Fire Trail Management

Fire trails are an important part of ensuring firefighters can access fires and safely contain them. They are also used to assist with management of bush fire risk across the landscape. There is a total of 389 kilometres of recognised fire trails within the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai District Fire Access Fire Trail mapping.

The Rural Fires Act 1997 (through the Rural Fires Amendment (Fire Trails) Act 2016) provides a legislative basis for the establishment and maintenance of an enhanced network of fire trails to a particular standard. The NSW RFS Commissioner made Fire Trail Standards that set out:

• classification, length, width, gradient, signage, construction standards and maintenance of fire trails, and
• the structure and form of Fire Access and Fire Trail (FAFT) plans and Treatment Registers prepared by local Bush Fire Management Committees (BFMCs).

The objectives of the FAFT Standards are to:

• provide a process to identify an integrated and strategic network of fire trails for the protection of the community and its assets, including environmental and social values
• establish a network of strategic fire trails which meet minimum standards and allow standard offroad capable firefighting vehicles to safely and effectively traverse the landscape
• ensure fire trails enable a vehicle to be driven safely along the trail without damage to the vehicle due to overhanging vegetation, built structures, rough trail surface or other physical impediments
• ensure fire trails are of an expected standard that is known and understood by firefighters, can be readily identified including in limited visibility conditions, and are available when required; and
• provide a sustainable fire trail network that meets operational requirements, minimises adverse impacts on the environment, and delivers value for money.