being in a hot car for long periods. Small size, age, frailty. – Never take babies, the frail, or small animals in a car in bushfire conditions.
Is decreased by •
Drinking every 10 minutes whether you are thirsty or not.
3 Asphyxiation The killer effects of asphyxiation • •
10
Swelling of the throat compresses the windpipe. Smoke inhalation clogs the lungs. – Cyanide gas given off by some burning furnishings will poison.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Injury hazards Eyes • •
Soot in the eyes can cause ulceration and blindness. Smoke in the eyes can cause car drivers to crash.
Clothing • • • • • • • • • • • •
Synthetics touched by embers melt and fuse to skin, causing deep burns. Lightweight fabric can be burnt by sparks. Fuzzy weaves encourage flame to run over them and so up to your face. Flowing, draped, flared clothing lets flames under it to reach skin. Tight clothing conducts heat and can burn skin. Pullovers with polo or loose necks catch hot ash, which falls inside onto skin. Heavy clothing can tire you quickly. Rubber soles can melt and burn. Hot hobnails on shoe soles can brand the wearer’s foot. Gumboots worn outside trouser legs let embers fall inside boot. Thongs give no protection and may melt. Gloves should only be worn for handling hot materials – Covered hands cannot feel rising radiant heat levels to warn you to take shelter.
People cannot survive more than a few kilowatts of radiant heat touching them. But if the skin is completely protected from the radiant heat of flames and evaporation of sweat allowed, a fit person’s body can cope.
The killer factors
11
3
The survival factors
The basic theory behind all bushfire survival is: Starve the flames. Shield your body. Moisturise your body and your surroundings.
1 Radiant heat – survival factors are increased by •
Shielding your body. – Best: buildings, earth, water. – Next best: pure wool. – Excellent: heavy cotton drill. – Very good: layers of materials, textured fibreglass. – Useful: tree trunks, ruts in roads. – Even turning your body from side to side can help.
2 Dehydration – survival factors are increased by • • •
Drinking a cup of water or fruit juice every 10 minutes. – Babies need boiled water every 10 minutes. Eating juicy fruits: – Their minerals help to keep the blood’s electrolyte level balanced. Keeping cool to decrease the body’s need to sweat.
Cooling tips • • • •
12
Wear protective clothing that is strong and light, rather than heavy. Sponge with tepid water and let the water evaporate on the skin. Fan babies and the aged. Drape a damp cotton net over a cot or invalid’s bed to cool by evaporation.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Hazardous drinks • • •
Alcohol dehydrates and clouds the judgement. Tea, and especially coffee, dehydrate. Very cold drinks can cause stomach cramps.
3 Asphyxiation – survival factors Are increased by • • •
A wet cloth tied over the nose. Smoke filtering masks that filter particles 0.01 of a micron diameter. Furbishing the house with fire-retardant materials.
Are decreased by •
Furbishing with materials that produce poisonous gases when burning.
Eye protection is increased by • •
Wearing heat-resistant, vented goggles. Instilling artificial teardrops or gel frequently. – Can be bought cheaply from chemists without prescription.
Clothing survival factors • • • •
Loose-fitting cover-all clothes of pure wool or heavy cotton. Tight-weave, straight-cut trouser legs tied over boots. Firmly secured, wide-brimmed, heavy cotton hat. Strong boots with thick nitrone rubber soles.
Pure wool blanket survival factors • • •
Sparks which fall onto pure wool extinguish themselves. Smoky air is filtered by a wetted woollen blanket. The basic blanket can be built into a full bushfire survival kit (See Chapter 12, Protective equipment – Survival kit).
Many people have survived the most terrible conflagrations with only a heavyweight pure wool blanket and a water flask.
The survival factors
13
4
How bushfire destroys houses
Look carefully at the scenes of houses destroyed in bushfire. Around many reduced to rubble, the surrounding vegetation is untouched. Why is this? The house destroyers are invading sparks and embers, not the sweeping flames.
There are three core vulnerable areas of a house • • •
Ceiling space. Windows. Subfloor.
Bushfire damage is caused by • •
Fire. Wind.
Bushfire attacks buildings with 1 2
Flying sparks, embers and burning debris. Direct flames.
1. Sparks and embers can • • • •
14
Get inside the ceiling space. Blow through broken windows and under doors. Lodge in vents and crevices. Blow under the house.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
2. Direct flames can • •
Ignite walls only when vegetation grows, or burning debris piles up, against them. It is hard to ignite a solid vertical surface from an extending flame tip.
Embers, showering in their hundreds of thousands each moment, can comfortably fly 10 km and have been clocked at 35 km.
Most house ignitions occur when •
•
• • • • • •
Sparks or embers get into the ceiling space – Through roofing gaps. – Under loose tiles. – From eaves ignited by burning leaves in roof gutters. Embers enter rooms – Through windows cracked by burning shrubs growing against them. – Through windows broken by hurtling debris. – Through windows cracked by radiant heat. Sparks slip under doors. Tumbling embers roll into a sub-floor space. Shrubs burn against verandah posts or sub-floor gap-boards. Embers or smouldering rubbish ignite doormats. Embers ignite fibrous hanging baskets and send flames to eaves. Embers are caught in rough timber decks, cracks in cladding, or creepers on walls.
Sparks and embers in the ceiling space can •
Smoulder on rafters and highly flammable dust. – Burn slowly. May take hours to reach roof lift-off stage.
Sparks and embers blown through windows can • •
Ignite curtains that send flames quickly to the ceiling. Land on and ignite carpets and furniture.
Embers under the house can •
Burn grass or goods stored there and spread fire to floorboards and frame.
How bushfire destroys houses
15
Ember-ignited fires • • • • •
Can take hours to burn a house down. Burn very slowly at first. Creep through a house if it is well sealed and internal doors are closed. Rush through a house if draughts fan the flames. Gather energy as they move through furniture, clothes, fittings. – These flames reach the frame and cladding last. • Grow to such pressure they can lift off a roof and look like an explosion. – A spark or ember can’t do any of this if someone puts it out. (See Chapter 20, What to do when bushfire threatens).
The shower of embers can arrive half an hour before the fire front. Embers can fall for four hours after the main fire has passed.
Wind can • • • •
Carry burning debris inside buildings. Break windows with hurtling debris. – Windows can be protected (See Chapter 9, A protective house design). Fell trees onto roofs. Lift roofs and blow them away. – Roofs can be strengthened with cyclone clips. – Wind can be deflected (See Chapter 7, A protective property layout).
Radiant heat can • •
Crack windows to allow embers to blow inside. Dry out timber so it ignites more quickly from other sources.
What can’t happen • • • • • •
16
Houses can’t explode from a bushfire’s heat. A house can’t ignite spontaneously. Flames can’t ignite cladding unless spread from something burning against it. A fire front’s radiant heat can’t ignite the walls of a solid house. – It may dry out old timber cladding and facilitate ignition from adjacent plants. A fireball can’t cause a house to explode. A fireball can’t ignite a house. – It passes too quickly.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
A bushfire’s embers and flames can cause house ignitions. But the total destruction of houses is caused by the untended burning of its contents.
How bushfire destroys houses
17
5
The home as a haven
Good management, not miracles, saves property and people.
What is needed • • • • • • • • • • •
People at home who know what to do. Protective site features. Protective layout of grounds. Protective house design features and modifications. Fire-minimising furnishings. House well maintained. Garden kept tidy and plants spaced. Paths used as firebreaks. Shrubby vegetation reduced. Efficient use of fire-retardant plants. A good reserve water supply (See Chapter 13, Water for protection).
The value of making your home a haven • •
Buildings give protection from radiant heat, embers, and smoke. Your assets and precious possessions are safeguarded.
The costs of abandoning your home • • •
18
Most bushfire deaths happen while leaving home. Two-thirds of houses destroyed by bushfire had been abandoned. Each abandoned house that burns sends embers to start fires in more houses.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
The science behind home as haven • • •
Buildings catch fire more slowly than vegetation. Tree trunks catch fire more slowly than tree branches. Tree branches catch fire more slowly than leaves, grass, and shrubs.
This means • •
If surrounding vegetation burns, a building will not burn simultaneously. By the time any fires can build up inside a house, fires outside it have died down.
Therefore •
If you aren’t able to put out inside ignitions, you will be safe outside.
The more protective features your property has, the safer you are staying with it.
The home as a haven
19
6
A protective home site
There is no such thing as a completely bushfire-safe site. Equally, there is no site that invites certain destruction.
Protective sites • • •
Well down the lee (sheltered) side of a slope. – Fire moves slowly downhill, allowing more time for home defence. In the lee of an embankment. – Ember-laden winds can be carried away over this. Flat land. – Less air turbulence. Fire behaviour likely to be more stable and manageable.
Hazardous sites • • • • • • •
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Within 0.5 km of dense bushland or pine plantation. – Easily bombarded by massive shower of embers. On the urban fringe. – Vulnerable to embers from grass, crop, or forest fires. Exposed to usual firewind direction. – Embers can arrive early and fast. Hill-tops or ridges. Slopes. – Each 10% rise in angle doubles the speed of flames. The lee side of a hill just below the top. – Fire whirlwinds can form here. Flat land just below a slope. – When fire hits flat land after moving down a slope, flame height quadruples.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
• • •
Treeless area within forest. – Embers can be sucked into it. Very small sites. – Not enough room for firebreaks or zones of protection. On narrow roads or cul de sacs.
Site hazard increases with • • • • • • • • • • •
Closeness to dense bushland. Closeness to large areas of dry grass or crop. Density of housing near bush or grassland. Density of flammable vegetation on site. Steepness of slope. Distance up a slope. Ruggedness of landscape. Orientation to firewinds. Lack of water. Smallness of site. Lack of non-combustible barriers.
Township hazard decreases with • • • • • • •
Less housing development on sites of high bushfire hazard. Recreational open space or fire-retardant crops on town’s fireward sides. Wide roads around housing subdivisions. – Double as firebreaks. Allotments large enough to allow protective site and layout features. Roads interconnecting with others to avoid dead ends. Roads and bridges at least two lanes wide. Bridges built of non-flammable materials.
Even on a classically ‘wrong’ site you can still make your home a haven.
A protective home site
21
7
A protective property layout
The differing heights of land forms and buildings, and of widths between them, cause rising hot air to create its own wind currents distinct from the prevailing wind. These currents pull flames along behind them, draw sparks and embers up into them, and skitter burning debris along the ground.
A protective property layout can • • •
Divert ember-laden winds away from your house. Make an approaching bushfire jump over buildings and so miss them. Stop a bushfire in its tracks.
A hazardous property layout can • •
Draw embers to it. Pull fire between buildings.
Layout protection features 1 2 3 4 5 6
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Safety zones of thinned-out vegetation. Windbreaks. Firebreaks. Spark screens. Radiant heat shields Safe positioning of hazards.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
1 Safety zones Inner zone of 30–40 m from house • • • •
No plants grow against windows or walls. Trees are spaced so canopies don’t touch. Fine-leaved shrubs are minimised. Grounds are raked.
Inner zone can protect –
House, sheds, water, woodheaps, machinery, fuels, stock refuge.
Outer safety zone of < 60 m from house •
Fine-leaved shrubs and undergrowth spaced.
Outer zone can protect – –
Sensitive areas of bushland. Orchard.
Trees, hedges, and walls are triple safety features: wind, spark and radiant heat shields.
Wind and firebreaks, spark screens and heat shields can Minimise • • • •
Wind damage. Spark and ember ignitions. Flame and radiant heat reach. Stock loss.
Maximise • •
Personal safety and comfort. Time to deal with spot fires.
A protective property layout
23
2 Windbreaks • • •
Can force an approaching wind to rise to 30 times its height. – Wind’s embers then ‘jump over’, rather than land on, the object of protection. Control the strength of wind reaching the protected objects. Conserve soil moisture near them.
Windbreaks can double as firebreaks • • • •
Planted for a length of 20–25 times the tree’s mature height. Planted three times the trees’ mature height away from any building. Surrounding three sides of a building. Projecting beyond buildings for 100 m at each end.
Wind/firebreaks can be • • •
Fire-retardant trees or hedges. Non-flammable fences two or more metres high. Wire-mesh grown over with fire-retardant creeper such as ivy.
Wind/firebreaks are most protective when • •
Planted in 3–5 close rows, small shrubs front and back graduating to tall trees. Planted with each row’s trunks staggered to block gaps. – This gives less wind turbulence and so a bigger area of protection.
Windbreaks to protect buildings and stock refuge •
Dense hedges such as pittosporum or lily-pilly (See Chapter 8, A protective garden).
Windbreaks to protect crops and grazing stock •
Permeable hedges such as eucalypts with small trees or shrubs beneath them.
Windbreak tips • • •
24
The popular cypress may deflect wind efficiently but is highly flammable. Trees with tall, bare trunks need bushy shrubs planted in front of them. On hilly sites, place windbreaks along ridges.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Don’t chop down all the trees. Do reduce the kindling.
3 Firebreaks • •
Can stop the run of fire. Reduce the radiant heat reaching stock and home defenders. – Work best for grass fires, which don’t throw embers as far as forest fires.
Firebreaks can be • • • • • •
• • •
Mowed, slashed, weedkilled, grazed, ploughed, or burnt areas. – Mowed and slashed areas must be raked, and litter disposed out of the way. Creeks, roads, golf courses, and sports ovals. Swimming pools, tennis courts. Gravelled or paved patios. Paths next to buildings to separate walls from flammable plants. Driveways. Most protective when: – 4 m or more wide. – On flat or only gently sloping land. Green crops. Vegetable patches. Green lawns.
Firebreaks need to be • • • •
All around the property, not just on the usual fireward side. – Wind direction can change during a bushfire. As far away as possible from trees. Both sides of paddock fences. Of varying widths according to dense or sparse bush, grass or crop fire.
Firebreaks for home protection near bushland • • • •
On ridges or very rough ground – 200–300 m cleared around buildings. Between dense forest and buildings – 200–300 m cleared beneath trees. Between any forest and buildings – 30–100 m cleared. – Beyond 30–100 m thin undergrowth to a park-like state. Open, flat land between grass/crops, railway lines, roads, buildings – 10 m cleared. – Add a metre for every degree of slope.
A protective property layout
25
Firebreaks give most protection •
Parallel to the prevailing wind. – This helps narrow a fire and slow its speed.
Firebreak tips Firebreaks are not unconditionally effective. • In grassfires, burning seed heads can send embers across them. • In forest fires, embers easily fly across them.
4 Spark screens • • •
Can defuse sparks. Can shield a roof or wall from the shower of embers. Can prevent sparks entering open or cracked windows.
Spark screens can be • •
Metal 18 x 18 mm flywire mesh. – Reduces heat stress by 27%. Smooth-barked trees with dense, spreading, large-leafed canopies. – Sparks and embers landing in them can die out (See Chapter 8, A protective garden).
Mesh spark screens can protect • • • • • • •
Windows. – Installed on the outside, prevents spark entry and cracking from heat. Sub-floor gapboards. Area under raised timber decks or ‘stilt’ houses. Vents. Chimney openings. Gates that have gaps in them. Buildings and gardens. – A low mesh fence can hinder the run of a mild grassfire.
Tree spark screens are most protective •
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Spreading over the fireward side of a roof. – Canopy must be 2–3 m from roof.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Spark shield tip •
Tree branches must not touch roof or walls in a high wind. – Prune 2–3 m away from roof or wall.
5 Radiant heat shields Protect • • • • • • •
Home defenders from the heat of flames. Exit doors. Windows. Flammable cladding. Stock refuge area. Pets. Special areas of garden.
Radiant heat shields can be • • •
Non-flammable walls two or more metres high. Fire retardant hedges. Earth mounds.
Radiant heat shields need to be • • •
Constructed of non-flammable material. Strong enough to withstand violent winds. High enough to screen the object of protection.
Radiant heat shields give best protection • • • • •
No more than 10 m from house and outbuildings. No more than 5 m from an exit door or special area of protection. On the downside of a slope. Between home defenders and vegetation. Between water supply outlet and vegetation.
Radiant heat shield tip •
Do not allow flammable vegetation to grow on or near it.
A protective property layout
27
Some needed features of homes or rural properties are hazardous during a bushfire. These can be positioned, stored, or treated to minimise danger.
6 Safe positioning of hazards Timber fences and walls • •
Edge with paths of gravel or paving. Don’t grow vegetation against them.
Firewood • • •
Store 20 m from the house on the leeward side. Store in an enclosed shed with a leeward-facing entrance. – Entrance sheltered by a spark-proof screen or door. Never stack under trees, near long grass, or against house wall.
Incinerators •
Site 3 m from fences and buildings.
Fuel tanks • • • • • • • • • •
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Site 50 m away from buildings, haystacks and other fuel tanks. On the leeward of the house. Downside of a slope. Safest underground. Fit both above and on-the-ground fuel tanks with water-sediment drain valves. Do not site on concrete. – Leaking fuel could trickle towards a building. Tanks on porous ground need to be raised on metal stands. Surround stands with earth wall or ditch. Underground tanks need permanent sump drainage pumps. Bungs must be kept tight on drums. – Outside refill tins need non-flammable housing with metal mesh over vents.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Power lines • • •
Should run in the direction of prevailing fire winds. Be no closer to a tree than its full-grown height. Have as short a distance as possible between poles.
Haystacks • • • •
• • •
Best enclosed in a shed. Wall-in at least on the fireward side. Ventilate space between walls and hay to prevent spontaneous combustion. Laid out singly in separate paddocks. – In fallow paddocks or green summer crops. – In paddocks where stock can graze right up to them. With 4.5 m of bare, ploughed ground between each. – For 9–12 m beyond the bare ground, vegetation must be mown or grazed. Away from power lines. Near a water supply.
Your home can be your fortress against bushfire attack. High windbreaks are ramparts to deflect a rapid-fire shower of sparks. Wide firebreaks are moats of earth to halt the run of ground-fire forces. Radiant heat shields are shelter from the big blast.
A protective property layout
29
8
A protective garden
Your garden can ensure that any bushfire reaching it becomes instantly less dangerous and more manageable.
Protective gardens have • • • • • •
• • • •
• • • •
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Uncluttered plants. – Flames will be shorter, heat less intense, and less embers thrown. Trees and shrubs planted singly, in spaced clumps, or with succulents between. – This protects from flame reach and severe radiant heat. Paths between plants and flammable walls. No shrubs against flammable walls. No shrubs against windows. Nothing grown beneath trees that is higher than closely-mown grass. – Flames can rise from two to six times the height of a burning plant. – Short grass, if burning, will not ignite tree canopy. Thick-barked trees. Smooth-barked trees. Trees pruned three-dimensionally – 2 m from the ground, 2 m from walls, 2 m from roof. Dense canopied fire-retardant trees near firewind side of house. These can: – Shield the house from a shower of embers. – Slow the wind so the roof doesn’t lift off. Fire-retardant groundcover around buildings, separated from them by a path. Fire-retardant groundcover on wire mesh fences. – This can halt a mild grassfire. Beds of fire-retardant plants. – Burning embers will fizzle out in them. Lawn substitute such as fire-retardant groundcover or gravel.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
• • • • • • •
Earth ramps or ditches on the firewind sides. – These can catch bowling, burning debris. Plants with good regeneration capacities that revive after a fire. Mulch of pebbles, humus, granitic sand, or road-metal crushings 75 mm deep. – Straw or bark mulches can ignite and spread fire. Litter raked and removed for 20 m around the house. – Add 0.5–1 m for every degree of slope. Road verge and nature strip grass close mown, grazed, gravelled, or paved. Nearby bushland on fireward sides of the property thinned to isolated clumps. A bushfire protective sprinkler system.
Hazardous gardens have • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • •
• • •
Clutter. Continuous tree canopies. Flammable shrubs touching each other. – When trees and shrubs touch each other, fire spreads along them. Long grass, fine-leafed shrubs, litter, and dead leaves. Dead plants and dead parts of plants. Shrubs grown against windows. Shrubs grown against flammable walls. Shrubs or long grass grown under trees. – Tree trunks cannot ignite if there is no flammable material to burn beneath them. Trees with loose fibrous bark. Trees with long ribbony bark. Rough-barked trees. Twiggy trees and shrubs. Trees that continually drop leaves in dry weather. – Eucalypts can drop enough leaves on one hot, dry day to fill gutters. Old trees and shrubs. – A hedge may look green, but the core can be old, brittle, and dry. Parallel rows of trees. – These create wind tunnels that can draw embers to the house. – They act as a fuse if canopies touch. No trees. – A treeless patch within a forest draws flying embers down into it. Creepers growing on pergolas, verandah posts, flammable walls, or fences. – Embers lodging in them can ignite the building. Trellis against flammable walls.
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31
• • • • • •
Mulch of straw, bark, undecayed sawdust, shredded leaves, hay, or dung pats. PVC sheeting under mulch. Plastic plant pots. – These are highly flammable. Treated pine features. – Give off cyanide gas when burning. Railway sleepers. – Catch embers. Fibre hanging baskets hung against flammable walls.
Close-growing, highly flammable plants accelerate fire and emit much radiant heat. Spaced, fire-retardant plants slow down fire and make it manageable.
Fire-retardant plants • • • • •
Some plants are naturally less flammable than others. All plants burn differently. Different parts of the same plant burn differently. Some species just char, and if not touching other plants, will not spread fire. Other species flare up and will spread flame and throw sparks to start spot fires.
Fire-retardant plants can: Minimise • • • •
Flame-front travel. Radiant heat. Spot fires from sparks and embers. Vegetation and building ignitions.
Maximise • •
Time to deal with spot fires. Safety and comfort.
Fire-retardant properties of plants • •
32
Minerals such as ammonium phosphate and sodium chloride in leaves. Natural high moisture content in leaves.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
• • • • • • • • • •
Low cellulose (fibre) content in leaves. Lack of waxes, oils, and resin in leaves. Broad leaves. Thick leaves and twigs. Sappy leaves and twigs. Smooth bark. Non-peeling bark. Does not shed leaves or bark during the bushfire season. Lowest part of its canopy a long distance from ground. Young plant.
Hazardous properties of plants • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
High fibre content in leaves. Volatile waxes, oils, and resin in leaves. Long, thin leaves. – Plants with long thin leaves have adapted to dry air and fire. Thin twigs. Rough bark. Peeling bark. Bark that is stringy or hairy. Capacity to produce burning brands. Capacity to spit sparks. Dead leaves and twigs on plant. Dead material in the canopy. Sheds leaves or bark during the bushfire season. Lowest part of its canopy close to ground. Old plant.
A fire-retardance test • • • •
Take a small bunch of leaves to the incinerator or gas stove. – Have a bucket of water to drop burning leaves into. Slowly move plant towards the flame. Those that are hard to light or merely splutter are fire retardant. Those that catch fire farthest from flame and flare quickly are highly flammable.
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33
Fire-retardant plant tips • No plant is fire proof. • Even low-hazard plants can dry out in drought and so become flammable. (See The Complete Bushfire Safety Book for an extensive fire-retardant plants list.)
Research has shown that when an intense bushfire arrives at an area of less dense vegetation it immediately becomes less intense.
34
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
9
A protective house design
We cannot stop bushfires from happening. But there are many ways we can stop them from getting into our buildings. You can modify and adapt buildings easily and cheaply to minimise damage.
A bushfire-resistant house design • • • • •
Has openings sealed from spark and ember entry. Screens from radiated heat. Deflects wind. Discourages eddies and wind-whirls. Is strengthened against wind uplift. – Simple, squat designs reduce wind turbulence and can deflect bushfire.
Areas needing special protection • • • •
Ceiling space. Windows. Sub-floor. Vents and crevices.
An important protective feature Metal mesh flywire – 18 x 18 mm • • • •
Stops spark entry. Reduces heat stress by 27%. Delays cracking of glass by radiant heat during a mild fire. Is cheap, efficient, and easy to install.
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35
Use metal flywire • • • • • •
To surround raised sub-floor spaces. On the outside of windows. Over gaps. To cover vents. To cover chimneys. Around property fence-lines to hinder grass fires.
Protective house design on slopes • • • •
Snuggle house into slope to shelter from fire-laden winds. Between house and downslope create a flat area wider than the house’s height. This will stop flames that are rising up the slope from reaching the house. Between house and embankment, create a flat area wider than the height of the house. – This will prevent wind funneling behind the house.
Building a bushfire-resistant house Foundations – protective • • •
Concrete slab. – No sub-floor space. Raised, open sub-floor closed in with non-flammable surround. – Brick, stone, fibre-cement, metal mesh. Stumps of brick, concrete, or stone.
Foundations – hazardous • •
Raised with no protective surround. Unprotected timber stumps.
Subfloor or deck surrounds – protective •
•
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Timber gap-board surround closed in for 1 m from ground level. – Use corrugated iron, cement sheeting, insulating board, or metal flywire. – Seal well at the top. Vents covered with metal flywire.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Subfloor or deck – hazardous • • • • • •
Completely open sub-floor. – Tumbling, burning debris has total access to floor and wall cavity. Uncovered timber gap-boards. Embers can blow through to stumps, joists, floorboards, wall cavity, and frame. – Rough boards can catch sparks. Uncovered vents. – Sparks can get through to lodge in angle of stumps and floor joists. Flammable surround at ground level. – Burning debris or ash piled against it can ignite even sturdy timbers. Uninsulated metal supports. – Can collapse if exposed to sustained high heat.
An ignition under the floor is hard to get at and douse.
Floors – protective • •
Electric wiring, gas, and water laid through floor instead of through cavity walls. – No construction gaps in walls for sparks to slip through. Underside of timber floors sealed with continuous insulation. – Fibreglass-based aluminium foil laminate, plasterboard, or fibre-cement.
Exterior wall design – protective •
As few nooks and corners as possible. – Burning debris won’t be trapped so easily against the house. – Fewer wind eddies.
Interior wall design – protective •
Minimum walls in an open plan design. – Large areas inside the house can be watched at the one time for embers. – Ember entry can be controlled and internal spot fires doused easier.
Or • Maximum inner walls with door-enclosed rooms. – Rooms can be shut off to hinder flame spread from ignitions.
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37
Wall frame – protective •
Timber and metal frames insulated.
Wall frame data • •
Timber frame won’t ignite unless joists, eaves, rafters, or cladding are burning. Metal frame may warp once a house is burning.
Wall cavities – protective •
Packed with fibreglass/mineral-wool batts.
Internal linings – protective •
Brick, stone, tiles, and plasterboard.
Internal linings – hazardous •
Some decorative materials. – Give off toxic gas when ignited.
Insulation Install • • • • • • • • •
Under roof ridges, between roofing sheets, and under eaves. In ceiling space. In cathedral ceilings between ceiling and roof. Beneath timber floors. In wall cavities. Around the first metre of timber verandah, carport, and sundeck posts. In garage walls and doors. Between window shutters and glass. In refuge room walls, doors, floor, and ceiling.
Insulation – protective •
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Fibreglass, mineral wool, and aluminium foil laminates. – These will not catch fire, spread flame, build up heat, or develop smoke.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Insulation – hazardous • • • •
Tarpaper. – Highly flammable. Loose-fill materials. – Can entrap sparks between pieces. Bituminous impregnated foam (black jack) and Neoprene caulking. – Unstable in heat. Polystyrene and polyurethane. – Slow to ignite, but once alight give off toxic gas.
Ceilings Vital for protection •
Ceiling space inspection trapdoor.
Most protective •
No ceiling (‘cathedral’ ceiling). – Sparks and embers have no hidden space in which to smoulder.
Next most protective •
Ceilings with insulation above and below rafters. – Two layers of aluminium foil, with fibreglass or mineral wool between.
A stone or brick home is not necessarily safer than a timber home. Look at the empty shells of burnt-out brick and stone buildings.
Wall cladding data • • •
Masonry cladding will not protect from ember entry. Masonry cladding will not ignite from direct flame. Well prepared timber cladding does not easily ignite from direct flame.
A protective house design
39
Timber – protective • • •
Surface sanded smooth and well painted. Covered with non-flammable surround for 1 m up from ground level. Nothing growing against it.
Mudbrick – protective •
External load-bearing pillars need nonflammable wrap.
Fibre-cement -protective •
Sheets 9 mm thick. – Only protects from direct ignition from mild bushfire. – Can crack and break up under intense radiant heat to expose frame.
Cladding – hazardous •
• •
•
Plastic or vinyl. – Distorts under heat to expose wall cavities. – Embers can lodge in cracks at joins. Oiled or rough-sawn board, wooden shingles. – Embers can catch in their splits, cracks, and edges. Pine logs treated with copper-chrome-arsenate salts. – Flames run up them. – The smoke from these is toxic. – Filling or flashing materials used between them can be highly flammable. Metal sheeting. – Conducts heat and can warp.
Paint – protective •
Normal house paint well maintained over a smoothly-sanded surface.
Paint – hazardous •
40
Oil and varnish are highly flammable. – Paint marketed as fire retardant has not yet been proved effective.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Windows – protective • Or • • •
Sealed with close-fitting roll-down metal shutters. Prepared attachable emergency shutters (see Shutters – Temporary, below). Metal flywire covering outside the glass. Sloped brick sills.
Windows – hazardous • • • • •
Unprotected glass. Flat sills. Oiled, rough-sawn, badly painted, timber sills. Draughty, badly-fitted sashes. Unprotected skylights.
Window glass In areas of high fire intensity or strong wind hazard •
Shutters installed on firewind sides. – These stop windblown debris causing breaks that let in embers.
In areas of milder hazard Full-length flyscreens of metal mesh on the outside. Or • Wire-mesh reinforced glass. – Good protection from heat cracking and spark entry.
Double-glazing is safer than ordinary glass. But it may not protect from extreme intense heat.
Window frames – timber •
Can ignite. – Less likely to ignite if smooth, well painted, dense hardwood.
A protective house design
41
Window frames – metal •
Cannot ignite. – Can warp once a house is burning.
Window sills – protective • • •
Brick or other masonry. Well painted timber. Well sloped. – Burning debris can slide off.
Window sills – hazardous • •
Poorly painted timber. – Can catch sparks and burning debris. Flat. – Ash and embers can build up on them, ignite frame, or crack glass.
Window sashes •
Protect with well-sealed draught excluders.
Window shutters •
Can protect windows, doors, balconies, and verandahs. – For full discussion of shutter protection see The Complete Bushfire Safety Book.
Best protection • • •
Non-flammable. Cover both window and frame. Fit snugly, parallel to the glass.
Shutter types Permanent Best protection •
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Roll-down metal blinds, close-fitting.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
– – – –
Stop the full force of hurtling debris. Prevent window cracking. Prevent embers from landing on ledge. Prevent spark entry.
Useful protection • •
Roll-down metal blinds, angled. – May stop the full force of hurtling debris, but allow embers to land on ledge. Slatted shutters. – Risk a build-up of embers on slats. – Minimise risk by angling slats out and down, and covering fully with metal mesh.
For even greater protection on any type •
Fix insulation batts on the inside of shutters.
Temporary •
• •
Fibreglass/mineral-wool batts sandwiched between non-flammable sheets. – For example, 9 mm plasterboard, 19 mm hardboard, fibre-cement, vermiculite, corrugated iron, or aluminium Insulation batts sandwiched between two sheets of light welded steel mesh. – These will withstand the short burst of high fire-front heat. Velcro-edged heavy duty foil. – A good alternative for people who rent.
Skylights • • •
Burning embers can fall straight through them. Plastic skylights can melt. Commercial ‘insulating shields’ will not protect from a shower of embers. – Protect with close-fitting, removable metal covers.
Exterior doors – protective • • •
Solid core construction. – A door like this will take 30 minutes to burn through. Full-length metal mesh flywire door on outside. Strong latches and self-closers.
A protective house design
43
• • • •
Non-combustible draught excluders at base. Non-combustible draught stripping all round. Removable non-flammable covers for pet doors or letterboxes. Hinged covers for keyholes. – Or plug with soap or plasticine.
Flywire doors – protective • • •
Metal frames. Bronze flywire used on bronze frames. Aluminium flywire on aluminium frames. – This avoids electrode activity.
Flywire doors – hazardous •
Timber frames with crosspieces. – Can catch embers.
Interior doors – protective • •
Solid core, 30 minute fire rated. Draught-proofed.
Roofing material that allows the least airflow through it hinders fire flow.
Roofing •
The most protective roofing has no gaps in it. – Spots of light seen from inside a ceiling space show where sparks could enter. – Insulation batts under ridge and sheets, to seal gaps. – Solder around nail holes or fill with non-flammable mastic.
Roofing material Best protection •
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Strong, continuous, flat-troughed steel without ridge capping. – Easy to seal from sparks. – Has the strength to withstand falling-tree impact and gale-force wind.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Good protection •
Slate or fibre-cement tiles. – Fitted closely. – Kept free of cracks. – Underlaid with non-flammable insulation. – With boxed eaves.
Poor protection •
Tiles of terracotta, concrete, or metal. – Always have some gaps between them. – Can lift in strong winds and let in sparks.
Roofing material – hazardous •
• •
Timber shingles are the most hazardous roofing possible. – Easily ignite from small sparks. – Ignited shingles pop off like corks and start more fires. – Ignited shingles stay alight even after long soaking in water. – Hot roofing nails burn holes in the shingle, allowing sparks access to rafters. Corrugated iron that does not fit snugly. Fibre-cement sheeting that is old and crumbly.
Roof pitch • •
A gentle angle will carry a firewind over the house and away. Some authorities now favour an arced contour.
Roof angle – protective •
Low angled. – Allows observation of entire roof surface for landing embers. – A 15° angle limits air space between roofing and ceiling. – A 15° or more angle allows a person into ceiling space to check for smouldering. – Tiled, metal, and cement sheeting roofs can be constructed at 15°.
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45
Roof angle – hazardous •
Multiple pitches, gables, and split-level. – Increase turbulence. – Fallen embers can be hidden in the ‘hips and hollows’. – Valleys and breaks in roof slope collect leaves and burning debris.
Roof space – protective •
A design with no enclosed roof/ceiling space (cathedral ceiling). – Insulate between roofing layers.
Roof space – hazardous •
Any enclosed roof/ceiling space. – Sparks and embers can smoulder unnoticed.
Roof vents (whirligigs) •
Enclose with metal mesh flywire.
Roof cyclone clips •
Can be installed capable of holding roofs in winds of 150 kph.
External roof beams • •
Box in with non-combustible material. Or coat with fire-retardant paint. – Roof fires often start from ignited rafter ends.
Gutters collect enough leaves and twigs on a dry windy day to cause severe fire risk. They can be left off houses.
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Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Gutters – good protection • • • •
Concrete or metal. Concrete gutter and lintel beams combined. Leaf-free. With water run-off spaces covered with metal flywire.
Gutters – poor protection • •
Plastic. – Can warp in intense heat. Sloping. – Won’t stay filled with water to flood walls.
Gutter alternatives •
Underground rubble drains that carry water to underground tanks.
Downpipes – protective •
Metal.
Downpipes – hazardous • Plastic. Can warp in intense heat.
Fascias and barge moulds – protective • • • •
Well-painted timber. Cement sheeting at least 6 mm thick. Metal. Sealed fascias. – Can prevent sparks from entering the ceiling space.
A protective house design
47
Eaves – protective Best protection •
No eaves. – Eaves are spark traps and difficult to seal.
Next best protection • •
Eaves boxed in at a 90° angle to the house with horizontal 6 mm lining boards. – Lining board insulated with fibreglass batts. Eaves fixed to roof with fire-rated eave and roof profile filler strips.
Eaves – hazardous • •
Acute-angled eaves that continue the rafter line. – These draw sparks to eave/wall joint. Plastic lining board. – Warps in heat to expose house frame and roofing timbers.
Chimneys and fireplaces – protective • • • •
Chimney-top opening covered with metal flywire. Chimney with internal dampers and spark arresters. Fireplace with tight-fitting metal screen. Embers entering chimney won’t fall into the room.
Verandah and carport – protective • • • •
Supports of masonry. Supports of metal. – If surrounded with insulation for 1 m from ground level. Floor of concrete, paving, brick, stone, slate, or tiles. Roll-down metal shutter over openings.
Verandah and carport – hazardous •
48
Trellis or latticework. – Can catch embers.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
A verandah-surrounded ‘homestead’ design with concrete slab floor, setback, small-paned windows, and continuous metal roof with no ceiling space is a good basis for a bushfire-resistant house.
Sundecks – best protection • • • • • •
Deck of paving, brick, or cement. Posts of metal or masonry. Exposed timber posts insulated with 6 mm non-combustible board or steel sheet. Steps of concrete, brick, or stone. Pergolas uncovered. Under-area of raised deck surrounded with metal flywire.
Sundecks – good protection • • •
Smoothly finished 25 mm hardwood – jarrah, redgum, mountain ash, or merbau. Unoiled. Could be coated with fire-retardant paint.
Sundecks – poor protection • • • • • •
Decking with gaps that can hold embers. Decking preserved with asphalt, tar, or resinous coatings. Decking preserved with copper-chrome-arsenate salt. – Releases toxic arsenic gas when burning. Timber steps. Pergolas covered with plastic sheeting or mesh. – Melts in sizzling drops which can give a nasty burn. Pergolas covered with creeper. – Can catch and hold embers against frame.
Vents and cracks • Cover with metal flywire. Or • Fill with fire-resistant gap mastic.
A protective house design
49
Firewood storage boxes •
Metal or brick, and draught-stopped, if part of the house.
Electricity meter box •
Metal.
Survival kit storage cupboard • •
•
Can be on verandah, in laundry, or hallway near ceiling-space inspection door. If outside: – On leeward side of the house. – Well insulated and draught-stripped. A hook on wall beside it can hold extension ladder for ceiling space access.
Laundry •
Fit with an extra tap to which a hose is attached throughout summer.
A fenceless home gives a bushfire free and easy access to your garden. Non-flammable fences can stop the run of a surface fire and reduce the amount of radiant heat that reaches the house.
House fences – protective •
• • • •
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Stone, brick, masonry. – Can halt approaching flames from forest fire. – Protects from radiant heat. Chain mesh grown over with fire-retardant creeper. Colorbond metal. Cement sheeting. – Can hinder fire approaching from mild bush, grass, or crops. At least 2 m high. – Double as radiation shields.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
House fences – hazardous • • •
Timber. – Uprights readily burn, crossbeams catch embers. Oiled timber is highly flammable. Timber treated with copper-chrome-arsenate salt exudes toxic gas when burning.
Farm fences – protective • • •
Stone fences around paddocks can stop crop and grassfires. – The lives of thousands of stock can be saved this way. Wire fences won’t collapse if supported with concrete or metal drops. Metal flywire at ground level between wires can hinder the spread of grass fire.
Farm fences – hazardous •
• • • •
Wire fences with timber posts. – Posts burn and fencing wire then collapses. – Metal ‘star pickets’ dropped between timber posts hold fence if posts burn. The older the timber, the drier and more flammable. Galvanised wire used in timber fences breaks down in fire and later rusts through. Holes bored through timber posts for wiring catch sparks. Treated pine posts ignite at ground level and smoulder upwards.
Gates – protective • • • •
Solid construction. – Wind cannot blow through and funnel the fire. Open design covered with metal flywire. – Burning debris will not roll through. Wide enough for a fire tanker to enter. Painted white, will be clearly seen by the fire service.
Woolsheds, garages, and machinery sheds hold highly flammable, valuable contents. Protect them with every design feature you can afford.
A protective house design
51
Outbuildings, sheds, and garages – protective • Or • • Or • • •
Metal roller doors. Solid, well-sealed, fire-rated doors. Metal shutters on windows. Metal mesh on the outside of windows, all openings and cracks. No window on fireward sides. Non-combustible 1 m base surround protects walls from grassfire or burning debris.
Even unattended hobby farms and holiday homes can survive with these compensatory features.
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Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
10
Protective furnishings The determining factor in house destruction is the flammability of its furnishings.
Furnishing fabric determines •
If a landed ember or running flame will ignite the padding beneath it.
Furnishing padding determines • • • • • • •
Whether the furnishing will continue to burn. How soon flame follows after smouldering. Whether the furniture structure beneath will burn. How quickly flame leaps to ignite other items. Intensity of heat. Amount of smoke. Whether poisonous gas is given off.
Furnishings – protective • •
A spark or ember landed on it will die out. Any flame generated in it moves slowly. – These give time to extinguish or escape fire.
Furnishings – hazardous • • •
A spark or ember landed on it flares quickly. Any flame generated in it moves quickly. – Accelerates spread to furniture structure and other furnishings. When burning gives off toxic fumes. – This quickly endangers life.
Protective furnishings
53
Furnishing fabrics – protective Cannot be ignited by an ember • • •
Pure, untreated, heavy quality wool. Natural leather. Good quality vinyl.
Cannot be ignited by flame • • •
Pure, untreated, heavy quality wool. Natural leather. Good quality vinyl.
Will only burn if kept in constant contact with flame •
Modified acrylic.
Furnishing fabrics and components – hazardous Can be ignited by an ember •
Cotton, rayon, linen, and acrylic.
Can be ignited by a flame • • •
•
Cotton, rayon, linen, and synthetic. The plastic coating of fibreglass fabrics. Acrylic. – Gives off thick black smoke. – Creates burning molten drips. Nylon, terylene, and dacron. – Create molten drips.
Can be ignited by a small flame if the fabric allows it •
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Polyurethane foam padding. – Burns fast. – Gives off more smoke and gases than natural padding. – When smouldering, gives off lethal toxic fumes.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Other hazards • •
Light-reflecting curtains. – Polymers in them increase the heat and smoke given off. Loose cushions. – Allow embers to lodge unseen beside them.
An ember landing on a linen-covered, polyurethane padded chair sends off lethal cyanide gas within 30 seconds.
Furnishings – amount and placement • • • •
Cluttered furnishings help flame spread. Flammable curtains can ignite ceilings. Furnishings close to windows are vulnerable to entering embers. Furnishings placed close to flammable curtains can be ignited by them.
Floor coverings – protective •
Slate, tile, brick, or pure wool. – Embers landing on them self-extinguish.
Bedding – protective • •
Bedspreads and quilts of pure wool. Quilts and pillows of down or feathers.
Protective furnishings
55
Bedding – hazardous • • • • • • •
Covers of cotton or synthetic. Covers with button depressions, rolled edges. Acrylic and cotton blankets. – Spread flame quickly from a smouldering mattress. Cotton or synthetic sheets. Natural mattress padding. – Ignites from embers. Foam mattress padding. – Ignites from small flames. Foam mattresses give off more smoke than innerspring.
The determining factor in house destruction is the flammability of its furnishings.
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Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
11
A refuge room
A refuge room can be an alternative to evacuation. A retreat of last resort for home defenders. Emergency storage for precious possessions and pets.
Refuge room – protective aim • •
A known safe retreat if house ignites during ‘inside’ phase. Dispels the need to worry about evacuation.
A refuge room should not be planned as • •
The main answer to bushfire safety. A place of first destination when bushfire threatens.
A refuge room can be • • •
Included in an original house plan. Added on. Part of an existing house modified to double as a refuge.
Existing house – possible adaptations • • • • •
A soundly constructed room that is easy to enter and leave. A laundry with a water supply. An internal passage that leads to a sheltered outer doorway. A small, strong, room built onto the leeward side of the house. An adjoining brick garage linked to the house by an insulated door.
A refuge room
57
– –
Insulate main entrance doors. Add a standard-sized, fire-rated personal door with shielding metal mesh door.
Refuge room – protective needs • • • •
Separation from the rest of the house by brick, concrete, or heavily insulated wall. A fire-rated connecting door fitted with draught stoppers. An internal water supply with hose permanently attached to a reserve tap. Ventilation that does not allow sparks or smoke to enter. – Inner door can be left open to the air of rest of house until retreat needed. Strong construction of low-flammability materials. Well-insulated outer walls. Concrete floor.
• • • Or • Insulated timber floor (See Chapter 9, A protective house design). • A small lookout window, reinforced with wire mesh. Or • Spyglass in outer door. – Through this, watch the progress of the fire. • Any large windows must be protected with metal shutters operated from the inside. • Reinforced concrete ceiling. Or • Timber ceiling reinforced and insulated. – Double-layered ‘fire-stop’ plasterboard above and below. – Sandwiched-in 100 mm2 mesh to protect from falling materials. • A ceiling space inspection trapdoor. • Roof secured with cyclone clips. • Inner and outer doors of solid core timber. Or • Insulated with heavy cement-sheeting layer between two timber layers. • Inner and outer doors weather-stripped. • Fire-rated, solid-core exit door with shielding metal-mesh screen door. • Exit door opening to courtyard, fire-retardant garden, or fallow paddock. • Radiant heat shield no more than 5 m from exit door. • At least 2 m bare space between outer walls and flammable vegetation.
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Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Refuge room hazards • Exit door facing a slope. • Exit door leading to flammable steps. • Large unprotected windows. (See The Complete Bushfire Safety Book for full details.)
The stronger the walls, floor, and ceiling, the safer the refuge.
Cellars •
Extremely hazardous as shelters. – Burning floorboards above a cellar can ignite and trap you. – A gutted house can fall inwards into the cellar.
Underground shelters • • • • • • • • •
Hard to ventilate and keep smoke-free. No flammable vegetation to be grown on or around. Must not be sited near trees or structures that could fall on it. Entrance must be surrounded on three sides by radiant-heat shields. Must be connected to the house by a path sheltered from radiant heat. Do not furnish. Do not provide with normal windows. Provide a small, wire-reinforced lookout window. Best use for underground shelters is for storage of precious possessions.
While householders shelter in any retreat other than the house itself, the house is left undefended and vulnerable to ignition.
A refuge room
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12
Protective equipment Bushfires have been beaten away from buildings with no better equipment than green branches and wet bags. But the more fire suppression equipment you have, the more chance of your home surviving a bushfire.
The personal survival kit •
This is a satchel or bag of protective clothing and accessories. – Prepare well before the bushfire season. – Keep in specially allocated place, e.g. hall, laundry, or verandah cupboard. – Take with you whenever you travel into bushfire territory.
Survival kit – clothes •
Heavy-duty cotton-drill coverall. – Tight weave, high neckline, no waistband, loose non-flared sleeves/legs.
Or • Long straight-legged trousers. – Strong cotton or pure wool. • Strong drill shirt which does up to the neck. Or • Long-sleeved, pure wool, neck-hugging pullover. – Not cowl or polo neck. • Underwear of cotton. – Not nylon or polyester. • A strong, wide-brimmed, heavy cotton or felt hat that can be tied on. Or • Strong cotton scarf or woollen cap that completely covers hair. • Rubber gumboots.
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Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Or • Strong leather boots or shoes. – Soles of thick nitrone rubber. – No hobnails. • Pure wool socks. • Strong gardening gloves made of canvas. – Not synthetic.
Survival clothes – protective way to wear them • • • • • •
Light and loose-fitting to let you sweat. Pullovers tucked into trousers. – So flames cannot reach inside them to burn the chest. Hats tied on. Trouser legs worn outside boots or gumboots and tied firmly. – So embers can’t drop into boots. Socks tucked out over trouser legs. – So heat or flame won’t run up inside leg. Gloves. – For protection when moving hot materials (See Chapter 3, The survival factors).
Survival clothes – hazardous way to wear them • • • • • • • • •
Of light cotton, synthetics, loose or fuzzy weave. – Ignite easily. Of heavy material. – Will tire you quickly. Tight-cut, close-fitting jeans. – Embers landing on them can burn the skin beneath. Tight waistbands. – Can constrict blood circulation. Short sleeves, no sleeves, or short trousers. Flared sleeves, skirts, or trousers. – Heat or flame can reach inside. Flammable shirt or singlet worn under loose pullover. – Flames can reach up to ignite the undergarment. Loose or cowl necks. – Embers can be caught in them. Thongs, plastic shoes, shoes with hobnails (See Chapter 2, The Killer factors – clothes). Protective equipment
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The most suitable clothes are strong enough for radiant heat protection, comfortable and adjustable to allow sweat to evaporate and cool you.
Accessories • •
Thick pure wool or textured fibreglass blanket. – Big enough to cover you completely when crouched or lying down. Smoke-filtering nose cover. – A non-synthetic scarf, tea-towel, large handkerchief.
Or • • • • • • • •
– Mask such that will filter 0.1 micron. Water in containers for damping homemade nose cover. – A small indoor plant spray is useful. Water to drink. Bottle of artificial tears or gel. – To hinder drying out of eyes and grit irritation. Wide vision goggles or wrap-around sun glasses. Demisting stick. Strap to tie glasses on in high wind. Ultra-violet reflective skin cream (e.g. zinc) to protect forehead and nose. First aid kit.
Survival kit – pets • • •
Pure wool back-coat for dog. Small pure wool blanket to cover bird or cat cage. Firestop blanket to hang over the exposed side of an aviary.
Firefighting equipment • • • • • • •
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Reserve water (See Chapter 13, Water for protection). Optional foam additive for water. – Can increase water’s effectiveness and decrease its consumption. Non-electric water pump. Stirrup pump, knapsack sprays with pump, garden sprayers. Metal buckets, enough for one to throw and one to fill at each threatened spot. Drums, old baths, wash troughs, etc. for water containers. Mops, dippers for throwing water from containers.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Hoses – rubber or flat canvas up to 30 m long. – Water pressure can fall in longer hoses. Nozzle-activated hose jets. Hose connectors. Enough standpipes so that 30 m hoses can reach any part of the property. Fire hydrant. Fire extinguishers. – Foam, carbon dioxide, or dry chemical for grease, oil, alcohol, or petrol fires. Tennis balls, milk carton bottoms, or commercial downpipe-stopper devices. Beaters of thonged leather or canvas, or hessian bags. Rakes, rakehoe, shovel. Extension ladder and ordinary ladder. Loud bell or shrill whistle for emergency signalling. Listening set linked to local rural brigade, two-way portable radio, mobile phone. Battery-operated radio for listening to bushfire news bulletins. – Electricity often fails during bushfire emergency. Torches and batteries. Pure wool blankets. Firestop blankets. Ploughs, graders, and rotary hoes. – For creating earth barriers and emergency ditches.
Equipment – hazardous • • • • •
Plastic hoses. Plastic buckets. Plastic poly-tap fittings. – Plastic can melt in an intense bushfire. Tap-stands set against buildings. – If the building ignites you might not be able to access the tap. Water put on grease, oil, or petrol fires.
A fit person, armed with a smoke mask, mop and 1000 litres of water (about four 44 gallon drums or seven baths’ full) should be well able to defend against the spot ignitions caused by burning embers.
Protective equipment
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13
Water for protection
The reason many people lose their homes to bushfire, despite having carried out otherwise good preparation, is because they have no reserve water supply.
Water supply •
Vital for dousing ember ignitions as they start.
Water supply must be • • • • •
As plentiful as possible. Organised with a special reserve supply for bushfire use only. Carried in metal or plastic pipes. Protected from radiant heat. Used in the most effective way (See Chapter 20, What to do when bushfire threatens).
Reserve water is necessary because •
You need your own extra source of water. – Mains water pressure falls during bushfire when fire units use it. – Often mains water is cut completely.
Reserve water requirements • •
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Small properties: 1000 litres minimum (more for sprinklers – see pages 66–69). Large properties: 25 000 litres.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Reserve water supply can be held in • • • •
Large tank. – Mains water can be run into a reserve tank, to keep it always full. Dam. Swimming pool. Pond.
Reserve tank requirements •
A separate tank kept strictly for firefighting. – Clearly mark it ‘RESERVE FIREWATER’
Or • Modify the general household tank. – Mark the normal tap at the base ‘RESERVE FIREWATER’. – Insert second tap at the halfway level. – With this tap draw water for normal use from the top half of the tank. • Indoor and outdoor taps connected to tank. • Large outlet, gate valve, and coupling to which fire-tanker hose can be connected.
Reserve water tank – best types • •
Underground. Concrete if above ground.
Reserve water supply – layout • • •
Within the inner zone of protection (See Chapter 7, A protective property layout). At each building and outbuilding. – On their leeward sides. Positioned higher than building to allow flow by gravity.
A gravity-fed water supply can be • • •
Tank, dam, or swimming pool on slope above the house. – At least 25 m higher than intended destination of water. Tank on the roof. Tank raised very high above house on a stand.
Water for protection
65
All raised tank stands must be • •
Kept clear underneath. Protected underneath with nonflammable surround.
Water pipes must be • Metal. Or • Plastic pipes laid 40 cm underground. – Plastic can melt.
Water pumps must be •
Non-electric. – Electric water pumps can fail during bushfire. – Authorities may disconnect power as a safeguard.
Water pumps – protective • Generator powered. Or • 3.7 kW (5 hp), portable, easy to start, self-priming petrol or diesel motor powered. – Pump hp depends on degree of risk, on sprinkler needs, and spray head type. • Housed in their own shelters. • Fitted with a fine screen on the suction. • Permanently connected to non-gravity fed reserve water supply. • Supplied with at least two hours’ fuel. – Pre-test for fuel running time and top up before due to run out.
Sprinklers should not be looked upon as an all-in-one bushfire defence strategy. But they can ease the difficult physical problems of home defenders.
A well-designed sprinkler system • • • •
66
Protects house and important assets. Decreases your energy output at time of emergency. May negate the need for some aspects of house modification. Can decrease the need for vegetation clearance in environmentally-sensitive areas.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Main areas of need for sprinkler protection • • • • • • • • • •
Flammable walls. Windows. Vents. Sundecks. Eaves. Gutters. Roof valleys. Galvanised iron roofs. Tiled roofs. Cement sheeting roofs.
Other areas of use for sprinkler protection • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Stockyards. Stables. Milking sheds. Aviaries. Fowl pens. Fauna sanctuaries Garages. Sheds. Fuel tanks. LP-gas cylinders. Machinery. Perimeter fences. Gardens. Radiant heat shields. Refuge room exit.
Areas that don’t need sprinkler protection • •
Blank brick walls. Continuous metal roofing.
Before installing a sprinkler system •
Analyse your house and garden’s specific risks.
Water for protection
67
Sprinkler system design • • •
•
Most protective when water is run down over roof and walls like a waterfall. – Spray flung from a roof ridge will be blown away by typically violent winds. Spray nozzle heads must be brass to withstand heat. The potential threat of individual property will determine – Water supply needed. – Pump size and type. – Type of spray heads. – Placement of spray heads. Different spray nozzle heads for house and each protective zone. – On roof: 180–360° – low-flow spray nozzle heads to protect house. – 10 m from house- a ring of butterfly spray nozzle heads to protect garden. – 30–40 m further out- a ring of impact spray nozzle heads to protect bushland.
Calculating sprinkler system water requirements • • • • • • •
Discuss needs with bushfire sprinkler specialist. Size of protection area. Severity of fire from which you expect to need protection. – Therefore how much water flow needed per minute and for how long. Amount of water supply. Estimated running time. Spray head type. – Some spray heads release water faster than others. 17 500 litres provide a running time supply of one to two hours. – An hour’s water supply is enough to protect from grassfire. – Forest fire protection needs more.
When to use a sprinkler system •
68
During the shower of embers (See Chapter 4, How bushfire destroys houses). – Do not run for the entire duration of a threat. – Do not turn on and leave running while you evacuate. Sprinklers may have run out of water by the most vital time.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
A makeshift sprinkler •
Attach a 40 mm metal water pipe to a fence. – Insert either metal butterfly spray heads or taps.
Plastic buckets have shrunk to half-size during intense bushfires – but still retained their water!
Water for protection
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14
Planning ahead
People who choose to live in the bush must take the responsibility of planning and preparing for their own bushfire safety. The rural fire brigade cannot possibly have a fire unit at every house.
Personal safety • • • •
Re-read this book and think about every aspect in relation to your own property. Discuss thoroughly with family and knowledgeable people. – If possible, read The Complete Bushfire Safety Book. Put together a Survival Kit for every family member. Prepare a bushfire survival plan and become familiar with its aspects.
If you plan to stay and defend your home •
Prepare a bushfire home defence plan and become familiar with its aspects (See Chapter 20, What to do when bushfire threatens).
If you plan to evacuate •
• •
•
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Read up on and think about every aspect of the evacuate-stay dilemma. – If possible, read the Planning ahead chapter in The Complete Bushfire Safety Book. Check regulations on designated local refuges with municipal authority. – At what stage does it become available for bushfire evacuees? Visit the local community refuge to check its safety, availability, and amenity. – Is it a building or in the open? – Is it available early on a blow-up day, or only during official emergency? Enquire if neighbours have a better-protected house than yours. – Would they be willing to shelter you?
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
• •
• • • • •
Check if town or safe-suburb friends would give emergency accommodation. Travel the proposed evacuation route. – Is the road narrow and twisting with overhanging trees? – Are there wide, clear spaces in which you could pull up if cut off by fire? Time the trip to refuge from home and from work. – Allow extra time for low visibility due to smoke, for heat, and for traffic jams. Time how long it takes you to seal the house before you would leave. Time how long you need to get everyone into protective clothing. Time loading the car with precious possessions, people and pets. Prepare also an emergency Plan B to stay safely (See Chapter 19, Evacuate or stay?).
School or kindergarten • • •
Learn whether the school holds, or sends children home when bushfire threatens. Check if authority is needed for a person other than a parent to collect children. Decide whether to keep your children at home on bad blow-up days.
Precious possessions • Decide what to store at a safe house in town for the danger period. Or • Put in a hired train station locker. Or • Bury in moisture-proof wraps. – For the duration of the bushfire season. – On a fire-danger day. • Talk over where to put pets during a bushfire threat.
Home defence • • • • • •
Find out your state and local bushfire laws. Discuss at work the possibility of your staying home on fire-danger days. Budget for bushfire safety needs. Discuss your preparations with local fire brigade. Draw up a home defence plan from the information in this book. Practise it with all the family before the bushfire season starts.
Planning ahead
71
House repairs or modifications • • • •
Make a shopping list of requirements. – Children could collect tennis balls or milk cartons to block downpipes. Plan a timetable for chores so they’ll be done before the bushfire season starts. Discuss replacing timber fences with non-combustibles or fire-retardant hedge. Consider making an inbuilt refuge room at home (See Chapter 11, A refuge room).
Stock • • • •
Decide what to use for stock refuges and where to have them. Talk over with the family the emergency herding of stock to their refuge. Plan gradual movement of stock towards this as the bushfire season approaches. Appoint someone as emergency musterer.
Travel (See Chapter 18, Protective travelling) • Check if your holiday will be during the bushfire season for the visited areas. • Check if business trips will take you to potential bushfire areas.
Survival kits (See Chapter 12, Protective equipment) • Check that no one has grown out of their protective clothing. • Check that items are in good condition. • Pack early before the bushfire season.
Firebreak planning • • • •
72
What areas are to be intensively grazed, mowed, or burnt? What areas are to be sprayed to create firebreaks? What areas are to be fallow? Where are gravel areas or fire-retardant plants to be set?
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Community planning • • • • • • • •
Discuss perimeter firebreaks. – Pools, or parks with fire-retardant trees, on fireward edge of town. Form a community fireguard group. Hold working bees to reduce the amount of fine fuel on nature strips. Discuss ways of sharing information and resources. Discuss plans to care for the less able-bodied people in your area. Nominate the most well-protected house as possible for others to shelter. Develop phone-trees and other communication systems to improve warning. Discuss designated community refuges.
Be prepared. Be planned. Be practised.
Be cleared. Be clothed. Be contained.
Planning ahead
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15
Protective chores The more hazardous the site, the more often the house is left unattended in the bushfire period, the more attention you need to give to protective chores.
Protective chores around the house •
Make and mend, paint, and fill. – Aim – to prevent bushfire embers entering the house.
Protective chores around grounds •
Slash, mow, rake, prune, tidy, burn, water. – Aim – to lower the intensity of a bushfire with less dense vegetation.
House chore checklist Protective features to install • • • • • • • •
74
Window shutters. Metal flywire coverings over doors, windows, vents, cracks, chimneys, etc. Fire-rated doors. New latches on doors if they do not stay closed during strong wind. Weather seals to external doors. Draught stoppers to external doors. Insulation. Possible refuge room.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Winter and spring chores Timber cladding and window ledges • • • • •
Inspect for peeling paint, cracks, patches of rot in which sparks could lodge. Sand down rough patches. Fill cracks with expandable fire-retardant epoxy-type filler. Sand smooth again. Paint any treated pine posts that are part of the house structure.
Verandah or deck timber floors • •
Replace loose or rotted boards. Coat with a smooth, non-resinous, fire-retardant finish.
Roofing • • • •
Check for loose tiles, sheeting and ridge capping. Check for nail holes in galvanised iron roofing. Repair. Check and repair roof insulation.
Roof/ceiling space • • • •
Look for birds’, rats’ or possums’ nests. Clear away. Make as dust-free as possible. Insulate.
Chimneys and flues • •
Clean. Repair metal flywire covers. – A sooty chimney can send sparks flying over the countryside.
Eave, fascia, and fluted roof edging • •
Check for cracks. Fill and sand smooth.
Protective chores
75
Windows • • •
Install roll-down metal shutters or make emergency covers (See Chapter 9, A protective house design). Check that they operate easily and close securely. – You may need the manufacturer or agent to maintain them. Check that outer mesh covers have no holes.
LP-gas bottles • • • • •
Check that they are securely fixed in place. Store at least 6 m from house in a cleared area 6 m diameter. Set on a concrete base and secure to a strong metal pipe. Enclose in metal mesh. – Metal mesh allows leaking gas to escape without danger of explosion. Check frequently that the relief-valve is turned away from wall of building.
Timber fences • • •
Check for rotted crossbeams and repair. – They are ember traps. Strap loose fence posts to crossbeams with galvanised metal strips. Strip any oiled fences. Paint over if necessary. – Oiled timber fences feed fire.
Gates • •
Repaint if needed. Repair hinges so they can be easily opened during fire emergency.
Sheds and garages • • • •
Put metal flywire over windows or replace with wired glass. Store flammables in closed metal containers. Make containers with lids to hold oily rags. Tidy outbuildings. – You need to be able to get at and douse any entering bushfire embers.
Mid-spring or early summer Timber window frames •
76
Check for secure closure. – After they’ve dried out from winter dampness.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Several times throughout the year Gutters and roof valleys •
Clear as soon as autumn leaves have finished falling. – Again in spring. – Frequently throughout the summer.
Grounds chore checklist Late spring chores Water supply • • • • • •
Check and reinforce tank rivets and solder where needed. Clear the access outlets of reticulated water pipes. Clear holes in sprinkler spray nozzles that may have become clogged. Check condition of hoses and number of hose connections. – Aim for enough hoses to wet any part of house, garden, or fence. Check that reserve tanks are full. Buy in water to fill them if necessary.
Firefighting equipment • • •
Check for repairs well before summer. – Pumps may need to be sent to the manufacturer for checking. If hoses leak, cut out the part with the hole and rejoin. Check that knapsack spray pumps, sprayers, etc. are working. – Keep filled during the bushfire season.
Late spring and early summer chores Vegetation management • • •
Weed out flammable plants so they are spaced from each other and from buildings. Thin undergrowth and litter for 200 m dense forest or 40 m in sparse bush (See Chapter 7, A protective property layout). Check whether hedges and shrubs are green and alive right through.
Protective chores
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Continual late spring through summer chores Clear •
• • • • •
Long grass and rubbish. – For 20 m from buildings, plus a metre for each degree of slope. – From under house, water-tank stands, around incinerators and woodheaps. Between and under buildings, shrubs, and trees. Loose bark and dead branches from trees. Self-seeded saplings as they come up. Orchards of weeds between rows and under trees. Litter from access tracks through paddocks and at creek crossings.
Mow • •
Very short for 20 m from crops and 10 m from buildings. Rake away all mowed vegetation. – Do not leave lying around in heaps – compost, burn, use as hay, bin, or take to tip. – Rotting cut grass ignites more easily than does standing dead grass.
Slash • • •
Where mower can’t reach – under trees, along fences, around buildings. – Clear away slashed vegetation. Re-slash as it re-grows. – May need to be done in small patches to safeguard native animals’ habitat/food. If using mechanical slasher, watch slashings for signs of smouldering from sparks.
Continual summer chores Rake • •
Under trees, around buildings, woodheaps, in barns. – Bits of paper, rags, wood chips, dead weeds, act as fire starters for embers. Get rid of the rakings.
Prune • • •
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Branches for at least 2 m up trunk. Trees and shrubs to at least 2 m from edge of any building. All dead wood.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Water (when watering restrictions permit) • • • •
Lawns each day. Established shrubs twice a week. Established introduced trees once or twice a week (deep-watered). – If leaves are falling, give longer watering. Established trees indigenous to the area rarely need watering.
Farm vehicles and machinery • • • • •
Regularly lubricate pumps, chain saws, slashers, etc. to prevent bearings overheating. Keep spark arresters clean and in good order. Check manifolds, mufflers, tail pipes, and fuel lines for leaks. Check stone guards, bash plates, exhaust systems for entangled dry grass. Keep machinery cleaned of oil and grease.
When operating machinery • • • •
Carry a knapsack spray pump. If near vegetation, check often behind you for fire. With engines near haystacks, keep exhaust pointed away from hay. For welding, keep 1.5 m around cleared of flammables and wetted down.
Power lines • • • •
Inspect frequently to see that branches have not fouled them. Prune trees away from power lines for a distance equal to the tree’s mature height. Prune shrubs to 10 m from poles and 3 m from lines. Check pole stability by banging with the back of an axe. – Solid wood makes a sound different from rotted wood.
Fuel tanks • • •
Each day check for leaks and ensure bungs fit tightly. Check valves for blockages. Frequently rake ground around fuel stands.
Weather watching •
Consult newspaper, radio, and television each day for bushfire weather trends.
Protective chores
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Be aware • • • • • • • • •
Media maps can sometimes be many hours out of date. The weather pattern may well have moved on by the time you see it. Bulletins may not apply to your particular district. Watch the actual weather around you. Year-round, study local weather and try to relate it to bushfire conditions. Become familiar with local variations of the wind. Note where leaves and twigs land when they blow over your house. Note how clouds, sunsets, and sunrises relate to local weather changes. Keep a bushfire weather record for your district.
Firebreaks chore checklist Autumn to mid-winter •
Prepare fallows. – Start before grass begins to grow strongly.
Late winter • • •
Graze firebreaks and stock refuges at twice the normal rate. Graze stock along roadsides, using temporary fences. Tether a grazing pet in different areas to systematically close-crop whole area.
Early spring • •
Intensify grazing near house, sheds, laneways, and paddocks. Sow fire-retardant summer crops.
Late spring • • • • • • •
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Re-cultivate firebreaks. Work fallow areas over again. – How often this chore needs repeating depends on the vigour of grass growth. Start controlled burning (See Chapter 16, Safe burn-offs). Mow lawns. Rake and remove litter. Clear spouting of accumulated leaves. Graze firebreaks and stock refuges at five times the normal rate.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Summer • • •
Discuss your bushfire preparations with local fire brigade. Discuss bushfire precautions with neighbours. Join or start a community fireguard group.
Stock refuges chore checklist Late winter •
Graze at twice the normal rate.
Spring •
Graze at five times the normal rate. – Ground will then be bare by summer.
Early summer and throughout year •
Check stock drinking water supply.
Haystacks • • • • • •
Keep firebreaks cleared for 20 m all around. Do not burn off around haystacks – plough, graze, mow, or use weed-killer. For three months from when a stack is built, check its temperature daily. – No higher than 71°C to avoid spontaneous internal combustion. Make sure the stack has gaps. In shedded stacks, check for space between hay and side walls. Repair walls if they could catch sparks.
Throughout the year Family bushfire drill •
Practise at least once a month.
Your bushfire safety can be in your hands – and your hoes.
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16
Safe burn-offs
The aim is for a gentle fire that creeps about.
Standard of a good burn-off •
Removes litter and low shrubs but does not scorch leaves of trees. – Scorch height is 3–5 times flame height.
A good day to burn off • • • •
Temperature 20°C or less. – The hotter the air, the higher the flames will be. Wind 20 kph or less. – At 10 kph leaves rustle; 20 kph small twigs move. Relative humidity 40–60%. Time after 10 a.m. – Early morning stillness often changes.
Conditions for a good burn-off • •
In bush-land – when ground litter is dry enough to burn properly. In grass-land – when grass is cured.
The paperwork • • •
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Check permit requirements with local authority. Obtain weather forecast and fire danger rating. Prepare a burning plan. – What, when, what with, and what to do if burn escapes (See below).
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
• •
Notify and discuss with neighbours. Make signs to put out for travellers.
Preparation • • •
Clear two metres between burn area and fences or buildings. Slash and clear grass from beneath trees. Make firebreaks around the area to be burnt.
You will need • • • • •
Easily accessible water. 18–30 litre knapsack sprays. Hoses, rakes, rakehoes, beaters. Protective clothing and smoke masks. Enough helpers and equipment to keep the burn within firebreaks.
Pattern of a safe burn-off • • •
Burn against the wind and downhill. Burn well-spaced small spots of fire in a series of strips. Start next strip only after the previous is completely burnt and black.
Safety rules for burn-offs • Never leave a burn-off unattended. • Never burn off alone. • If flames grow higher than one metre, put the fire out. • If the burn becomes hard to control, call the fire service at once. • Patrol and mop up until fire is out cold. • Check again next morning. (For more comprehensive information see The Complete Bushfire Safety Book).
Escapes from burn-offs are a major cause of bushfires.
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How to suppress a fire • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Do not use water on gas, petrol, kerosene, or grease fires. Hose the burning surface, not the flames. Remove fuel from the path of a fire. Rake sparks towards burning fuel. Cover burning fuel with water or earth. Beat burning fuel with green leaves, or wet bag, or mop. Do not beat burning rough barked trees. Do not stamp out flames. – Many have died from ignited trousers. Wear protective clothing, mask, and goggles. Shield yourself from radiant heat. Shelter eyes with wet arm, keep eyelids half-closed. Carry tools at the hip. Wear gloves only if handling burning logs, etc. – Uncovered hands can warn you if fire is too hot to be near. Do not stand in dense vegetation. Keep near an escape route to bare or burnt ground. Drink from the hose and wet yourself with it. Conserve your strength. Take care not to trip. If clothes catch fire, roll on the ground. Be meticulous in mopping up.
If trapped by flames • • • • •
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Turn hose or knapsack on yourself. If a clear way is seen, move downhill towards side and rear of fire. Do not run uphill. Do not try to escape along a gully. – Gullies speed up fire as it is funnelled through. Do not go through flames more than hip height or 1.5 m deep.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
How to shelter if trapped by flames • • • • • • • •
In culvert, dugout, tunnel, dam, river, cave, ditch, wombat hole, behind rocks, wheel ruts, on burnt or bare ground. Do not shelter in a water tank (See Chapter 2, The killer factors). Clear vegetation from shelter. Cover yourself with earth, pure wool blanket, or thick coat. Cover your nose. Lie down. Limit breathing rate. Breathe fresh pockets of air low to ground.
Go through flames only if • • • •
There is a clear area no further than two or three steps away on the other side. You can see over the top of the flames. Your shoes will protect both top and soles of feet. You have covered all exposed body parts including hands, face, and head.
The degree of disaster can be decreased or increased by human action.
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17
Protecting domestic animals
Be aware that your pet may not be allowed to accompany you on community evacuation transport or to a bushfire refuge.
Animals and bushfire • • •
• •
Small animals are quickly affected by heat and by smoke inhalation. Caged birds and pigs can die from heat stress before a fire front arrives. Sheep suffer more bushfire injuries than cattle and horses. – Sheep run and pack against paddock fences, so that those on the edge burn. – Cattle and horses more easily escape through fence openings. Dogs and cats burnt on the feet and face can recover with veterinary treatment. Native animals normally escape from mild bushfires.
Tips for safe pets • • • •
Make a pure wool cover for bird and cat cages. Make a pure wool coat to be worn by the dog. Take pets into the house with you. – Dogs on leash and cats in cage. Evacuating dogs on leashes and cats in cages. – Keep them cool. – Give them water.
Refuges for dogs • • •
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Fire-retardant shrubs or wall 2–3 m to fireward of kennel to shield three sides. Surround kennel with bed of fire-retardant groundcover to halt rolling embers. Ground bare 3 m around kennel.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Refuges for fowl pens and aviaries • • •
Sprinklers for roof and walls. Fire-retardant shrubs 2–3 m to windward on three sides. Surround with a bed of fire-retardant groundcover.
Refuge for horses •
•
Stables of brick, stone, or concrete. – Cleared 10 m around. – Remove straw, soak timber doors, fill water troughs. Bare earth beneath a large, spreading, fire-retardant shade tree. – 20–30 m bare if other trees in the paddock. – 10 metres bare if only grass in the paddock. – With radiant heat shield of wall or hedge 4 m long by the horse’s height. – With water trough, filled daily.
If agisted • Arrange for the landowner to refuge or release your horse on word from you. Or • Collect your horse on a bad blow-up day, early in the morning. – Tether it in shade near your house. – Take into your house or laundry. – Cover horse’s back and head with pure wool blanket. – Cover horse’s face with a cloth to prevent panic.
Never leave any unattended animal tethered or caged outside during bushfire.
Stock refuges can • • •
Save farmers crippling restocking costs. Save years of heartache for pet owners. Prevent terrible suffering for hundreds of thousands of animals.
Stock refuge layout • •
On leeward side of the property. In the inner zone of protection. Protecting domestic animals
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Stock refuges need • • • • •
Firebreaks at least 6 m wide on the usual firewind side. Hedges as wind/firebreak/radiation shields on at least two windward sides. Water. Shade. Size enough to hold all stock.
Stock refuge suggestions • • • • • • •
Ploughed land. Paddock planted with a green summer crop. Concrete milking sheds or stables. A nearby green, sheltered open space such as golf links or recreation grounds. Heavily grazed lanes – not tree-lined. Dams with soil scooped up on at least two windward sides. Strongly gated trench 3 m deep into which cattle have been trained to move.
Stock refuge tips • •
Clear straw and other flammables from milking sheds or stables. Clear flammable vegetation from earth mounds and trench rims.
Farm animals with severe burns often recover if given intensive veterinary care and good nursing.
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Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
18
Protective travelling Travellers need to know the ember flinging power of forest and grassfires. Even on open highways you can become trapped by spot fires.
Before you travel • • • • •
• •
Check if you will be travelling in a region’s bushfire season. Check route for bushfire hazardous countryside. Check towns en route for community refuges. Service the car. Obtain protective equipment – Fire extinguisher, knapsack, or garden sprayer. – Pure wool blankets for passenger protection. – Firestop blanket for car and trailer. – Rakeho for emergency vegetation clearing. – Battery-operated radio or CB and mobile phone. Prepare survival kit for each traveller (See Chapter 12, Protective equipment). – Pack in an easily accessible place. Put a copy of Essential Bushfire Safety Tips in glovebox.
On the road • • • • • • •
Do not travel into an area of potential bushfire danger on blow-up days. Realise that major highways can be cut off by fire. Never drive on narrow, bushy roads when bushfire is even potentially in the area. Do not drive downwind of smoke. Do not drive through smoke. Keep radio or CB on for bushfire warnings. If you see smoke ahead or smell it, turn back to a safe place. – Report quickly any fires seen.
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• •
Have children play ‘I spy’ for roadside bare areas that could be used in emergency. Keep water bottles topped up.
Is the car a safe refuge? • •
•
Cars are not safe shelters in most forest fires. Cars are suitable shelters only – In grass fires or very mild forest fires. – In areas clear of fuel and distanced from radiant heat or flames. People who have died in cars during bushfires have usually – Driven in smoke and crashed. – Parked in or under vegetation. – Driven into or from burning bushland. – Driven through a wall of flame. – Driven with windows down, allowing embers to ignite interior.
Car refuge safety depends on • •
• • •
Fire intensity, flame height, amount of vegetation. Flame duration of less than 10 seconds. – Grass fire flames last 5–15 seconds – you can exit car onto safe, scorched ground. – Forest fire flames can last five minutes. Cars can ignite before it is safe to exit. Condition of car. Diameter of clearing. – If large enough and properly cleared, fire will go over and around car. Height and forward slope of flames. – Intense forest fires can have flames twice tree height. – Radiant heat from these kill even in a 10 m clearing.
If you follow protective travelling rules you can avoid dangerous situations.
Car danger data • • • •
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The duco of a car can burn in 15 seconds only 4.5 m away from 3 m, 40°C flames. Upholstery and trims can burn within one minute. Unbearable pain from hot fittings on bare skin can force shelterers out of cars. Escapees from unbearably hot cars in forest fires rarely survive.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Suitable pull-up shelter places • • • • • • • • • •
Roadside clear of vegetation. Wayside stop, especially if provided with toilets and water. – Toilet blocks are safer shelters than cars. Dam or river. – Pull-up area must be cleared of vegetation. Close under a cliff above which a fire is approaching. – The fire will jump over you. Sports ground, picnic ground, golf course, school ground. – Not under trees or on grass. Beach. Rocky ground. Farm house. – Ask for shelter in the house. In a quarry. Fallow paddock.
How to take refuge in the car • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • •
Park on bare ground cleared for at least 10 m around and above. Put on your protective clothing. Spread protective cream or even mud on face and hands. Cover nose with mask or scarf. Put on goggles. Rake litter from under the car and/or caravan and around for 10 m. Scatter raked fuel well away downwind. Park the car facing into the wind. – If the fuel tank ignites, its flames will blow away from you. Turn off the engine. – Cars stall very easily in bushfire heat due to vaporisation at carburettor. – Leaving the engine running will not necessarily prevent this. Put lights on. – Other travellers will see you in the smoke and not crash into you. Cover pack-rack and trailer with non-flammable cover. Cover seats with pure wool blankets, to minimise burns from over-hot upholstery. When embers fall thickly or flames arrive, get into the car. Cover people and pets with blankets. Close doors, windows and vents. Turn off the air conditioner or turn to recirculate. – An operating air conditioner draws in smoke.
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• Or • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Erect aluminium windscreen shades. Place blankets or towels – wet if possible – against windows. Activate windscreen wipers to dislodge hot ash. Have fire extinguisher or water sprayer handy. Hunch down on seat or floor. Breath through wetted towel or corner of blanket. Drink frequently. Spray water on occupants. It will be more dangerous outside than inside while flames are over 1 m high. Stay in car/shelter until you can see by blackened ground that fire has moved on. – Exit only then. Wait until smoke has cleared before driving off. Drive away from fire, even if this is not the direction of your destination. Drive away with lights on, through burnt areas only. Never drive or walk into an area that could still burn.
What can happen while you are in the car • •
• • • •
Tyres may burn with a loud, explosive noise. The petrol filler cap may be blown off unvented tanks and burn. – This is not dangerous. – Only faulty petrol tanks have been known to explode. – Tank won’t explode in the short sheltering time of grass or mild forest fire. Windows may break and burning debris set fire to upholstery. – Cover windows with blanket or foil. Items of trim on the car may catch alight. Toxic gases may be released by overheated fittings. – This can be avoided by car being in a wide enough, cleared area. In a grass or mild forest fire a car won’t ignite before you can safely exit.
If forced out of the car by heat or fumes before the fire front passes • • • Or •
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Close the car completely to prevent internal ignitions. Cover yourself completely with pure wool blanket. Lie flat under the car or on a grass-free road surface, not on bitumen. Keep the car between you and the flames as a radiant-heat shield.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
What can happen once outside the car • •
•
Grass and undergrowth could by this time be blackened and therefore safe. Tree trunks around you may still be on fire. – Shelter beside car from their heat. – Tree-trunk flames burning disconnectedly are not dangerous. There may be thick smoke for hours. – Wear wet nose mask, and instil drops of artificial tears.
Holiday accommodation as a refuge •
• • • •
• •
A downstairs room exiting onto a cleared area can provide safe shelter. – Do not shelter in an upstairs room. – Do not shelter in a room with only an internal exit door. Park in front of your door if space is provided. – Car can be a radiant-heat shield if you need to exit the room. Pack luggage. – Keep it with you, or in your closed car, covered with blanket. Put on protective clothing. Take with you to the shelter room – Pure wool blanket, mobile phone, and battery operated radio. – Drinking water. When in shelter room, close windows and doors. Obtain resort manager’s cooperation in safety procedures. – Place someone at windows and door with water sprayers or wet mops (See Chapter 20, What to do when bushfire threatens).
If holiday accommodation is not suitable as refuge • •
Go to designated community refuge, solid public building, swimming pool, or beach. Never try to escape by driving to another town.
Caravan refuge • • • • • •
A free-standing brick or stone shower block can provide safe shelter. Put on protective clothing. Dismantle canvas annexe and put inside van. Roll down caravan stone shields. Close windows. Take down curtains and put them in cupboard.
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• Drape wet blankets or towels on windows. • Cover yourself with wet blanket and go to shower block Or • Able-bodied holidayers can protect vans from embers. – Mops or towels tied to brooms can be used if nothing else available. (See Chapter 20, What to do when bushfire threatens). • Do not try to escape by driving caravan out. – The chaos of mass caravan exodus can be lethal.
Campers • •
Put on protective clothing. Pack up tent and shelter with it in camp-site shower block.
Bushwalkers • • • • •
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
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Don’t walk in forests in extreme bushfire weather. Take a mobile phone with you. – Note on it local fire authority and police number. Take whistle and reflector such as mirror or piece of tin, for emergency signalling. While walking, note safe shelter areas. Good shelters are – Caves or beneath overhanging ledges to the leeward of a fire. – Creeks, pools, or dams if banks bare of vegetation. – Do not shelter in a water tank (see Chapter 2, The Killer Factors). If smoke is seen, find a safe area and stay there. Phone your whereabouts to fire authority and police. If embers fall, put on protective clothing. If carrying flammable items, bury them and mark the spot. If flames are close, protect yourself with pure wool blanket, coat, or earth. Drink often. When embers stop falling, phone authorities for advice on moving out. Move downhill and to the leeward of any fire. Use tracks and roads where possible. Keep together. Walk carefully. Don’t run. Avoid dense vegetation. Aim for burnt or bare ground.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
•
• • •
Keep away from burnt trees, fallen fences, and power lines. – Burnt trees give no warning when about to fall. – Fallen fences may be electrified. Take regular rests. Signal your presence to any nearby firefighters. When safe, inform fire authority and police.
People who die sheltering in cars during bushfire lose their lives because of the intensity of the fire. And because they have not known safe procedure.
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19
Evacuate or stay?
Bushfire safety is not a choice of the house versus lives. Both can be safe together.
‘Stay/Go’ data • • • • • •
Research has shown that staying with a prepared house is the safest option. – Shelterers who have died have usually not known how to shelter safely. More people are injured and killed, while evacuating than home defending. 82% of all attended houses are saved. 99.9% of houses are saved when capable occupants know what to do. 66% of houses destroyed during bushfire had been unoccupied or evacuated. Early-enough evacuation can guarantee personal safety, but not property safety.
Benefits and hazards of ‘staying’ or ‘going’ Benefits of staying • • • • • •
Greater likelihood of you surviving than if on the road. Ability to protect property and precious possessions. Access to water to prevent dehydration. Home conveniences. Familiarity of own surroundings. Children, the elderly/frail are more comfortable than in a strange, crowded place.
Hazards of staying • • •
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Stayers with not enough bushfire safety knowledge can endanger themselves. Stayers too frail to carry out defence procedure can be endangered. Defending without wearing protective clothing can cause death.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
•
Staying passively inside for the whole bushfire threat can trap you. – Failure to watch for and douse embers leaves you vunerable to unseen ignitions.
Benefits of evacuation To a near neighbour’s safer house • •
Not far to go. You can return very soon after the fire to douse ignitions.
To a large town • •
Indoor, cool shelter is usually available in large store or public building. Spot fires seldom catch hold within the first few rows of houses of a defended town. – Towns or suburbs that burn are usually evacuated and/or undefended. – Burning houses have then ignited other houses.
To a suitable community refuge • •
You may have more shelter than at home. You may have the protection of firefighters.
Hazards of evacuation • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Warnings can be given too late to leave safely. Decisions to leave can be made too late to leave safely. Travelling time to destination is usually much more than usual. Wind and fire direction may change without warning. Even small fires starting in wild weather will become fast-moving and dangerous. Emergency pull-over places along roads are scarce. You could crash because of smoke. Evacuation route could be blocked by fallen trees, stalled cars, or fire units. Heat-caused vaporisation at the carburettor could stall your car. You could be trapped in a traffic jam of other evacuees. Children/the elderly/frail/pets can become ill in a hot car. Wind-blown embers can start spot fires in bush along your route. – Route can be cut off. Fittings in the car can become unbearably hot and force you out. – Radiant heat from bush burning along the road can then kill you. Destination may not be any safer than home. Evacuees can be re-evacuated from destination.
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Hazards of evacuation to community refuges • • • • • •
Some may not be safer than your house. Most do not open for shelterers until a state of emergency has been declared. – This stage is usually too dangerous for safe evacuation. Official refuges are for any emergency, seldom specifically suited to bushfire. – Check regulations on designated local refuges with municipal authority. Protection by a fire unit is not guaranteed. Pets may not be allowed. There may not be safe parking for cars.
Evacuation from bushfire is not a magic carpet to safety.
Safe evacuation times •
• •
•
It is usually safe to go when home, route, and destination are beyond ember-reach. – Check whether safe to go with your bushfire brigade on its local enquiry number. But the only guaranteed safe time is the evening before forecast bushfire weather. The ‘before 10 a.m.’ rule is unreliable. – Arsonists can strike at any time. – Bushfires can restart at night from smouldering logs. You need time before leaving to seal the house and put on protective clothing.
Safe evacuation procedure • • • •
Intending evacuees need to prepare their properties as described in earlier chapters. – Prepared homes have a good chance of being intact on evacuees’ return. Store precious possessions in advance out of the fire danger area. Leave the night before bushfires expected, or at the first sign of smoke. Know exactly where you are going and that you can get there safely.
Before leaving • • • •
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Carry out all the procedures listed in Chapter 20, What to do when bushfire threatens – Smoke is seen and The shower of embers. Put stock in refuge area. Cover bird cages with wet woollen cloths. Fill containers with water and place at vulnerable points around house. – Someone else may use them to douse an ignition.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
•
Connect hoses. Clear guttering of leaves, if safe to do so. Stop downpipes. Fill gutters with water. Clear yard and under house of rubbish. Take inside fibrous hanging baskets, doormats, garden furniture. If needed, mow grass, rake grounds. Shut off gas and electricity at the mains. – If your water tank pump is electric it may be wise to leave this power on. Close internal and external windows, doors, shutters. Put non-flammable draught stoppers at doors. If curtains are wool, close them. If not, take them down and put into cupboard. Cover exposed windows with pure wool blankets or heavy sisal foil Remove small flammables, cushions, papers, and put into cupboards. Move flammable furniture away from windows and from other furniture. Cover flammable furniture with pure wool blankets or heavy rugs. Put on protective clothing (See Chapter 3, The survival factors). Take bank books, medication. Take precious possessions and important papers or bury them (See Chapter 14, Planning ahead). Take drinking water, radio and mobile phone. Take pure wool blankets for each evacuee and pet. Ask a neighbour to activate sprinklers when embers start to fall. – Activating sprinklers before ember shower can mean no water when it arrives. Put pets in car- dog on leash, cat in cage and water for them. Drive with car windows up, vents closed, lights on (See Chapter 18, Protective travelling). An intention to return home to defend after evacuating others can be thwarted: – When there is much evacuating traffic. – If ember fall has reached your route and caused spot fires. Return as soon as possible after fire front has passed to douse spot fires. – This can increase chances of house survival by 15–30%. – You must obey any police road block instructions.
Dangerous evacuation procedure •
•
Leaving during imminent danger. – When smoke envelops your property. – When embers are falling. – When you can see flames. Leaving dressed in light, unprotective clothing.
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When in doubt, don’t go.
When conditions prove too dangerous to leave as planned Safe staying procedure • • • • •
• • •
•
• • • •
Put vehicles in a solid garage or cleared area. Go inside. Close doors and windows. Seal the house (See Chapter 20, What to do when bushfire threatens – The shower of embers). Drink every ten minutes, or eat juicy fruit. If able, douse any entering sparks and embers with water or mop (See Chapter 20, What to do when bushfire threatens – The fire front arrives and While inside). – Watch door gaps, windows, in ceiling space. If not able, shelter in a room which exits away from the wind. Watch progress of the fire through a small window or door peephole. When you see that flaming shrubs have blackened, go outside (See Chapter 20, What to do when bushfire threatens – After the fire front has passed). – Tree trunks burning with disconnected flames are not a danger (See Chapter 5, The home as haven – The science behind home as haven). It is vital to exit now. – Embers could have taken hold unawares in ceiling space, sub-floor or wall cavities. Cover yourself with wet blankets and nose mask. Exit from the sheltered door. Open it only a few centimetres at first, to check conditions. Do not drive away without permission from your local fire authority.
Making the decision • •
• •
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The decision to evacuate or stay must be pre-planned well before the bushfire season. The decision must be made with deference to your bushfire authority’s regulations. – Does it recognise the right to defend one’s home? – Does it require you to obey a police order to evacuate? Involve every member of the family in making the decision. Together, discuss this chapter, Chapter 5, The home as haven; Chapter 14, Planning ahead – Personal safety ; Chapter 18, Protective travelling; and Chapter 20, What to do when bushfire threatens.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
•
Decide whether all the family is to stay and defend. – Or will part of family be evacuated? • Check if your house insurance has bushfire exclusions. • Write down your plan. – Intending evacuators need an alternative ‘Plan B’ to stay safely (See Safe staying procedure, above). • Discuss your plan with your local bushfire authority. – Will a warning device alert residents to a local bushfire? – Does the community have a phone tree for emergency communication? – Is there a designated community refuge locally? • Display your plan in an easily seen place. For a full analysis of evacuate/stay problems, see The Complete Bushfire Safety Book.
For personal safety during bushfire, it is shelter that is needed. Shelter from radiant heat. Shelter from smoke. Shelter knowledgeably used.
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20
What to do when bushfire threatens Bushfire disasters are not caused by acts of God – but by lack of acts of people.
When bushfire-weather is forecast •
Cancel unnecessary country trips.
However, if you have a country property, go there to make it safe. • • • • • • • • •
Move stock into their refuge area (See Chapter 17, Protecting domestic animals). Clear the gutters. Clear under the house of flammables. Rake grounds clear of flammables. Strip loose bark off trees. Mow grass. – Bury rakings and grass clippings in mulch heap. Check for loose roofing. Prepare window covers (See Chapter 9, A protective house design). Check fire equipment and survival kits. – Put them in an easily accessible place.
Precious possessions • Or • • • • 102
Put in refuge room. Take to a friend’s safe house. Bury in the garden. Store in a hired train station locker. Cover with blankets where they are.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Early on day of bushfire danger • • • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • • •
If children’s school has not been made bushfire safe, keep them home. Check where family members intend to be during the day. Check through emergency action plans with each person. Check if mobile phones need recharging, transistor radio needs batteries Listen to radio or rural brigade listening set for bushfire bulletins. Watch and smell for smoke. Bring pets close to the house. Connect nozzle-activated hoses to taps, inside and outside. Attach pump to reserve water. Put water in containers – The bath, buckets, troughs, stirrup pumps, knapsacks, garden sprayers. – With them put throwing dippers, mops, or wet bags. Place water-filled containers, mops etc. around buildings and in each room. – At vulnerable spots such as windows, wall angles, sub-floor gaps. Set ladder beside ceiling space inspection hole. Put water-filled containers and torch inside ceiling space. Put crawling planks across rafters. Leave ceiling space inspection hole open. Set ladder against roof on leeward side. Prepare drink flasks. Whether planned decision is to stay or go, inform neighbours.
Smoke is seen • • •
• • • • • • • •
Report it to fire authority. Contact family and/or workers, advise of danger and check where each will be. If there is no time to move stock safely to their refuge, cut fences (See Chapter 17, Protecting domestic animals). – Do not endanger your life by doing this while embers fall. Seal house and outhouses, close windows, doors, etc. Cover windows with shutters, corrugated iron, or heavy-duty foil (See Chapter 9, A protective house design). Check that outside each window is clear of vegetation. Block downpipes, fill gutters with water. Cover vents and skylights with non-flammable covers. Take in outdoor furniture, doormats, hanging baskets, plastic pot plants. Cover aviaries with wet cloths. Bring bird cages inside. Bring pets inside. If you have a refuge room, put them there.
What to do when bushfire threatens
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• • • •
– Dogs on leash, cats in covered cages. – Cover pet horse’s face with a cloth and bring inside, perhaps to laundry. Clear gateways, driveways, doorways, around windows. Put vehicles in a solid garage or move them to cleared area. – Put flammable items in covered, non-flammable containers. Close car and garage completely. Watch vigilantly for embers falling. – The shower of embers can arrive a half hour before its fire front.
If evacuating • •
• •
Carry out all the procedures listed in Chapter 19, Evacuate or stay? – A safe evacuation. Close inside and outside doors of house but leave them unlocked. – To reduce fire flow from internal ignitions. – In case fire-fighters need to enter. Go now. Carry out all procedures listed in Chapter 18, Protective travelling.
Your job is not to fight a towering flame front. Your job is dousing sparks and embers that land near your house.
The shower of embers • • • • • • • • • • • •
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Check that house is sealed as for – Smoke is seen, above. Put on protective clothing and wetted smoke mask. Have protective goggles ready around neck. If you have a refuge room, settle children/frail/pets here with blankets and water. Shut off gas and electricity at the mains. If curtains are pure wool, close them. – If not, take them down and put into cupboard. Protect inside of uncovered windows – Tack up wet, pure wool blankets, heavy quality quilts, or velcro-edged foil. If windows unshuttered, put small flammables, cushions, papers into cupboards. Move flammable furniture away from windows. Cover flammable furnishings with pure wool blankets, heavy quilts, etc. Plug keyholes with plasticine or soap. Wet blankets and towels in baths, troughs.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
• • • Or • • • • • • •
Put wet towels at door gaps and window ledges. Go outside. If you have a bushfire sprinkler system, activate this now. Wet lawns and fireward sides of house. – It is a waste of water and energy to do this before embers fall. Guard ceiling space, windows, subfloor, roof. Send one person up onto roof with hose or sprayer to douse falling embers. – Come down from the roof before a fire front arrives. Douse embers as they land. – Watch your property, rather than the approaching flames. Don’t go further than your own garden to fight spot fires. Insert artificial tears or gel frequently. Drink frequently.
The Pattern of Protection is Outside, Inside, Outside.
The fire front arrives • • • • •
• •
If you feel too hot when flames arrive, go inside the house. – Go in by a leeward entrance so blowing embers will not follow you in. Take hose and ladder inside with you. Close the door behind you. Close internal doors. Stay inside only until any fire front passes the house. – For grassfires, a minute or so. – For even fierce forest fires, up to 15 minutes. If part of house has ignited and you fear to go in, shelter beside leeward wall. Do not drive or run away.
While inside •
•
Shelter must be actively defensive. – Holing up passively in an inner room or the bath has lost lives. – Unnoticed embers in ceiling space, sub-floor, or wall cavities can take hold. – Suddenly flaming walls or roof-collapse can trap you. – A cup of water on the initial ember could have saved you. Guard ceiling space, windows, doors, with prepared water facilities.
What to do when bushfire threatens
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Check the ceiling space frequently for spark entry and smouldering dust. Throw water quickly onto any entering sparks/embers or hit with wet mop. Drink water every ten minutes, or eat juicy fruit. Loosen clothing, cool off when possible. Check progress of outside fire through a small window or door peephole. – Never go out during a flame front to douse an outside ignition. Stay inside only for the passage of a flame front, at most 15 minutes. Go out again when blazing shrubs have died down. Burning tree trunks are not a threat to life.
Never assume that because the fire front has passed you are safe from burning embers. They can fall, enter, and ignite for a further three or four hours.
After the fire front has passed • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
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Be aware that blackened ground is safe ground. Cover yourself with wet blankets. Wear nose cover. Exit from a sheltered door, crouching, eyelids lowered. Open it only a few centimetres at first, to check conditions. Close exit door or window behind you. Look for and douse smouldering vegetation. Look for and douse house ignitions. – Under house, on roof, in gutters, ceiling space, on window ledges, verandah. Feel for hot spots on skirting boards and walls. Wet around hot spots. With water ready, break open quickly at the hottest spot, with axe, bar, or pick. Douse fire quickly. Check garage and outbuildings, car, tractors, and machinery. Check fences for smouldering. Spray water on live fowls and birds. Attend to stock. – Do not be in a rush to shoot injured or burned animals. They may be treatable. Go over every centimetre of property repeatedly. Check inside repeatedly. – In ceiling space, around windows, on cushions, carpet, bedclothes, etc. If you must leave by car, do so only when smoke has cleared. – Check first with local fire authority. Inspect inside and out, day and night, until after all fires in your district are out.
Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
Homes and lives are not saved by miracles – but by the well-thought-out plans of people.
What to do when bushfire threatens
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Ramsay GC & McArthur NA (1989). ‘Burning to save lives’. Operations 200, Supplement to The Fireman 43, No.11, 1–5. Ramsay GC, McArthur NA & Dowling VP (1985). A Survey of Houses Involved in the Otway Ranges Fire, February 16, 1983. CSIRO Division of Building Research, Highett. Ramsay, GC, McArthur NA & Dowling VP (1986). ‘Building Survival in Bushfires’ – Fire Science ’86: 4th Australian National Biennial Conference, 21–24 October, Perth. The Institution of Fire Engineers, WA, CSIRO Division of Building Research, Highett. Ramsay GC & Rudolph L (2003). Landscape and Building Design for Bushfire Areas. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. Smith R (2006). Debrief Outcomes – Significant Victorian Fires December 2005 and January 2006. Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment and Country Fire Authority, Melbourne. Available online at: http://www.cfa.vic.gov. au/publications/research.htm. Smith R (2007). Key Issues Identified from Operational Reviews of Major Fires in Victoria 2006/07. Victorian Government Department of Sustainability and Environment and Country Fire Authority, Melbourne. Available online at: http:// www.cfa.vic.gov.au/publications/research.htm. Standards Australia (1999). AS 3959–1999. Construction of Buildings in Bushfire-prone Areas. Standards Australia, Sydney. Webster J (2000). The Complete Bushfire Safety Book. Random House, Sydney. Wilson AAG & Ferguson IS (1984). ‘Fight or flee? – A case study of the Mount Macedon bushfire’. Australian Forestry 47, 4.
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Essential Bushfire Safety Tips
