Fire Prevention

We must work together to be fire ready!

 Communities must work together, and work with fire agencies to prepare for the fire season.

Community planning and prevention are the first lines of defence against the fire threat.

 Join a Community Fireguard group or attend a Fire Ready meeting with your family and neighbours.

Community Fireguard is a CFA fire-safety program that helps people work together to plan for the threat of fire and to manage their own fire risk.

Participants walk their street and surrounding areas with a fire expert to help build a personal, household or workplace fire plan.

The Community Fireguard program covers:

  • fire behaviour
  • personal survival
  • house survival, and
  • fire protection equipment

Additional Community Fireguard groups and Fire Ready meetings will be in place across Victoria for this fire season.

Fire Ready meetings are community meetings for people living in high fire risk areas.

Attending these community meetings will help you:

  • gain advice and information about bushfire behaviour
  • identify and reduce your fire risk
  • prepare your property, and
  • build your plan of action

What you learn and the actions you take may save lives.

For more information visit www.cfa.vic.gov.au

Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view PDF documents. Click here to download the reader.

Local Law Burning Off

Residents are not allowed to use incinerators or burn off in the open air unless they obtain a permit (only available for large properties). Unwanted materials should be composted, mulched, recycled, or placed in garbage bins. For information on skips and hard waste collection please call customer service on 9490 4222.

To obtain a permit for burning off please fill out the application via the link below or contact the Local Laws Department on 9490 4222 for a Local Law's Officer to come out and inspect your property's suitability for a burn off permit.

The fee for a burning off permit is $130, subject to review on the 30 June 2011.

No burning off permits available 1st October 2009.

Fire Prevention Notices

Each year, Fire Prevention Notices are issued as part of Council's annual fire hazard removal program. It is essential that these works are carried out by the expiry date on the notice and that the property is maintained in that condition throughout the declared Fire Danger Period.

To protect everyone's safety, you must keep your property free from fire hazards such as long grass or other combustible material. Council may clear fire hazards at your expense.

It is up to every resident and property owner to ensure that fire prevention and protection works are carried out on their block and nature strip area.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view PDF documents. Click here to download the reader.

Plenty Gorge Precinct

Mr Bruce Esplin, Emergency Services Commissioner from the Department of Justice, launched the Plenty Gorge Precinct Integrated Fire Prevention Strategy on Thursday, 13 May 2001 at the Nillumbik Shire Office, Civic Drive, Greensborough.

Participants in this development were Nillumbik Shire Council, Whittlesea City Council, Banyule City Council, Doreen, South Morang, Mernda, Plenty and Yarrambat Fire Brigades, Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board (MFB), Parks Victoria and the community.

‘The Plenty Gorge Precinct is recognised by all agencies and the community as a high wildfire risk area,' said Councillor Michael Hall, Chairman, Nillumbik Shire Council's Fire Prevention Committee.

‘The Strategy was developed as part of the ongoing development of community safety within Nillumbik and surrounding areas. It has developed as a cross agency integrated fire plan for the Plenty Gorge and it provides consistency across agency boundaries. It is believed this is the first strategy of its kind in Victoria.'

The Strategy: 

  • Explains the roles and responsibilities of the various players in fire prevention; 
  • Explains the current plans, actions and interactions; and
  • Allows greater community input to planning processes, and facilitate cooperation and participation in works programs.

This Strategy is in line with the State Government review of Significant Fire Events in 2002/2003 and will form part of the:

  • Municipal Fire Prevention Plan for the City of Whittlesea and the Shire of Nillumbik;
  • Parks Victoria Fire Prevention Strategy - Plenty Park; and
  • Fire Prevention Strategies of both Country Fire Authority and Metropolitan Fire Brigade for this location.

A copy of the full Strategy is available to download below.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view PDF documents. Click here to download the reader.

Fire Prevention Committee

The Country Fire Prevention Act 1958 requires Banyule City Council to establish a Municipal Fire Prevention Committee.

The committee is formed from representatives of the local fire brigades, other agencies and Banyule City Council. This committee primarily has a planning and advisory role which includes the following:

  • Planning for the establishment of fire breaks;
  • Advising of the existence of fire hazards and steps to be taken for their removal;
  • Recommending actions for reducing the risk of an outbreak or for suppressing a fire which may occur in the area.

The committee also co-ordinates the development of Fire Prevention or Risk Management Plans. These are ultimately compiled to form the basis of a plan for the whole municipality.

Other Links

CFA   www.cfa.vic.gov.au  
MFB   www.mfb.org.au  
Parks Victoria   www.parkweb.vic.gov.au  
State Emergency Service   www.ses.vic.gov.au

Top 10 bushfire planning tips

  1. Understand the environment in which you live -is your house surrounded by or near bush, grass or coastal scrub?
  2. Assess whether your home has sufficient defendable space by using the CFA Household Bushfire Self-Assessment Tool - this will help you to write your Bushfire Survival Plan - it will help you decide if staying to defend is an option
  3. Develop a written Bushfire Survival Plan and find out whether your local area has a Township Protection Plan
  4. Practise your Bushfire Survival Plan and if you plan to defend your home you will need to be physically capable and mentally strong
  5. Create and maintain as much defendable space around your home as possible by managing vegetation, including grass and shrubs
  6. Prepare your property before the fire season - if you do not plan to stay to defend, good preparation and adequate defendable space will give your home a greater chance of surviving a bushfire
  7. Gain an understanding of the new national Fire Danger Ratings and include in the trigger to leave in your plan
  8. Learn as much as you can about bushfire warnings and safety - attend a Fire Ready Community Meeting or visit the CFA website: www.cfa.vic.gov.au
  9. Form with you neighbours and your local CFA to form a Community Fire Guard group or join one that exists
  10. Update your home and contents insurance

Personal Capacity

 When deciding whether you will either leave early before bushfire threatens your home or you will stay to actively defend your property, you must assess your personal capacity.

This includes your physical and emotional capability. It also includes the physical and emotional capacity of all your household members.  

You should not consider staying to defend your property if:

  • You will be on your own during the defence of your property
  • You have one or more people with physical or intellectual disabilities residing in the home
  • You or any of your household members have an emotional or mental health condition
  • You have one or more elderly, frail or vulnerable people residing in the home
  • You have one or more children under the age of 16 residing in the home

Defending your home will require enormous reserves of physical and mental stamina.  It may require many hours and sometimes days of active patrolling and defense of your property. This will be exhausting. It can only be done with two or more fit adults in residence and must not be attempted if there are children or elderly present.

Actively defending your home will be a frightening and stressful experience. It may be hard to breathe, difficult to see, disorientating, very noisy and very hot. Be aware that bushfire smoke can aggravate respiratory conditions such as asthma and heart conditions.

The safest option is to leave early so you are not in your area during a bushfire.

All residents in bushfire prone areas must understand that exposure to any disaster such as a bushfire will affect you psychologically whether you leave your property before there is fire in the area or you stay to defend your property.

Having a plan of what you will do will assist you to cope and help you to implement strategies and actions that may save your life.  

Preparing your home

 It is essential to prepare your home and property for bushfire, even if you don't plan to stay to defend.

Steps you take now could help to reduce the spread, speed and heat of a fire, and increase the chances your home will survive.   

These preparations must begin well before the fire season. You will have to consider:

  1. If you have adequate defendable space and how you will manage the vegetation;
  2. How your house is best maintained and what improvements can be made.

You must also take steps to reduce the impact of embers on your house. These are burning bits of twigs, leaves and debris that have the potential to burn down your home. One of the main causes of property loss and damage is ember attack but there are steps you can take to reduce this risk. 

  • Protect underfloor spaces with non-combustible sheeting or metal mesh. This will prevent embers from landing under the house and starting spot fires.
  • Cover all external vents with metal mesh to prevent embers from entering your home.
  • Protect evaporative coolers with metal mesh screens. You will need to check with your evaporative cooler supplier to ensure the performance of the system is not compromised by installing the mesh.
  • Ensure any external timber cladding is regularly maintained and all gaps are sealed.
  • Place weather stripping around the inside of doors and windows to eliminate any gaps.
  • Make non-combustible fire screens to cover external skylights.
  • Fit leaf guards to gutters to prevent a build up of leaves.
  • Ensure fuel and chemicals are properly stored in structures.
  • Install fencing made from non-combustible materials such as metal or brick.

Prepare! Act! Survive!

 On February 7, 2009, Victoria experienced its worst ever natural disaster when more than 600 bushfires blazed across the state.

The Black Saturday and Gippsland fires claimed 173 lives and destroyed more than 2000 homes when high temperatures, strong winds and more than a decade of drought combined to create what was an unprecedented level of bushfire danger.

The 2009/10 bushfire season is now only weeks away and Victoria is once again facing another summer where extreme bushfire conditions are expected.

All of Victoria is at risk of bushfire. Whether you live in the bush, on a farm, near the coast or in a suburban area surrounded by grassland, or if you plan to travel in these areas, you could be affected by a bush, grass or scrub fire this summer. 

Fire Action Week (October 11 - 18) is the time to focus on preparing.

Every Victorian needs to look at their home and surroundings, assess if you could be at risk of a bushfire and develop a written Bushfire Survival Plan. This details how you will prepare yourself and your home, and helps you decide what to do if threatened by a bushfire.

Survival must be your main priority. The only sure way to survive a bushfire is to be well away from the threat. All bush and grass fires have the potential to claim lives and destroy property.

There are a number of changes to the way we prepare for and respond to bushfires this summer.

New fire danger ratings have been introduced that will detail when fire conditions are severe, extreme or catastrophic (code red). All Victorians need to know what these ratings mean for them and how days of higher risk will affect their Bushfire Survival Plan. 

Township Protection Plans are being prepared for 52 communities that have been identified as being most at risk this summer. These include large and small communities surrounded by bush, outer suburbs of Melbourne and regional cities as well as some holiday locations.

CFA has also developed a new household self-assessment tool that will help you determine if your house has enough defendable space around it. This should be the first step in preparing your Bushfire Survival Plan as it will help you decide if staying to defend during a bushfire is a viable and safe option for you.

Even if you don't plan to stay to defend, there are steps you can take now to prepare your home for the summer fire season and give it the best chance of surviving a bushfire. Cleaning out gutters, mowing the lawn, managing vegetation and removing or reducing the number of items that can catch fire within 30m of your house will all help.

It's important to remember that fire doesn't only threaten people who live in dense bush. Suburban homes were destroyed by bushfire last summer. Embers can travel kilometres ahead of a bush, grass or scrub fire, igniting leaves in gutters, vegetation, fences and other items around the home.

This supplement includes preliminary  information on how you can take action now to start preparing for the coming fire season. You will find more detailed information at http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/, http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/ or phone the Victorian Bushfire Information Line on 1800 240 667. 

Defendable Space

 Every Victorian living near bush, grassland or coastal areas needs to be aware of their bushfire risk, prepare their property and have a Bushfire Survival Plan.

Whether your plan is to leave before bushfire threatens or to stay to actively defend a well-prepared property, you will need to prepare your house.   

The first step in making a Bushfire Survival Plan is understanding whether you have adequate defendable space around your property.

This is an area surrounding a building that has little or no combustible vegetation or other materials that could fuel a fire. Defendable space is achieved by managing the vegetation around your home.

If you do not have defendable space it is not safe to stay to defend your house. 

CFA's new Household Bushfire Self-Assessment Tool will help you determine if you have adequate defendable space. You'll find it at http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/ or you can request a printed copy by phoning the Victorian Bushfire Information Line on
1800 240 667.

If you plan to stay, you need to identify, create and continue to maintain defendable space around your home in addition to other property preparation you do.

If your house is to protect you from bushfire then it must have defendable space.  If you plan to leave your property, your house will have more chance of surviving a bushfire if you have created and maintained this defendable space.   

Managing the vegetation around your home and property contributes to your safety by creating less opportunity for a fire to reach your home quickly. Clearing such a space limits the ability of a moving fire to spread directly to your home through flame contact or radiant heat.  

The amount of defendable space you require depends on two main factors:

  1. the type and amount of vegetation you have around your home. 
  2. the degree of slope you live on.

As a general rule you may need much more defendable space if there is dense forest all around you. However, if you are surrounded by grass or manicured gardens you will need less.

This needs to be considered for up to 100m around your house.  However, the 10m radius around your home is most critical. 

Create a space around your home by having a 10m area with:

  • No shrubs over 1 metre
  • No shrubs next to or below windows. In many bushfires, burning shrubs up against the house have contributed to cracking windows, allowing embers to enter the house
  • Grass no higher than 10cm
  • No overhanging tree branches
  • No plant-based mulch or leaf litter more than 1cm deep.

From 10m to your property boundary (or up to 100m) it is advised that you manage the vegetation so that:

  • only half the area has shrub coverage and grass is kept short. Severe fires are less likely to occur if your yard is free from long grass, leaves, twigs, bark and shrubs that can move fire into taller trees.
  • there are breaks between clumps of vegetation. This makes it more difficult for the fire to move from one area to another and reduces the fire intensity.

In some cases, mature trees can play a useful role in protection against bushfire. They can provide a useful shield against radiant heat and embers.

Defendable space limits your exposure to flames and radiant heat but it does not protect you from ember attack. You will need to do a range of other preparations to reduce the impact of embers on your house. 

For further information, go to http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/ or phone the Victorian Bushfire Information Line on 1800 240 667.

Bushfire Survival Plan - A must for every Victorian Household!

 Whether you live in the city, the urban fringe or in rural and regional Victoria it is essential you have a Bushfire Survival Plan.

This details how you will prepare and what action you will take if threatened by a bushfire. Your plan must be written down and practised regularly.

Bushfires kill and survival must be your main priority.

The first step in preparing your Bushfire Survival Plan is determining whether it is safe and viable for you to stay to defend your home or whether it is best to leave before fire threatens.

CFA's Home Bushfire Self-Assessment Tool has been designed to help you understand whether your home has adequate defendable space and thus whether staying to defend is an option. This new tool is the first step in preparing your plan - you will also need to consider many other factors.

Your plan should take into consideration the ages and physical capabilities of all those in your household and the environment in which you live or may holiday.

Children, the elderly and vulnerable are advised to leave before bushfire threatens and should not be part of plans to stay to defend.

It is vital you create a written plan, discuss it with all members of your household, practise it regularly and enact it when bushfire danger is high.

CFA's Bushfire Survival Kit will help you prepare your Bushfire Plan.

Things you may consider include:

  • Are you prepared to stay to defend or will you leave before bushfire threatens?
  • Does everyone in your family understand the dangers of bushfire and your plan?
  • Have you arranged appropriate car and household insurance?
  • Do you know what you will take with you in an emergency?
  • Have you considered pets or livestock?
  • Is your car supplied with bottled water, enough petrol, woollen blankets and other necessities should you need to leave?
  • Do you know if your resort/holiday destination has a bushfire plan?

For further information, go to http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/ or phone the Victorian Bushfire Information Line on 1800 240 667.