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Resource Hub

How houses are destroyed by bushfires

How to harden an existing house

Getting your insurance right

Understanding rebuilding

Make better decisions about bushfire risk in our changing climate

Reduce your house and property risk

Get water ready: tanks, pumps and sprinklers

Your physical and emotional preparation

Triggers to take action

Your sheltering options

Horses and bushfire – what do we know?

Your vegetation – what you need to know

Your last resort options

Why get kids involved in the family bushfire plan

Understand your bushfire risk

Bitesize Topic Specific Videos

Know your surroundings

Vegetation issues

Bushfire behaviour

House performance

Decking systems

Building elements

Sprinkler systems

Kids and bushfire plans

Black Saturday 2009 Horses

Black Saturday 2009 Residents

How houses are destroyed

How houses are destroyed by bushfire. Identifying the problems

Understand how your house will be attacked by a bushfire and what you can do to reduce your risks.

How does fire attack your home and what can you do about it? An introduction

What is it like to experience a bushfire from the house's perspective? An introduction

Know your country, know your property, know the risks and know what to expect. How topography and fuel load affects your risk

The effect of radiant heat and embers.

Tools being developed to help you understand your risks.

Taking action to become safer

How to harden an existing house

Got a house complying with regulations (Australian Standard 3959)? Learn about the many issues the regulations ignore.

Water tanks, pumps and sprinklers. Find out more about the numerous choices, strengths and weaknesses.

90% of Australian houses in high risk areas are not resilient to a bushfire. Embers are an absolute certainty in a bushfire. They cause 90% of house loss. Understand the numerous vulnerabilities

Every bushfire has embers. They love gaps. They destroy houses. If you know what to do and take action you can reduce the risk of your home being destroyed.

There are many misconceptions and myths about the role and action of vegetation. By understanding the facts you are better placed to reduce your risks

Large trees and branches can strike your house or block your path. What should you know and what can you do?

We all have vegetation. How much risk do trees really cause and what about bark mulch and fine fuels?

If tan bark is OUT what’s IN?

Info about the 10/50 and 10/30 Bushfire Protection Exemptions applicable in Victoria.

Building elements

Roofs hate high winds. Bushfires and high winds go together. How do metal and tiled roofs react?

Embers love tiled roofs. All roofs are a vulnerable risk. How do embers get inside the roof space and how can you stop them?

Skylights hate embers. Fibreglass roof sheeting is a disaster waiting to happen. How risky are polycarbonate and fibreglass roof sheeting, skylights and evaporative coolers?

Stairways may provide your only escape route. What are the risks of decks, outside furniture, under deck storage and stairways?

Old school external heavy-set canvas blinds may provide radiant heat protection to windows.

It doesn’t matter how bushfire resistant your home is, it will fail if you store flammable items under it. Of the four types of glass only one is any good when there is a bushfire. You can take action to reduce window failures

Risks near your house

A bin in the wrong location can result in your house being lost. Homes are lost because of combustible fences and the location of wheelie bins and stored timber.

CCA treated pine presents a significant fire risk

Any gas bottle or cylinder is a potential flame thrower or bomb. Securing them correctly could save your home.

Boats, caravans and cars have been responsible for house ignition. What precautions can you take?

Water tanks, pumps and sprinklers. Find out more about the numerous choices, strengths and weaknesses.

What do you know about water tank failures in a fire? How much fuel can be near a plastic tank? A ruptured plastic or fibreglass tank against a shed or a house is equivalent to driving a car into the side of the structure at about 50km/hr. How much water do you need in a bushfire?

90% of the pumping systems for houses failed during the peak of the event on Black Saturday. How can you protect your water supply when it is needed most?

What do you know about protecting a pump during a fire? It’s not as easy as people think.

What do you know about spray type, location, and what to spray?

What has been learned about pipes, hoses, knapsacks and mops?

Insurance for property, home and contents. The availability and affordability of insurance and the robustness of your policy are huge issues.

In Victoria your property’s overlay provides an indication of the level of bushfire risk, the building and planning controls, and how much vegetation you can clear without a permit. What property overlay are you in?

If you don’t understand what’s involved in rebuilding you can never get your insurance right - particularly planning permit requirements, additional costs due to planning requirements, the cost of materials and construction and the years of waiting.

Emotional preparation. The best practice measures you can take to prepare for a bushfire make a big difference.

Triggers to take action. Get your triggers sorted. An evidence based approach

Your sheltering options. Know how to actively shelter

Your last resort options. It’s all gone pear shape. What is your go to action plan?

The advantages of involving kids and how to achieve it.

Kids and bushfires - a psychologist’s experience

What kids think about planning for a bushfire

Horses are part of the family and they need a plan. And its complex with many issues to consider.

You can learn a lot by watching interviews with horse owners impacted on Black Saturday 2009

Boats, caravans and cars have been responsible for house ignition. What precautions can you take?

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