Thread: All 2019/20 bushfire comments here.

You get this sort of boundary effect in all sorts of scenarios. Much less obvious with our house, we got in on the last few months of (compulsory) effective termite proofing - not that our house has any structural wood for them to eat. (residual poison is much more effective, and cheaper, than fine mesh barriers)

Originally Posted by DieselDan

Things have changed even since that article was written in 2016. It references the Wye River fire and prompted by that, the state government reclassified the Victorian coastline as being in a wildfire management overlay, WMO. It also introduced a rating higher than BAL 40 - BAL FZ (flame zone).
Me and SWMBO have been affected by this because the bush block we're building on suddenly became subject to the WMO and so we had to resubmit all our plans to council, including a new bushfire assessment. The updated rules meant we're now classified as BAL FZ, so our house design had to change and is now essentially a concrete bunker with steel shutters over all the windows and a large defendable space around the house.
As annoying (and hugely expensive) as we've found this to be, I'm sure it'll be worthwhile and, given where were building, very practical.
However our next door neighbour, who managed to get his plans in to council earlier than us and got approval before the new WMO came into effect was given the second lowest BAL rating. His place has wood cladding, big wooden deck/veranda, etc. All the things that we can't have because we'll burn and die, but a quick hop over the fence into next door and he'll miraculously be fine!
Go figure!

Steel shutters, concrete and a defendable space sounds like a pretty fire resistant design, so that's good.

[QUOTE=Eevo;2962536]what about older houses?
i cant afford to rebuild my existing house?[/QUOTE

I too have an old timber/weathet board house but there are some things you can do to help yourself without incurring a huge $ cost. This is what I do.

What will destroy a house is ember attack and this is where you should concentrate your pre fire efforts. I had a plumber flash the house eaves and under the iron roof. My brief to him was simple. I don't want a fly able to get inside the house roof cavity.

Remove everything stored under the house. All you want under there is dirt – no hiding place or ignition source for embers to start a fire with. Remove all greenery which is against the house and all tree branches which overhang the house. All you want here is lawn.

When a fire is in your area take extra precautions. Remove all coir mats from doorways – these will catch embers and burn and in turn burn your house down.

Remove hanging pot plants, toys, barbecues etc from verandahs, house walls. Stuff the down pipes in the gutters with disposable nappies and fill the gutters with water. Connect and leave connected hoses to all your exterior taps and make sure they work properly – aka no leaks.

I recall one bushfire where I nailed sheets of galv iron on their side to the house walls at ground level to stop embers from getting under the house.

I don't trust the water supply to remain viable so I drape and line the 6 x 4 trailer with a big plastic tarp and fill it with water. I leave some buckets in it and a mop and am ready to cope with embers. Lean and leave a ladder against the house to provide access to the roof. It is a good way to check on gutters and also provide a look out post for monitoring fire/ember activity.

Heat and smoke is your personal enemy. Get some face masks so you can breath clean[er] air and wear a hat and pair of overalls and shoes. None of this thongs and T shirts crap you frequently see on the TV news.

Basically it's a lot of little things which will go a long way to seeing you and your house survive an ember attack.

[QUOTE=Grumbles;2962747]

Originally Posted by Eevo

what about older houses?
i cant afford to rebuild my existing house?[/QUOTE

I too have an old timber/weathet board house but there are some things you can do to help yourself without incurring a huge $ cost. This is what I do.

What will destroy a house is ember attack and this is where you should concentrate your pre fire efforts. I had a plumber flash the house eaves and under the iron roof. My brief to him was simple. I don't want a fly able to get inside the house roof cavity.

Remove everything stored under the house. All you want under there is dirt – no hiding place or ignition source for embers to start a fire with. Remove all greenery which is against the house and all tree branches which overhang the house. All you want here is lawn.

When a fire is in your area take extra precautions. Remove all coir mats from doorways – these will catch embers and burn and in turn burn your house down.

Remove hanging pot plants, toys, barbecues etc from verandahs, house walls. Stuff the down pipes in the gutters with disposable nappies and fill the gutters with water. Connect and leave connected hoses to all your exterior taps and make sure they work properly – aka no leaks.

I recall one bushfire where I nailed sheets of galv iron on their side to the house walls at ground level to stop embers from getting under the house.

I don't trust the water supply to remain viable so I drape and line the 6 x 4 trailer with a big plastic tarp and fill it with water. I leave some buckets in it and a mop and am ready to cope with embers. Lean and leave a ladder against the house to provide access to the roof. It is a good way to check on gutters and also provide a look out post for monitoring fire/ember activity.

Heat and smoke is your personal enemy. Get some face masks so you can breath clean[er] air and wear a hat and pair of overalls and shoes. None of this thongs and T shirts crap you frequently see on the TV news.

Basically it's a lot of little things which will go a long way to seeing you and your house survive an ember attack.

That's really good advice. Thanks.

As fires raged from Bega To Nowra, a frantic call over the RFS radio "There are no trucks so we are buggered." The reply ? " Just save life only. " Can any one imagine a worst scenario for exhausted fire fighters?

“Standby and fight the fire with what you have. Stay safe and get out if you can,’’ another RFS volunteer was told later in the afternoon.

Three dead, one missing in devastating NSW fires

Victoria hasn't fared much better.


Victorian bushfires: Homes lost, four missing | The New Daily

Very sad news with these fires....We had to evacuate on 11th December from the Yanchep Fire here in Perth and could not get back for days..packed the Caravan and went north as they was the only way out. We had no power for 5 Days and lost all the Xmas food in the 3 fridges. I call myself very lucky as we had a home to come back to. The fire got to within 100 mths of my front door. The others in the estate I am in had some fence damage and scorched sheds, they also very lucky. The landscape now looks like another planet. It was a very scary time.
I feel for all my eastern states friends as until you have been in that situation you just don’t have a clue.So lucky we had a caravan to hook up with what personal belongings we had and go. I had to leave behind my Rangie and 1 Discovery 2 and my series 2a as can only drive one car at a time...I never want to through that again..but it’s the price you pay to live semi rural on acreage. My paddocks were free of vegetation and fire breaks all done..it’s a must do thing at this time of the year.
Brad

Its an absolute waste of time & effort trying to extinguish these type of fires with water . Even a 737 dump of water will basically evaporate before it hits the ground, and what does just boils off, mightaswell be ****ing on the fire. Phoscheck or similar retardant is good for stopping flame but embers still jump a fire break. I was under the impression the operation was to save life only .