A strategy is a collection of actions that if implemented together, can reduce the risk of damage during a weather event or crisis.
You should ensure that renovations, installations or attachments made to your property comply with fire safety standards and use non-combustible materials.
This includes features such as:
- solar panel systems
- air conditioners
- awnings
- vents
- aerials
- carports
- verandas
- patios
- awnings
- fences.
Any items that join the house or are within a few metres can create a fire spread risk.
For example, the installation of rooftop solar systems should be completed with minimal roof penetrations and gaps that could allow embers to enter. Fixings should be well-secured and sealed with fire-rated silicone. The frame should also be designed for high wind loads and enable any leaf litter to be cleaned out easily.
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Actions
Make sure your garage and carport are resilient against bushfires.
You can do this by using non-combustible materials. Also, make sure there are no gaps greater than 2mm.
You should also consider:
- Installing steel guards around the base of vertical posts.
- Replacing fibreglass sheeting with polycarbonate or steel sheets.
- Installing steel panel garage doors that have fire-rated seals.
- Using steel ember mesh to cover vents and openings.
Use fire-rated materials to minimise gaps around the garage. This could include brush seals, steel ember mesh, and fire-rated silicone.
Store combustible materials in a safe manner. You should consider installing a safety cabinet for storing flammable materials and chemicals.
Clear areas around vertical posts, including moving plants, debris and materials.
Leaves and other debris can collect around the frames of your solar energy system on your roof. In a bushfire, these can be ignited by embers. You should ask your solar installer/inspector to safely remove debris when it is being inspected. Do not attempt to clear this debris yourself; solar panels generate hundreds of volts of live direct current. Even with power turned off it is too dangerous to undertake yourself.
You should also consider protecting the cables of your solar system with rigid conduits, preferably metal ducts.
You should also ensure that your solar panels are well secured, and that flashings/fixings are sealed with fire-rated silicone. This can stop embers entering the roof space.
You can take measures around your home to make sure your solar panels do not add to the bushfire risk. Making sure they don't weaken the house structure or create areas for embers to ignite can safe-guard your house.
Solar panels should be designed to resist high wind loads. This includes the panels, the mounting frame (the chassis), and the frames they're clipped to.
The connection between the frame and the roof should be able to safely carry the weight without compromising the roof structure.
Damaged solar panels create bushfire risk, as sparks may ignite the house it's mounted to.
Fences and garden walls can be barriers to block wind, and shield the house from embers, flames, and radiant heat. They can also help control the spread of debris. They can also help protect people during a bushfire by shielding escape paths. However, if ignited, they can produce flames and radiant heat that can impact the surrounding elements.
You should use non-combustible materials to build these. Examples include concrete, stone, brick or metal. You should avoid combustible materials, such as timber, bamboo or brushwood. You should also avoid permeable fence styles, such as horizontal or vertical slatted fences, etched metal screens, picket fences, lattices, and wire fences. You should also seal all gaps larger than 2 mm and protect vents and weepholes using metal mesh.
You should consider installing non-combustible walls around vulnerable objects. This could include gas cylinders, electricity generators, and water pumps.
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Evaporative cooling units should be fitted with butterfly closers at, or near the ceiling level.
If this is not possible, the unit should be fitted with non-combustible covers. These need a mesh or perforated sheet and should have a maximum aperture of 2mm. It should be made of corrosion-resistant steel, bronze or aluminium.
Vents should be non-combustible and covered with ember mesh screens.
You should turn off gas cylinders if you're preparing for an approaching bushfire.
When a gas bottle vents, it can ignite the house or any combustible materials in the path of the flare. A gas tank that's not secure may fall, and if the tank continues to be heated in this position, it can violently explode.
These explosions are common after a fire front has passed. They pose a significant threat to people and houses.
You can protect gas cylinders from falling by attaching them to a solid steel or masonry structure that can't collapse even if the adjacent structure burns.
You can also:
- Refer to local installation regulations.
- Securely attach gas cylinders to a solid structure with a metal chain or cable.
- Ensure the area around the cylinder is clear of vegetation and other combustible materials.
- Use metal connections, pipes and fittings.
- Direct the vent on the gas cylinder away from structures, exit pathways and other vulnerable building elements such as windows, vents and doors.
- Keep gas cylinders safe from direct heat and fire. Use non-combustible enclosures like short brick walls or metal guards to shield pumps from getting too hot.