Wildland Fire Checklist – Preparing your property

Starve the fire

Reduce the fuel load around your home so that embers will have less chance to Ensure that your gas bottles are secured and positioned so that it will vent away
ignite when they hit the ground. This will also help reduce the damage caused by from the building if it is subject to flame contact or radiant heat.
the fire.
Ensure fences are non-combustible so they can help to shield your home from a wildfire
For at least 20 metres around your home and other buildings: and radiant heat.

Cut long grass and dense shrubs. Remove all dead material. Fill the gaps and fire traps
Houses usually catch fire when embers get into the roof space, a wall cavity, on to ledges or under
Remove all rubbish and rake up leaf litter, twigs, bark and material that the house. Prevent embers from entering your house by blocking all the gaps.
may catch fire.
Block any gaps under floor spaces, in the roof space, under eaves, external vents,
Ensure that flammable items are well away from the house e.g. firewood skylights, chimneys and wall cladding.
piles, boxes, garden furniture, rubbish bins, fuel containers, etc.
Place metal wire mesh on all windows, chimney vents, other vents and install an ember
Maintain a minimum two metre gap between your house and tree branches. protection screen on evaporative air conditioners to keep sparks and embers out.
Make sure that no trees overhang the house.

Prune lower branches (up to two metres off the ground) to stop a fire on the Do not pile firewood up against or near the house or other structures.
ground spreading to the canopy of the trees.
Remove any timber, rubbish and old junk lying around.
Do not clump shrubs, ensure that there is a gap. Shrubs should be planted
at a distance of at least three times their height at maturity from buildings.
Move all fuel containers into a shed away from your house and have a firebreak
around it.
Keep your gutters free of leaves and other combustible material.
. Keep gas cylinders on the side of the house furthest away from the likely direction of
Create a firebreak, with no flammable vegetation along your boundary. a fire (where the bush is). Ensure the pressure relief valve is directed away from the
house. Store gas cylinders upright and secure them with a metal chain to a secure,
non-combustible post to prevent cylinders from falling over.
Build your paths adjacent to the building and have your driveway placed so
that it maximises the protection to the house. This information is provided in good faith. The Cape Peninsula Fire Protection
If possible, plan your garden so that your vegetable garden, lawn, pool or Association is under no liability to any person in respect to loss or damage (including
patio is on the side of the house likely to face a fire (where the bush is). consequential loss or damage) which may be suffered or incurred, or which may arise
directly or indirectly, in reliance by any person on the information contained in this
Store firewood away from the building. document.
 Wildland Fire Checklist – Preparing your property

1. Do not pile firewood up against or near the house

2. Install a fire or heat radiation shield such as a solid wall or
fence
55
3. Place metal wire mesh on all windows, vents, chimneys and
install an ember protection screen on evaporative air
conditioners to keep sparks and embers out
33 7
4. Block any gaps under floor spaces, in the roof space, under
22 eaves, external vents, skylights, chimneys and wall cladding
11 8
5. Create and maintain a minimum two metre gap between your
66 house and tree branches
44
6. Rake up leaf litter and twigs under trees
7. Remove shrubs and small trees under and between larger
trees
8. Ensure garden mulch is kept away from the house and grass is
kept short
9. Ensure all gaps in external wall claddings are sealed
10. Keep roof gutters and valleys clear of leaves, debris and bark
9
11. Keep gas cylinders on the side of the house furthest away from
. the likely direction of a fire (where the bush is). Ensure the
10 pressure relief valve is directed away from the house. Store gas
14 15 cylinders upright and secure them with a metal chain to a
11 secure, non-combustible post to prevent cylinders from falling
over
13 12. Block any gaps in the roof space
13. Hoses must be long enough to reach all parts of your house.
12
Use metal hose fittings for taps as they are less likely to melt
14. Remove flammable materials and store them away from the
house
15. Have a sufficient independent water supply in water tanks and
a petrol, diesel or a generator powered pump capable of
pumping 400 litres per minute.
 Wildland Fire Checklist – Preparing your property

1. Check bridge loading for fire tanker access

2. Trim branches away from power lines and telephone lines
3. Replace or repair damaged roofing and weatherboards
6 where embers can enter
2 4 5 4. Put in firebreaks along yard boundaries
3
5. Store firewood away from the house
6. If wildfire threatens, move livestock to a well grazed area
1 7. Store petrol and gas safely away in a shed
17 8. Draw water from dams, tanks and pools. Don’t rely on
mains water supply
16 7
9. Keep a well maintained area with fire resistant plants
10. Install pumps with a spray nozzle
15 9 11. Seal under floor spaces to prevent embers entering
14 12. Check cattle grid loading for fire tanker access
13. Place water pipes underground from the dam pump to the
13 11 house
. 14. Have a hose fitting on an internal tap to douse spot fires in
10
the roof cavity
8 15. Fill water tanks and connect them to pumps for firefighting
16. Keep grass cut
17. Keep gutters well maintained and clear of leaf litter and
12 debris

For more detailed information:

contact your local CPFPA Manager
or go to [Link]
 Wildland Fire Checklist – Preparing your property

Defensible Space in the context of wildfire

control, is a natural and/or landscaped
area, around a structure, that has been
maintained and designed to reduce fire
danger. The practice is also used in the
Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). This
defensible space reduces the risk that fire
will spread from one area to another, or to
a structure, and provides firefighters
access and a safer platform from which to
defend a threatened area. Firefighters
sometimes do not attempt to protect
structures without adequate defensible
space, as it is less safe and less likely to
succeed.

Creating defensible space is essential to

improve your home’s chance of surviving a
wildfire. It’s the buffer you create between
. a building on your property and the grass,
trees, shrubs, or any wildland area that
surrounds it. This space is needed to slow
or stop the spread of wildfire and it
protects your home from catching fire -
either from direct flame contact or radiant
heat.