Disaster Proof Housing
Too often buildings have not been able to withstand bushfire or weather conditions that could have easily been anticipated.
Bushfire-Resistant Housing
What a fire safe house could look like. This is a 'modern' look, but 'cute & old fashioned' is also quite feasible. (Image: Colorbond) |
Lessons learnt from Ash Wednesday in 1983 and Black Friday in 1939 still seem to have not been learnt.
Australian Governments should encourage a significant tightening of building standards to help make every building a fire shelter using guidelines developed after the Ash Wednesday fires as a starting point.
Bushfire Resistant Houses
- Mandatory fire shelters.
- Concrete slab foundation.
- Steel framing, or solid masonry construction.
- Steel roof and fascia.
- Steel verandah posts.
- Brick, stone, concrete, steel or fibre cement exterior cladding.
- Toughened glass windows or some types of glass bricks. Non-flammable shutters.
- Steel exterior doors.
- Wool carpets and fire resistant fittings.
- No gaps where embers or smoke can enter through the non-flammable exterior.
- Water storage and non-mains power pump to supply external sprinklers. (All mains power, water, gas & phone are likely to be cut in an emergency and cannot be relied upon.)
Note that some sources on the web specify lower standards than the above. In particular some sites say some types of timber may be used. However, in light of the 2009 fires we believe tougher standards are now warranted.
For more detailed information see the Firewise Design brochure from the ACT Emergency Service Agency (320kb PDF).
Mandatory Fire Shelters
Installing a FireShelter. 'There is sufficient air in a small Fireshelter to sustain safe and comfortable breathing for 4 adults for over 2 1/2 hours... a SCUBA tank will add hours of safe breathing.' (Image: www.FireShelters.com) |
People need to have reliable shelter right where they live and work. They should NOT try to evacuate to somewhere else or wait for the fire brigade.
Fire Shelter features should be:
- Air-tight except for a spring-loaded vent that can be closed.
- Have enough internal space to provide an hour of oxygen - about the size of a normal water tank. Optionally they could also have a scuba tank of air as well.
- Be totally non-flammable - probably concrete.
- Have some way of seeing outside without opening the door.
- Could be underground or perhaps mass produced concrete 'igloos' that could withstand falling trees.
A Concrete Igloo. This was sold by Markus Rogers of Gordonvale QLD via 'Cyclone Shelters'. Above ground domes such as this could be mass-produced for high risk areas. (They would need a better door though!) (Image: Victorian Bushfire Commission BushfireBunkers.pdf (2 MB)) |
Features to Avoid
A House burns near Canberra in 2003 (Canberra Fires.org). |
- Timber decking or pergolas.
- Timber framing.
- External timber doors or windows.
- Exposed timber verandahs.
- Use of standard glass.
- Timber, masonite, vinyl or aluminium weatherboards.
- Tile or shingle roofing. Plastic skylights.
- Elevated houses on steep slopes.
- Reliance on mains water and/or mains power for fire fighting.
Mandatory Evacuation - The Wrong Approach
Due to the speed at which fire spreads we do not recommend mandatory evacuation.
- Other than being on foot, the worst place to be in a bushfire is in a car.
- Roads are easily disrupted by a few fallen trees.
- After years of 'false alarms' compliance with evacuation orders will trail off.
- Residents & governments will rely on evacuations to remain safe instead of building fire shelters.
Government Bushfire Action
- Mandate fire resistant design for at risk areas.
- Facilitate installation of air-tight underground fire shelters. These could be mass-produced fibre-cement bunkers that can be easily installed near at risk buildings.
- Ensure that community facilities such as sports halls, schools, libraries and swimming pools can act as fire shelters. (Like some schools in the Dandenongs in Victoria.)
- Facilitate converting all residents of at risk areas into fire- fighters. This would mean assisting all households in at risk areas to acquire petrol-pumps, hoses, protective clothing and other fire-fighting equipment.
- Train ADF personnel and reservists to assist effectively in civil defence actions.
- Require mobile phone towers to be more durable and have independent power supplies. Ensure that all phones can connect to any tower irrespective of the network. (Telcos can work out cost sharing deals in the background under ACCC supervision.)
- Renew scientific study of how best to manage each forest type. Determine what is the optimal level of managed burn-offs and try to implement it. Examine introducing less flammable species near at-risk settlements. Examine harvesting of fallen timber from accessible native forests to reduce fuel loads.
Once a fire has started able-bodied residents should not be dependent on external fire fighting agencies for survival.
Flood-Resistant Housing
Example of a flood resistant house in Queensland. (Image: Wikepedia) |
All new housing in flood prone areas - including anywhere within 3 metres of current sea level - should have the living areas above the maximum known flood level.
'The Plastic House' A Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP), water resistant building type designed in response to Queenslands floods. Prefabricated in Queensland, it can be installed in days. (Image: Sara Cole, Urban Design Office) |
This design is made from composites which are green friendly, stronger than steel and lighter than wood. They have the lowest embodied energy of any building material. FRP is resistant to termites, hurricanes, earthquakes, fire, water and mould.
See also the Flood Of Ideas Web site with more ideas for flood safe housing.
Cyclone Proof Housing
Monolithic homes can survive winds of up to 450kmh. (Image: Monolithic Homes) |
Visit the Monolithic Homes website to learn about these structures. Note too the energy-saving nature of these domes.
STATIM
Images of the STATIM (Storm, Tornado, And Tsunami, Interconnected, Modules) system. (Image: Wikipedia) |
The STATIM Tsunami Shelter System is a novel emergency preparedness tool specifically designed to provide protection to human occupants during and after natural catastrophic events such as tsunamis, major floods, tornadoes and storms. The system was designed and is promoted by San Juan, Puerto Rico inventor Miguel A. Serrano who is a land development and construction management consultant there.
Something similar could be used in high bushfire risk areas. Units can be mostly buried - and they would not have to be bright orange!
Flood of Ideas
9th Mar 2011: Web site with ideas for flood safe housing http://floodofideas.org.au/.
Old timers survive floods
5th Jan 2011: Traditional 'Queenslander' style houses survive the big wet while new low set houses get swamped - how predictable! more....
Fire refuges for all
3rd Jul 2009: The Bushfires Royal Commission is expected to recommend community refuges, but unfortunately not a refuge for each house. more....
Family survived in bunker
28th May 2009: "A HOME-MADE fire bunker saved the lives of a family of three on Black Saturday, the Bushfires Royal Commission heard yesterday." more....
Stay or go?
24th May 2009:" 'Stay or go' no longer policy of choice"...but forced evacuation not an option either as roads too small. more....
A day we knew would come
21st Feb 2009:"For those of us who know the history, the most haunting aspect of this tragedy is its familiarity. The 2009 bushfires were 1939 all over again, laced with 1983...A "stay and defend" option is only realistic in such places and conditions if every property has a secure fire refuge or bunker. A bunker at the shire hall or at the end of the street is not good enough - people will die getting to it." more....
Bush Fire Bunkers
Nelson Technologies manufactures bushfire bunkers. See their web site: www.bushfirebunkers.com.au.
Wildfire Safety Bunkers: www.wildfiresafetybunkers.com.au.
Fire Shelters Australia Pty Ltd: www.firesheltersaustralia.com.au.