Replies

“Homeowners in Australia are encouraged to defend their own homes from fire.”

Perhaps, the hapless (and helpless) goobers in the Aussie gooberment are blabbering that line NOW - but for decades, they refused permission to do controlled burns, brush removal, tree cutting, etc.

GangGreen bureaucrats in the Aussie agencies caused this debacle. IMHO, they should be jailed at hard labor for the rest of their unnatural lives.

Better yet, organ bank ‘em with the proceeds going to those whose families and homes were destroyed by the callously deliberate endangerment consequential to GangGreen agenda based policies.

Let there be consequences for such behavior and it will stop.

If not, then not.

No, this advice has been current for years. It's not new.

It's also true that people have been prevented from doing some clearing, especially by local councils, but that's a separate issue from the idea that you should stay and defend.

There's been a huge discrepancy between advice coming from different sources.

Fire Ready is the type of advice I am talking about.

Before the fire season

Keep grass cut
Reduce ‘fine fuels’ - Fine fuels are things such as long dry grass, fallen leaves and twigs. Anything smaller in diameter than your little finger is a fine fuel and it is these that you need to clean up around your property
Clear away dead undergrowth, and fallen branches
Move wood piles away from your home
Clean leaves out of gutters
Plant trees and shrubs away from your home
Plant a protective shield of trees around the house to slow the wind, cut down radiant heat and catch flying embers and sparks from a bushfire
Place weather stripping around the inside of doors and windows
Close underfloor spaces and seal all gaps where embers could enter
Make firescreens to go over windows to prevent the glass from cracking in radiant heat
Mains water supply may not be a reliable source during a fire as the water pressure may drop. Make sure that you have access to adequate water supplies, such as tanks, dams, swimming pools or water reserves. Install a sprinkler system around your home
Power may go off - so don't rely on electrical pumps for supply of water
Gather appropriate firefighting equipment such as ladders, hoses, buckets, mops, portable water pumps, a ladder, rake, a torch, and a knapsack spray to put out small "spot" fires

Native Vegetation Removal

The native vegetation removal exemptions for wildfire safety have changed. To meet the exemption residents must undertake a site assessment and prepare a plan which is then lodged with DSE. Find out more and download the plan template.

Before the fire front arrives

Dress in personal protective clothing to protect from radiant heat
Shut all windows and doors to prevent smoke and flames from entering the house
Move furniture away from the windows to prevent sparks from entering the house through a broken window and catching alight in the furniture, which often burns easily
Put a ladder under the manhole and torch nearby for checking ceiling space for any embers that may have landed
Fill the bath and buckets with water to provide a water supply in the house for putting out any small fires that may start
Soak towels and woollen blankets with water ready to put on any spot fires that might start inside the house
Place wet blankets or towels around window and door edges inside the house to stop smoke and embers from entering the house
Hose down the side of the house facing the fire, and garden area close to the house, to cool the house down and stop it from burning
Patrol your property for any embers and extinguish them

During the fire

Go inside when it becomes too hot to stay outside. The skin on your ears and hands will alert you that conditions have become too hot to survive outside. Your home will protect you from radiant heat while the fire front passes through – typically taking around 10 to 20 minutes
Take all firefighting equipment inside with you, including tap fittings and hoses
Stay inside your house while the fire front passes and listen to the radio for fire reports

After the fire front has passed

Continue to wear your personal protective clothing
After the main fire front passes, go outside again as soon as it is safe, to extinguish any small fires that may have started
Water down the outside of the house, including the roof, and look out for small fires around your house
Continue to look out for small fires and burning embers many hours after the fire has passed. Check for burning embers:
inside the roof
under the floor boards
under house spaces
on verandahs and wooden decking
on timber window ledges and door sills
roof lines and roof gutters
outdoor furniture
doormats
garden beds and mulch
wood heaps

This advice is not new. And after this is all over, we're probably going to find that people who followed it normally survived. Most people who died didn't follow the advice. There may be some exceptions because these fires were exceptionally bad.

Yes, some people have been prevented from protecting their properties as well as they should have been because of 'environmental' concerns. That's a tragedy and it's sickening - but it's completely separate to the advice people are given on surviving the actual event of a bushfire as opposed to preparing for it.