#bushfirebuilding

Update: With the current extreme bushfires ravaging our state, we thought it a good time to revisit this article we wrote back in 2015 about building in a bushfire prone area. The same rules still apply. But regardless of how well-built a home is, in a bushfire situation always take notice of the conditions around you and be prepared to evacuate if that is what the authorities recommend.

It can be a lovely thing to build your new home on a ‘bush block’. It can offer the country life - trees, wildlife, privacy. If you are purchasing a new block of land to build on, be aware that as well as it offering all these advantages, it may also be in a deemed Bushfire Zone.

We all want to keep safe from bushfires, and who can forget the devastation caused by the bushfires in Victoria on Black Saturday in 2009, or closer to home in the Warrumbungles in 2013.

All land is now classified as to whether it is in a bushfire risk area for any new building work. If your new block is in a risk area then before you build it will need a Bushfire Report prepared which will give you its Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) rating. (These are calculated on an individual basis for each block of land). There are six rating levels, ranging from Low through to Flame Zone. The higher the rating, the more requirements there will be when building.

Bushfire requirements include things such as Asset Protection Zones (having to keep certain areas cleared of specific types of vegetation), having access roads that are wide enough for trucks to pass each other in places and having fire-resistant water storage tanks for firefighting purposes. When building the house, depending on the BAL rating there are restrictions on which materials may be used externally, which windows and glazing types and coverings need to be used, and specific construction methods are needed. Often changes need to be made to the usual way a house is built.

What does all this mean for the potential new home owner? When choosing your land on which to build, if there are trees around consider that it might be in a bushfire zone. Sometimes, risk areas are not where you would expect and can be on blocks that are on the edge of town. If it is a risk area - as a general rule of thumb the more slope there is on the land and the more trees there are,  the greater the BAL rating. The effect on building design and costs as the BAL progresses from Low to Flame Zone is equally progressive, and ranges from not having a significant effect to requiring detailed design changes, restrictions and greatly increased cost.

Does this mean you can’t build on a bush block? Absolutely not! But be prepared for extra costs if it is in a bushfire zone. And, be prepared to be flexible with the design of your home to help protect it and minimise the cost needed to comply with the regulations. Also, unless you are in a cashed-up position (and are feeling brave!) it’s probably best to give building in a Flame Zone area a miss.