Summer in Australia can be hot, dry, and well…HOT! There can be a real fire danger for homes and towns and this shouldn’t be restricted to country, or bushland areas. Sydney can also be a danger for house and garden fires. It is worth being prepared and taking a weekend to plan your fire escape routes, both inside and outside the home, and get your garden fire safe for summer.
The Garden
Check the layout of your garden. Are the lawns mowed? Do you have paths which could be firebreaks? Are the lawns trimmed and are there edges to prevent fire jumping across to other areas? A good tip is to ensure that your driveways and pathways are free of weeds and long dry grasses, which can creep in-between slabs and bricks. This will definately help to keep your home fire safe during hot days.
Remove Dried Wood
Look around the edge of your home. Old, broken, dried wooden garden furniture, toys, and fencing, make for excellent fire kindling. Pile it up and get it ready to be removed. Add to the pile the dry leaves, which have mounted up over winter in your gutters. These dry leaves are fuel for floating fire embers that can lead to devastating fire under your roof tiles and into your home.
Scan the rest of your garden and prune back any low hanging branches and collect any debris that may have accumulated in your backyard from winter storms. It’s also wise to look and see if any bushes and trees hang over into each other, which will cause a fire to spread.
What Do You Have Stored?
Do a final check of your garden and then take a look in the old garden shed, garage, and any outhouses. This is where half-used paint cans, chemicals, and fuels collect and mount up over the years. If plan to use them in the next 6-12 months then store them safely, but if they are gathering dust and the paint cans are stuck shut or dried out, then play safe and throw them out.
Thinking outside the box can help you being fire safe
It may sound strange, but a good practice is to look around the outside of your home and garden, and think ‘if I was a fire, how would I spread and grow’. You will soon see your garden and outside areas in a very different light and spot ways in which fire could spread. From embers, which could float into gutters, vents and high-density bushes, to the long grass left to run wild at the back of the garden with no fuel break.
Collect up all the dry, garden rubbish and place it in one area. Once you have your pile of rubbish, call for local collection straight away to keep your garden clean and fire safe. Look for local removalists who specialise in garden rubbish removal as they can often help you take down some of those hard to reach branches from you. Once your garden and sheds are cleared, you can then enjoy a tidy, fire safe outside area and garden for a long, hot, lazy summer ahead!