How safe would your home be in a bushfire?

Words: Ricky French Producer: Bianca Farmakis

For Malcolm and Diana Hackett, Black Saturday was heralded by a towering column of smoke rising behind Mt Sugarloaf. It was 11am on February 7, 2009 and the couple watched from their farmhouse in rural Victoria.

By late afternoon hot bark was falling from the sky as spot fires rained down off the mountain with a sudden ferocity few were prepared for.

Malcolm and Diana somehow survived the day, but 27 people in Strathewen – about an eighth of the population – did not. Some 173 people died in Australia’s worst ever bushfire disaster, more than 130 of them in or around their homes. Many people spent their last moments in terror, sheltering in their bathrooms.

Thirteen years and multiple bushfire disasters later, the question remains: can we create truly bushfire-proof homes?

Why some houses burn and others don’t

Justin Leonard, a CSIRO research scientist, says a dozen things can mean the difference between life and death. “A bushfire-proof house needs a ­bushfire-proof occupant in it, who doesn’t do stuff that will unravel a decent house,” he says.

A bushfire-proof house requires:

External b uilding materials that won’t burn Double-glazed windows Ember proof entry points Steel trimmings and outdoor furniture

Future of fire

The Royal Commission stated that the Black Summer “provided only a glimpse of the types of events that Australia may face in the future”. With communities still reeling from the worst flooding on record, that glimpse is fast becoming a vivid panorama.

Australia's inferno

Experts have identified major flaws in building regulations for fire-proof homes, and worry that complacency is setting in among homeowners. Despite all the royal commissions and construction safeguards, few believe we’re in any ­better position to survive the next inferno.

Ian Weir, an architect and adviser to the Bushfire Building Council of Australia, says many homeowners are more concerned with ticking regulatory boxes than with building fire-resistant homes and worries we’re still at the formative stage of bushfire adaption.

The main issue I see is cultural lag. We’re not talking about how we design houses for 2050 with climate change, it’s just not happening in the national conversation.