Bushfires are a reality for Australian homeowners, albeit an unpleasant one. When bushfires strike, is your home prepared? Though you can’t control the environment, sufficient preparedness before fires break out can make a very real difference in the outcome of such situations. When bushfires threaten, you can minimize the threat to your property, home and family by ensuring you’re bushfire ready long before the need arises.
Are You Prepared for a Bushfire?
For most people, preparedness for potential disaster situations is something easily put off for another day. After all, no one likes to seriously consider their personal vulnerability to conditions and events outside of their control. Unfortunately, a bushfire is the last thing you want to be caught for unprepared. You want to keep your home safe, and in the event you are unable to leave, it’s absolutely vital to protect your family. In order to secure some basic protection against bushfires, put these items on your to-do list:
- Evaluate your home and contents insurance policy. Is your coverage sufficient and up-to-date?
- Clear debris, especially leaves and twigs, from your gutters.
- Post a Static Water Supply sign at the entrance of your property if you have a water tank, swimming pool or dam to indicate the presence of water to firefighters
- Have metal gutter guards installed
- Ensure water hoses are sufficiently long to reach all the way around your home
- Inspect your roof for any missing or broken tiles, and replace them promptly
- Keep fallen debris around your property cleared
- Fit all doors and windows with fine mesh screens
- Look for trees or shrubs with branches overhanging buildings on your property, and trim them
- Eliminate gaps around doors and windows with seals
- Avoid letting grass and garden areas grow excessively
- Make sure all open spaces under your house and external wall gaps are closed
Further Protection Against Bushfires
The single most effective way of ensuring your property is bushfire ready is to work with an experienced professional building inspector who knows what to look for in terms of preparedness. With the help of a qualified building inspection company, you can find areas where your bushfire preparations need work, and learn how to better maintain the preparations you have in place.
When it comes to bushfires, being prepared is your best line of defense. When your property is protected, you’re better prepared to watch for spot fires and embers so you can deal with them quickly. Remember, you should never stand on your roof to put out fires with your garden hose. Though this may give you a better vantage point, you’re far more likely, from a statistical standpoint, to be injured due to a fall from the roof than a burn. Together, you and your chosen professional building inspector can ensure your property is bushfire ready, so you can enjoy the peace of mind that comes with being well prepared.
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