Learn how to be bushfire prepared with security screens. With fires ravaging the east coast over the last few years, then floods and a global pandemic. We need now more than ever to prepare ourselves for what could potentially be, another trying Summer season. With August kicking off the official bushfire season, let’s get prepared to create a safer place for our families, neighbours and communities. Here are a few of the top tips Allianz Insurance suggests for making houses bushfire prepared this season.
A well-prepared home is more likely to survive a bushfire. There are some simple steps that you can take to prepare your family and your home for a bushfire:
- Have a discussion with your family members to decide what you’ll do if there’s a bushfire.
- Make sure that ALL your family members know your bushfire plan and know where the community evacuation area is.
- If there is a Community Fire Unit nearby, consider becoming a member.
Be bushfire prepared with security screens and regular maintenance to make your home safer
- Clean leaves from gutters, roofs and downpipes regularly, and fit quality metal leaf guards.
- Mow your grass regularly, both in the front and back yards.
- Keep your backyard tidy, free from any build-up of flammable material.
- Relocate any flammable items away from your home including woodpiles, paper, boxes, crates, hanging baskets and garden furniture.
- Remove excess ground fuels and other combustible material.
- Do not deposit tree loppings, grass clippings and other materials that could aid a fire on your property, or on council reserves or bushland.
- Ensure your garden hoses are long enough to reach the perimeter boundary of your property.
- Trim low-lying branches two metres from the ground surrounding your home.
More permanent safeguards for your home
- Install fine steel wire mesh screens on all windows, doors, vents and weep holes.
- Fit metal NOT plastic fly screens on windows and doors.
- Enclose open areas under your decks and floors.
- Seal all gaps in external roof and wall cladding.
- When installing LPG cylinders around your home, make sure that pressure relief valves face outwards so that flame is not directed towards the house.
- Plant trees and shrubs that are less likely to ignite due to their lower oil content.
- If you have a swimming pool, have a Static Water Supply sign placed on your front fence. Contact your local fire station for more information.
- Consider purchasing a portable pump to use from your swimming pool or water tank.
- On Total Fire Ban days obey regulations regarding barbecues and open fires.
- Make sure that if there is a fire hydrant outside your home it is easily located and not obstructed.
The Australian Standard for construction of homes in bushfire prone zones (AS 3959) simply states that openable windows must be screened with corrosion-resistant steel, bronze, or aluminium mesh with an opening of less than 2 mm x 2 mm. Consequently, Prowler Proof security screens with stainless steel or aluminium mesh can be used in most bushfire prone areas. Be bushfire prepared with security screens.