Make Sure You Keep Some Water For Us
It could help us save your place!
Ensure that you have a minimum of 20000 litres of water reserve directly available at all times to protect your home. Fit Stortz type hose attachments to your water reserve with a portable pump for use if power is not available.
Prepare Your Home
Here are some basic maintenance tips to prepare your property:
• Clean your gutters of leaves and twigs
• Install metal gutter guards
• Repair damaged or missing tiles on the roof
• Install fine metal mesh screens on windows and doors
• Fit seals around doors and windows to eliminate gaps
• Enclose the areas under the house
• Repair or cover gaps in external walls
• Attach a fire sprinkler system to gutters
• Keep lawns short and gardens well maintained
• Cut back trees and shrubs overhanging buildings
• Clean up fallen leaves, twigs and debris around the property
• Remove mulch from around the house
• Keep your wood pile well away from the house
• Have hoses long enough to reach around your house
• If you have a pool, tank or dam, put a Static Water Supply (SWS) sign on your property entrance, so firefighters know where they can get water
Check and maintain adequate levels of home and contents insurance. Ensure it is up to date. These tips are also available in the Bush Fire and Your Home fact sheet. You can assess your risk using the bush fire household assessment tool. Check if you live on Bush Fire Prone Land.
Plant Fire Retardant Plants
Some plants can act as fire suppressants and can really help to slow a fire near your home.
Here is a good list.
Can We Get a Tanker into your Place?
If we can’t get a tanker into your place and safely turn around we can’t defend it.
Please keep the driveway clear on both sides and make sure there are no overhanging branches.
The safety of people – the community and our volunteers is our #1 priority. Any crew member in the RFS can say they do not believe a location is safe and if your place does not look to be defensible then it likely won’t be defended.
You also cannot rely on the RFS having a tanker available to defend every house on the Heights.
