Bushfires in Western Australia are common and can potentially place you, your family and your property at risk. It is therefore important that you are well prepared and that you are familiar with what you and your family will do in the event that a Bushfire threatens you, your family or your home.

Preparing your home is your responsibility. You need to understand the risks so you can make decisions now on what you will do if a bushfire starts and is a threat to your home.

Bushfire Behaviour
All fires need fuel, air and heat to start and develop. Bushfires in particular behave in a number of ways, often unpredictable in nature. The intensity and size of this kind of fire is heavily reliant upon the amount of these elements accessible to it. This means that the most severe bushfire threats often occur in summer when a combination of high temperatures, strong winds and lightning from thunderstorm activity can combine.

Fuel
Vegetation around your home such as dry grass, leaves, twigs and bark can provide fuel for a fire. This fuel plays a part in how hot a fire can become and how fast it can spread. If fuel is removed, the fire will starve.

Heat and radiant heat
Bushfires generate enormous heat. Much of this heat goes up into the air but significant heat also radiates at ground level. This radiant heat spreads the fire by drying out vegetation so it will burn. Radiant heat is the main cause of people dying in a bushfire.
Radiant heat may not set fire to your home but can crack and break windows, allowing embers to enter and result in a house fire.

Embers
Even if the fire front does not reach your home, it can still be damaged by burning embers carried by strong winds. Embers can get into your home through gaps in roofs, walls, evaporative air conditioners, windows and doors. They can also land on materials that burn easily, starting a fire. Research has shown that ember attack is the main cause of buildings catching alight during a bushfire. Embers can continue to threaten your home even after the fire front has passed.

Direct flame contact
When materials close to your home catch fire, flames can touch the outside of your house. How long flames are in direct contact with home buildings depends on the amount of fuel to be burnt.

Oxygen
Bushfires need oxygen in the air to stay alight and the more available, the faster the fire burns. Strong winds not only force the fire along but also increase air circulation, providing more oxygen. Any change in wind direction or speed can rapidly increase the rate of spread and the direction of the fire.

Wind
Strong winds usually come with bushfires and as the wind increases so does the fire’s temperature. The wind pushes flames closer to fuel making the fire travel faster. Embers and other burning materials are also carried by the wind which can damage buildings kilometres from the fire front.

For more information in relation to preparing you, your family and home please visit http://www.fesa.wa.gov.au/safetyinformation/fire/bushfire/Pages/default.aspx