Rebuilding after bushfires: Couple turn to technology to start again

The terror of being caught in 2019’s deadly Black Summer bushfires haunts Greg Webb and partner Alex Smidt, but they’re rebuilding thanks to a little-known fire-protection material.

The couple hope to be able to pull the shutters down, lock up and leave without worrying about their home if the area sees bushfires again.

The terror of being caught in Australia’s deadly Black Summer bushfires in 2019 still haunts Greg Webb and partner Alex Smidt.
But, the couple, who are in the midst of rebuilding, are confident they will never go through the experience again, thanks to the discovery of a little-known fire-protection material that will (hopefully) keep their new house safe from disaster.

“No one I knew had heard about it,’’ says Greg, of his material find – a British product dubbed TBA Firefly. “We put it over the flame of a gas oven stove and it wouldn’t burn,’’ he says. Impressed, he and Alex ordered the product immediately.

The non-combustible material is resistant to flames for two hours.

The couple are in the midst of rebuilding.

Its creators say their non-combustible material is resistant to flames for two hours. Sold, Greg and Alex have organised to have installers wrap the roof and exterior walls of the couple’s new home, hopefully securing it from any incoming bushfires. They say it matter of factly, but their recent bushfire experience is never far from their minds.

The couple’s home was razed — and while physically unscathed, they will be forever scarred. It all happened so very fast, they recall. In fact, the disaster was upon them in minutes.

Within a few short minutes, the smoke that had been visible from nearby Bendalong, on NSW’s south coast, had turned to terrifying flames outside their Lake Conjola home, leaving the couple with no means to escape and just a garden hose and poor water pressure to protect themselves.

“We live very close to the lake so we always thought we would go there if we ever got into trouble,’’ recalls Alex. “But when I got in the car, the fire was right behind our house and when I went up the street the whole escarpment was on fire. Even the tar on the road was on fire.”

The bushfire at Lake Conjola.

Trapped, Alex raced back to the property and hid under the house in a tiny excavation that had only recently been made in preparation for upcoming renovations.

“Even then, I just didn’t think the house would burn. I stayed there until I couldn’t breathe anymore and when I got out, I couldn’t see the lake for all the smoke.’’ With almost no visibility, Alex stumbled along a road, and then a concrete footpath, until she found safety. But Greg remained behind in a futile bid to fight the fire, sustaining burns to his both hands and arms.

“What was really awful was having no idea where Greg was (during the time we were separated),’’ Alex says.

“I didn’t see him for two-and-a-half hours after that. We were very lucky that no one in our little enclave (street) died.’’

Residents watch the bushfire’s progress at Lake Conjola.

Other parts of the Lake Conjola community were not so fortunate. Three people lost their lives and, throughout the small hamlet, more than 130 homes were destroyed or extensively damaged in the 2019 New Year’s Eve blaze. For some survivors, the only option was to move to a new area and start over, their sense of safety having been irreversibly shattered.

But Greg and Alex were determined to remain on the site that Greg’s father and uncle first built on in 1964, albeit in a new house that would never put their lives at risk like that again. “I love the bush. I love the trees,’’ says Greg of his bushland surrounds. “I have no doubt another fire will happen again. But I don’t want to chop down 30 metres, or 20 metres, of trees around me (to reduce the fire risk).”

Greg says he’s 95 per cent certain his new build won’t burn down.

“When you look at a fibro house with a steel roof, like ours was, you think it’s fairly protected but the major problem with housing is the amount of gaps and (the risk of an) ember attack. So I’ve researched and researched and we’ve gone into this new build with the view of having a house that – while I can never be 100 per cent certain – I’m 95 per cent certain won’t burn down.’’ While Alex and Greg’s new home will retain some of the 1960s style of their former house, it will be built to meet BAL FZ (Bushfire Attack Level Flame Zone) requirements – the most extreme level in bushfire attack standards.

Bushfire damaged homes and landscape in Lake Conjola Picture: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images.

As mentioned, Greg discovered TBA Firefly which will wrap the new house exterior. The home’s flooring will be of Hebel, also renowned for its fire resistance while steel and concrete will be used on the walls. A simple roofline, with no hips or valleys and wider-than-standard, easy-to-access guttering, will help prevent the build up of fire hazardous debris. Tanks capable of storing 15,000 litres of water will be installed under the new home, where they will be better protected and able to be used in future blazes.

The couple made sure their plans incorporated Fortis House guidelines, a new Bushfire Building Council of Australia resource, to make it easier and more affordable to build sustainable houses resilient to bushfires, floods, storms, heatwaves and cyclones.

Greg would have happily built a Fortis home himself if plans had been available when he was planning his rebuild.

Along with other Lake Conjola locals, Greg helped to develop the free resources and says he would have happily built a Fortis House himself if the designs had been available during the planning stages for his own home. As a custom build, meeting such high bushfire standards has increased the cost of Alex and Greg’s home by 40 per cent.

Work started in April and the pair expect to move in to their new home this time next year. To reclaim some of the money spent on fireproofing, the couple have engaged a builder and apprentice to work alongside Greg to get the ‘two-and-a-half bedroom’ house to lock-up stage.

Greg will then take on the remaining work himself. The pair have a budget of $570,000.

The idea is for the home to be resilient in the face of disaster, surviving scorching.

“The whole idea is that our house could be exposed to flames and it could be scorched but it will be resilient to these natural disasters,’’ says Greg. “All we will have to do is replace the cladding on the house or we could even repaint it, if we didn’t want to reclad it. “We want to be accountable and responsible when it comes to building in this (bushfire prone) area. All the charities and the community have given us incredible support but we don’t want them to have to look after us again. The next time a fire happens, we will be one of the lucky ones that can pull the shutters down, lock up and help others. Or we can just walk away until it’s safe (to return) without worrying about (protecting) the house.’’