The CRC will improve awareness and understanding of issues surrounding building loss in bushfires through integrated research, communication and education. This should reduce direct loss of buildings and also improve the lifestyle of those living and working in bushfire-prone regions.

There’s a widespread community belief, reinforced by media, that bushfires ‘move at the speed of express trains’ causing sever damage in minutes. A growing body of scientific research shows otherwise. Most houses destroyed in bushfires survived the fire front but burned down during the following hours due to wind-borne burning debris. The well-prepared who return to their house once the front has passed can often save their houses without endangering their lives.

Researchers around Australia have identified most of the issues relating to hazard and hazard mitigation. To make the most of this data, the CRC will develop hazard and risk models to quantify these features, and evaluate their relative importance.
Some research topics essential to the risk model have been given high priority because they are important to the high-threat area where rural and urban land meets, and have not been studied in depth .

They include glazing and decking design; standardisation and design of active spray systems; the performance of metal-deck fencing, and scientific support for the evolution of the Australian Standard relating to performance of buildings in bushfires.
Results of this research will feed directly into building codes and practices in Australia over the coming years.
A lot more research is desirable. Some examples:

• What area of land around a house should have its fuel reduced, considering the slope and aspect of the land and the flammability of the vegetation?
• Building design. Where are a house’s ember traps? Will there be enough trapped embers, in vulnerable locations, to cause ignition? Will ignition necessarily cause loss of the building?
• Windows are the most vulnerable feature of a house attacked by fire. For instance, we need much more information on the heat resistance of laminated and toughened glass.
• How do you design decks to improve their fire performance given that some alternatives are costly and aesthetically less acceptable?
• Cladding and roof materials need further studies to define their fire performance
• Do sprinklers work efficiently in high winds?
• What is the precise threat from domestic gas supply bottles?
• Power and telephones can be cut if treated pine poles burn. We don’t know what effect the timber preservative treatment has on their response to fire.

With much new bushfire science emerging, there needs to be a priority to update existing information flows to designer, architects and regulators working on building performance, and the public generally. This might include incorporating previously purchasable information on free web-based community education programs, product endorsements, and certification of specialised builders and landscape designers to supply bushfire-resistant properties.

Project Leader: Justin Leonard, CSIRO, Ph: (03) 9252 6353