Australian engineers develop secret weapon ahead of deadly bushfire season

A world-first fire-retardant paint developed by Australian scientists may hold the key to safer homes and cheaper insurance premiums as another deadly bushfire season approaches.

UNSW's Guan Yeoh with the FSA Firecoat paint.

A world-first fire-retardant paint developed by Australian scientists may hold the key to safer homes and cheaper insurance premiums.

Engineers at UNSW Sydney have developed the first paint to pass Australia’s rigorous bushfire simulations tests, achieving a Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) of 40.

The BAL standard is an assessment of the bushfire resistance of a building and construction materials, and a BAL 40 score shows a building or material is proven to withstand higher levels of radiant heat (40kW/m²), along with ember attacks, during a bushfire.

The new paint was developed at UNSW in collaboration with Flame Security International and had been partially funded by the Australian government under a $3m Co-operative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) grant.

The FSA Firecoat is a type of intumescent paint that will expand when exposed to heat, and has specific chemicals that produce a thick layer of char.

This char would offer buildings and materials an insulating barrier that successfully deflects the heat from the fire.

UNSW’s Guan Yeoh of the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and his team spent close to five years developing the paint and ensuring it passed the tests.

“It was a lot of hard work and a lot of painful experiences,” Professor Yeoh told The Australian.

“When you start developing any formulation, it’s always not at the first go that you will get it right.

The firecoat char helps to provide insulation and can be more than 50mm thick.

“We went through over 100 tests to eventually arrive at the formulation, using benchtop experimentation machines to get to the point where we are confident that it works.

“The special additives we include in the paint mix formula promote growth of the char, which is the important insulating element.

“The char is what helps the substrate, that is your house or your building, stay protected from the fire,” Professor Yeoh said.

A BAL rating can significantly affect the costs of building or renovating a home. This is due to requirements that construction designs and materials must meet being more demanding.

The average cost of rebuilding properties rated at BAL-40 can be up to $60,000, with BAL-Flame Zone (BAL-FZ) costing up to $150,000.

Insurance companies also use BAL when assessing the price of their policies, with higher BAL rating resulting in higher home insurance costs. This is something that FSI’s managing director, Justin Rooney, told The Australianthat he was addressing.

“We are currently in talks with insurance companies regarding the process for Australians who use the paint,” he said.

“The BAL rating means Firecoat is the most fire-retardant paint available and gives consumers that extra layer of protection.”

The paint is currently available at Bunnings, with the 4L exterior costing $168 and the 10L exterior costing $388.