Summer is definitely here. For most of us it means beach trips and BBQ’s with friends. It also brings much hotter weather and the chance of bushfires. Preparation for bushfire season should be a year-round task, but if you haven’t started yet, here are some tips to help as a guide and remember it’s never too late to make preparations to protect your home and family.
1. Trees and plants provide fuel for fires. Remove the build up of dead branches, bark or shrubs
2. If you’re planting a garden, plant trees away from the house so limbs and branches don’t hang over your roof and drop leaves in
gutters. These can ignite quickly if burning embers fall on them.
3. Clean leaves from your roof, gutters and downpipes
4. Remove all flammable material that is within 20 metres of your property. This includes flammable liquids and newspapers or
cardboard that you have stockpiled for recycling.
Check this list for what you may need in a bush fire situation:
• During a bushfire, power and water may be cut off and this often happens in advance. A small power generator will allow your family
access to small appliances and allow laptops and phones to continue to be charged.
• Portable battery radios allow people to listen to news updates
• Good quality torches and long life batteries are imperative
• Packed bag with fresh clothes which can be easily carried
• A quality high-pressure fire fighting pump to help with any small spot fires and to water your garden/foliage on your property in preparation.