Prepare your property
A well-prepared home is more likely to survive a bush fire than one that hasn't been prepared.
A well-prepared home:
- can be easier for you or firefighters to defend
- is more likely to survive, even if you're not there
- is less likely to put your neighbours' homes at risk
- will give you more protection if a fire threatens suddenly and you cannot leave and have to take shelter.
Very few properties within Hornsby Shire Council area have no exposure to bush fire. Most properties are vulnerable to ember attack during major fires as burning embers can travel kilometres ahead of the fire front. Ember attack is responsible for about 80% (Douglas, 2020) of houses burning during a bush fire. In the next sections you can learn how to prepare your house and your garden to make it more resilient to the effects on bush fires, including ember attack, radiant heat and smoke.
By preparing now, you can feel reassured that you’ve done the groundwork and have your home as ready as it can be.
We are only as resilient as the weakest link in the chain; a house built to the most stringent bush fire standards but with flammable shrubbery and trees growing right next to it is as vulnerable as an older, less bush fire-proof house that has a large cleared area around it. Similarly, a well-prepared house is effectively useless if the person living in it does not have a carefully thought-through plan for what to do when a bush fire threatens. (Nogrady, CSIRO, 2015)
