Thread: Fires . . .

You can't legislate out stupid . . . Some folks just willingly no brain themselves into holes. I have to admit being at many hurricane parties. I've also ridden out these storm aboard yachts and even wind surfed and intentionally sailed a heavy weather rigged boat in hurricanes. Of course I was well prepared and equipped, but some just play the odds and hope for the best. For these persons, I have little sympathy, but I do feel for their families.

We always planned to stay and defend. Multiple fire pumps, 100,000 litres in tanks. Supply manifold (to choose water source and destination) in sheltered place. Copper micro-sprayers on all facias, each side works from one valve. Works on gravity pressure but is turbo-charged by activation of pump. Careful roof and site design. Tempered glass windows. House cut below ridge to prevent radiant heat from trees to the south, gravel drive and rocks/terrace to the north. Mobile 400 litre fire trailer with pump, hoses, rake. etc etc.

BUT... These last fires seem to be of a whole other order of magnitude. So did the wind. (our area copped the conditions without the fire) We are now thinking in terms of a gradient of conditions and graded responses. I think I'll have to build a bunker for the worst case day/situation. Far enough from the house to avoid the radiant heat it would produce if it burnt, but close enough to get to in less than one minute. (But we are still processing...)

Originally Posted by rob540

BUT... These last fires seem to be of a whole other order of magnitude. So did the wind. (our area copped the conditions without the fire) We are now thinking in terms of a gradient of conditions and graded responses. I think I'll have to build a bunker for the worst case day/situation. Far enough from the house to avoid the radiant heat it would produce if it burnt, but close enough to get to in less than one minute. (But we are still processing...)

Good thinking, both on the graded responses & the bunker.
Seen and heard of a few 'bunkers' built under houses.
Trouble is that instead of just a 20 or 30 minute heat pulse, they have to have air &
insulation to withstand 1 or 2 hours until the house goes out. Even then, they are
buried under a pile of hot ashes, dutch oven style, possibly for days....

Like you, we had the wind but no fire. Word is SAPol's Operation Nomad kept the loonies well in check
(every known or suspected arsonist gets maybe several visits on bad days from SAPol "enquiring on
health, & plans for the day"...) I understand that some devices were found in scrub at Linton/Panorama
that afternoon. But for their discovery, it would have been us too...

Originally Posted by Boatmik

Well AJ,

I knew the theory ... but to see the facts on how fast it can travel is more than a bit daunting and to compare with the timeframe for doing things to evacuate or protect your property is a rather stimulating comparison too.

Thanks for spelling it out.

MIK

Just to reinforce that, I was at the national Measurement Laboratory in 93. We lost all outlying buildings and 4 cars. When the fire came through me and a bunch of fizzycists were up on the roof watching, before I got to it with the hoses...being physicists one of them timed it. NML is about the size of a large high school. From the first spot fire to being completely surrounded on 3 sides took 10 seconds.

I wasn't on the ground wimpering, but I'll tell you for nothing it scared me. Seeing fireballs shooting overhead 100's of meters at a time and seeing hundreds of square meters of land go up like a match head is unnerving.

We have always planned to stay, cleaned up as much as possible, filled spouting with water and have 20 min water for the fire pump. Would like to take down about ten trees but council wont let us. Roadsides are not allowed to be cleaned up. if a tree falls it must be left for the critters. Roads are not safe to get out in the smoke which may be thick for days. If we evacuated when would we go? and where could I go as I have to take my 94 year old mother with me. There is nowhere I could take her for maybe 2 or 3 days to sit in a car. We will stay and fight as best we can. Even the football oval in Emerald in now posted as not being an evacuation area any more. I will apply to the council again this week for a permit to cut trees down, but that is unlikely to be granted. Some of the worst trees are on adjoining land. We must have more burning off but there is only so many days a year that are safe to burn off. If everyone evacuates where do they all, maybe 300,000 people go?

we back onto state park, and have always said we would take the Sir Robyn approach (Run away). Plan is as soon as a fire is detected in the state park, irreplaceable stuff (Birth certificate, passports, etc, we have stored in a box close to the door) dog and kids go in car and we all head for local shopping complex (Its concrete has no trees near it and has Air con, food, toilets and in worst case clothes).

We are lucky, we have four exit roads. Especially lucky as out house has no chance in case of fire (We are in a gully, halfway up the hill, the house is wooden and on stilts, no chance of defending that even without the large trees around)