Preparing Your Home for Ember Attack in the Blue Mountains

The NSW Rural Fire Service says a well prepared home is more likely to survive a bush fire, and lists fitting fine metal mesh screens, fitting seals around doors and windows, and cleaning gutters among its basic maintenance tips. Shutters are one option, not the only one.

What preparing your home for ember attack in the Blue Mountains actually involves

A well prepared home is more likely to survive a bush fire. Even if your plan is to leave early, the more you prepare your home, the more likely it will survive a bush fire or ember attack.

A cottage eave with a clean metal gutter above a sealed window frame — preparing your home for ember attack, Blue Mountains. Illustrative example.

Some of the tips

The RFS's list includes: Clean your gutters of leaves and twigs; install fine metal mesh screens on windows and doors; and fit seals around doors and windows to eliminate gaps. It is a list of maintenance tips, not a standard, and it does not say what any house needs. The list also includes enclosing the areas under the house, repairing or covering gaps in external walls, and cutting back trees and shrubs overhanging buildings.

Ask the provider which of these they do and which you would need someone else for.

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