Information Response - Email 1 of 2 MCU16/0153 & REC16/0041

standards will also be key to ensuring the performance of buildings subjected to ember
attack (refer Section 5.3).
                                       Table 8 – APZ setback recommendations
                Direction                    Inner Protection Area (IPA)            Outer Protection Area (OPA)

                West                         10m1                                   5m1
                1 The combined nominated IPA and OPA is approx. 1.5x the modelled flame length distance.




The Inner Protection Area (IPA) should either be fully cleared and regularly maintained (i.e.
lawn) or retain trees as clumps or islands and provide a tree canopy cover of less than 15%
and tree canopies should be located greater than 2 metres from any part of the roofline
of a building. Any trees should have lower limbs removed up to a height of 2 metres above
the ground.

Any landscaping performed on site shall maintain the IPA effectively free of available fuel.
Landscaping plants may be used in this area so long as they are selected for their low
combustibility, by virtue of high moisture content, low volatile oil content, high leaf mineral
levels, large fleshy leaves, and absence of shedding bark. They should be placed so as to
not provide either vertical or horizontal connectedness of plant material, and avoid
overhanging rooflines or contact with flammable parts of buildings. Any planted trees
should be of species which grow to over 2m, to maintain separation between lower
canopy and the ground.

An Outer Protection Area involves removal of the understorey, so as to deprive an
advancing fire front of its fuel continuity, and thereby collapsing the fire front. The OPA
serves to reduce the potential length of flames by slowing the rate of spread, filtering
embers and reducing the likelihood of crown fire. The OPA should have understorey
managed (mowed) to treat all shrubs and grasses on an annual basis, with the exception
of the 1m wide revegetation strip (Gondwana Ecology Group 2015), in advance of the
commencement of the fire season (i.e. September).

The recommended Asset Protection Zones are shown in Figure 9.




                                                 Bushfire Management Plan
February 2015                                                                                               Page 22
                                            215 David Low Way, Peregian Beach
                                                  Scanlon Property Group