Bushfire Report

        Setting up timber fence for test burning.

    mechanism was via embers, and in 35% it                                                                    • The potential for these fencing systems
    was via embers and some radiant heat from              end user statement                                    to act as protection for buildings
    surrounding vegetation or other structures             “This project has provided information                against attack from radiant heat,
    (Blanchi et al. 2004). Numerous studies                that can be used in the development                   burning debris and flame impingement
    have found that suppression activities by              of planning and building codes, it                    during bushfires, and;
    residents during and immediately after                 offers practical, scientifically based              • Whether the behaviour of fencing
    fires are important in saving homes – that             information that fire agencies can                    systems contributes a risk to lives and
    human activity can significantly influence             provide to residents in bushfire prone                homes.
    the survivability of structures.                       areas to reduce their risk of bush fire
                                                           attack.”                                         The formal research testing involved:
    In the case of the Canberra fires, residents
                                                           – Lew Short, Group Manager                          • Small-scale flammability experiments,
    who stayed in their homes to fight bushfires
                                                           Community Resilience NSW Rural                        measuring the basic flammability
    and spot fires before and after the passage of
                                                           Fire Service                                          of typical timber fencing materials
    the fire front gave testimony to the specific
                                                                                                                 (including the effect of ageing and
    protection offered by sheet steel boundary
                                                                                                                 weathering conditions).
    fencing systems to stay close to their homes        BUSHFIRE CRC RESEARCH
    to fight fires. With that in mind, it is proposed   The research aimed to observe, record,                 • Toxic contaminant release experiments
    that fencing systems can offer protection           measure and compare the performance of                   measuring gas and ash products from
    to humans and homes during attack from              commercial fencing systems made from pre-                samples.
    bushfires and house-to-house ignition (similar      painted and metallic-coated sheet steel and            • Full-scale experiments (23 in total) on
    to urban structural fires).                         timber (treated softwood and hardwood) when              common timber and Colorbond steel
                                                        exposed to burning embers, radiant heat and              fencing systems using a gas burner
    The Black Saturday Victorian bushfires
                                                        flame attack. The objectives were to investigate:        bushfire front simulator (including
    of February 2009 have provided another
                                                                                                                 the effect on a simulated residential
    opportunity to study the influences                    • The performance of the most common
                                                                                                                 building and adjacent objects).
    of fences on house survivability. The                    commercial fencing systems made from
    Bushfire CRC Task Force established                      pre-painted and metallic-coated sheet          The research project was conducted in the
    immediately after Black Saturday has                     steel and timber (which are mostly             NSW Rural Fire Service Experimental Testing
    collected large volumes of relevant data                 used as residential boundary fencing in        Site at Mogo on the south coast of NSW in
    that is pending analysis.                                urban and urban rural interfaces).             2005.

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