alfresco area in a country home

Protecting your property from bushfires

Tips to protect your home

Bushfires are a serious risk in many parts of Western Australia, particularly in the warmer months. If you are living in or near bushland, it is important to protect your property from bushfires.

Here are some tips to protect your home this summer.

Prepare a bushfire survival plan

Developing a bushfire survival plan will help you take action and avoid making last minute decisions that could prove deadly during a bushfire.

A bushfire survival plan should apply to:

  • Any house in an area with a history of bushfires
  • Houses within a few block of bushland
  • Properties not at direct risk that are situated near wilderness
  • If you’d need to travel through bushland in order to escape

It is important to check and update your plan annually. Make sure all family members are familiar with the plan in the case that a fire approaches.

alfresco area in a country home

Maintain a fire protection zone

Here are some practical tips to reduce the risk of your home catching alight by simply maintaining your property to create a “protection zone” around you home:

  • Clear away all leaf litter, long and dry grasses, and any thick undergrowth near your home
  • Clear gutters of leaves and other flammable debris
  • Install screens and shutters and keep them closed, so embers can’t enter your home
  • Cover roof vents with wire mesh.
  • Be aware of where and how flammable liquids are stored
  • Find a place to move your BBQ and LPG cylinders in an emergency (never indoors)
  • Avoid using gas in hot, windy condition

Make modifications to your home

You should prepare your home to survive a bushfire, even if your plan is to leave. A well-prepared and constructed house is more likely to survive a bushfire than an unprepared one.

Here are some tips on how to prepare your property:

  • Protect underfloor spaces with non-combustible sheeting or metal flywire. This will prevent embers from lading under the house and starting small spot fires
  • Cover all external vents with metal flywire
  • Protect evaporative air conditioners with metal flywire screens
  • Ensure any external timber cladding is regularly maintained and all gaps are sealed
  • Install fencing made form non-combustible materials such as metal or brick
  • Windows should have metal fly wire screens or shutters, and well maintained timber window frames

You may also like

9 Top Bathroom Trends of 2019

Stay up-to-date with the most modern designs We’ve seen many innovative and bold bathroom trends this year, with some here to stay and others being merely a fad. With the industry constantly changing, The Rural Building Company prides itself on staying up-to-date with the most modern, value-adding designs, whilst ...

Covered alfresco area with wooden beams and country outlook

Hidden costs when building a new home

Avoid any surprises when building your home Building a new home cannot be drilled down into one simple price that you can use to calculate your overall costs. There can be a lot of hidden extra costs when building a house and if you don’t know about them then ...

open plan living area with big windows and raked ceilings

Declutter your country style home

Minimalistic, modern and fresh. That's the trend and it's here to stay. Regardless of your everyday activities, decluttering your home is effectively decluttering 80% of your life (stats from an unknown source). It can often be an overwhelming process so here is how we suggest you declutter your country style home. 1. ...