
residents that it’s not too late to reduce the risk of bush fire damage to their property.
▪ Photo contributed
As we approach the middle of summer, the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) has issued a reminder that it’s not too late to reduce the risk of bush fire damage to your property.
The RFS recommends five steps that every home owner in a bush fire risk area should undertake:
Clear and remove all the debris and leaves from the gutters surrounding your home (burning embers can set your residence on fire).
Mow grass and remove the cuttings. Having a cleared area around your home will give firefighters a safe area to work.
Remove material that can burn from around your home. This includes items such as door mats, wood piles, mulch, leaves and outdoor furniture.
Trim overhanging trees and shrubs. This can stop a fire spreading to your home.
Prepare sturdy hoses that can reach all around your home. Make sure you have a reliable source of water (pool, tank, dam) and a diesel/petrol pump available.
RFS North West Zone Inspector Boyd Townsend said that with the summer months bringing an increase in grassland curing, that heightens the likelihood of bush and grass fire ignition, and landowners should also be giving attention to fire breaks.
“Being a proactive landowner increases your chances of protecting your property from fire,” Inspector Townsend said.
“Maintaining fire breaks around buildings, crops, pasture, storage areas, and along fence lines, can help to prevent fire escaping from, or entering, your property.”
RFS research shows that only about 70 per cent of people living in bush fire risk areas have an emergency plan, and of those, only half have actually enacted it.
There can never be a fire truck at every home, which is why the RFS asks everyone to have a plan in place and know what they will do if threatened by fire.
The most important thing every family can do is have that five-minute conversation about important decisions, such as when to leave and what to take in a fire emergency.
Help to create an emergency plan can be accessed at rfs.nsw.gov.au.