Embers: the biggest risk to your home in a bushfire
An ember storm rains down on a home well ahead of the fire front.
Picture this: the fire front is still a long way off, but showers of embers are already landing on your roof and deck, in your gutters and against your fence, on your window and door sills and in your garden.
That's not a worst-case scenario. It's the normal pattern of a bushfire.
Embers are the most common reason homes are lost in a bushfire. They ride the wind well ahead of the flames, sometimes for kilometres, and they don't need a big fire nearby to do damage. All an ember needs is somewhere combustible to settle and pile up on.
Embers are small bits of burning fuel, leaves, bark and grass, thrown out ahead of a bushfire. Left alone, most will eventually burn themselves out. The danger is if they start a fire before that happens.
An ember landing on stone or metal won't start a fire. Wood is a different story, though properly maintained timber, like a painted or sealed deck or a window frame takes longer to catch than dry, unpainted wood, buying you valuable time. Plastics are a particular danger, since once alight they behave almost like a solid block of petrol.
Read on to see how to make things safer around your home.
Risks
Embers pile up against anything combustible and can start a fire wherever they land, often well before the main fire front arrives
Horizontal surfaces catch the most embers, so steps, window sills, door frames, gazebos, trellises and decks are all easy targets
Doormats, outdoor furniture, cushions, hot tubs, cubby houses, timber sleepers and retaining walls all catch alight easily once embers settle on them
Any gap of 2 mm or more in an external wall or roof space is large enough for embers to get inside and start a fire out of sight
Embers landing in plants, leaves and mulch can start a surface fire that spreads to fences, woodpiles, bins, cars, caravans, sheds and the house itself
Fixes
Clear leaves, twigs and other debris from steps, decks and gutters regularly, and again just before Total Fire Ban days
Seal gaps of 2 mm or more around windows, doors, vents and roof spaces so embers can't get in
Move doormats, cushions and outdoor furniture indoors or into a shed on high-risk days
Keep mulch and garden beds well clear of the house walls, and where you can, swap mulch for stones or rocks instead, especially within Zone Zero (the area within 1.5 metres of the external perimeter wall of your house or deck)
Store woodpiles, bins and gas bottles away from the house and from each other
Park cars and caravans away from the house
These are small fixes, and they genuinely help. Address the weak links around your home today and you'll be in a much stronger position when ember season arrives.
For more on protecting your home from embers, visit our Resource Hub.
