Geraldton Heights Estate Reveals Nature of Bushfires and How You Can Protect Your Home
Announcement posted by Geraldton Heights Estate 22 Jan 2014
Real estate company in Geraldton provides insight into how bushfires operate and how to protect one’s home against them.
Geraldton, WA, 22 January 2014 - Recently in the history of Western Australia, major bushfires have caused incredible damage to both nature and people’s homes. With many people losing their homes, some even their lives, to this terrible natural disaster, many more people are trying to understand how these fires work and what they can do to protect their own family and homes from being affected by another major bushfire.
Bushfires are able to begin because a spark, either a natural one such as a lightning strike or a man-made one such as a carelessly discarded cigarette butt, ignites a dry area of vegetation. From there, the plant matter in the surrounding areas continues to burn until the fire grows and spreads to grand proportions and works its way on and into people’s homes.
Bushfires do damage through three main mechanisms: direct flame contact, radiant heat and ember attacks. The former two scorch surroundings areas due to contact with the fire or nearby air, but the latter is the most dangerous. Ember attacks occur when loosened debris ignite and are carried by the wind to spread the fire elsewhere.
To provide more insight into the dangers of ember attacks and protection techniques, Madeleine McErlain, Marketing Manager of the 4Land Property Group, shares her thoughts on the subject based on her experience in the WA area.
“Bushfires are a real danger to families and homes and their damage can be devastating if proper measures aren’t taken ahead of time to protect yourself. Thankfully, there is much that can be done to prevent a bushfire from entering and destroying your home.”
She then goes on to explain techniques that can be executed to protect the outside of a home from bushfires.
“Because bushfires feed off of vegetation, it’s a good idea to minimise them from the exterior of your home. That way, if the fire is creeping towards your home, it will have a hard time spreading since there are no plants. This is especially useful for preventing debris from being gathered for ember attacks.”
McErlain goes on to explain what modifications can be made to the home itself in the interest of fire safety.
“Even with prevention techniques, fires can still find their way towards your home. If and when this happens, you want to be prepared. Using sealants and designing your roof and windows in certain ways, you can prevent fires and heat from finding their way into crevices and into the home. If a fire should get in, having a good sprinkler system will serve you well as it could put out any stray fires that would normally destroy a person’s valuables.”
She concludes with insight into which homes would be best protected and how to do this.
“If you live in an area at risk for bushfires or if one has occurred there, protection is a must. Retrofitting is available, but if you are building a new home, then it is vital. We at 4Land and the real estate team in Geraldton would be happy to help you design a home this way to ensure the safety of your whole family.”
Geraldton Heights Estate is a master planned community developed by 4Land Property Group. To learn more about them and how they equip homes for fire safety, please call them on (08) 9301 4445 or visit their website: http://www.geraldtonheights.com.au/.
Bushfires are able to begin because a spark, either a natural one such as a lightning strike or a man-made one such as a carelessly discarded cigarette butt, ignites a dry area of vegetation. From there, the plant matter in the surrounding areas continues to burn until the fire grows and spreads to grand proportions and works its way on and into people’s homes.
Bushfires do damage through three main mechanisms: direct flame contact, radiant heat and ember attacks. The former two scorch surroundings areas due to contact with the fire or nearby air, but the latter is the most dangerous. Ember attacks occur when loosened debris ignite and are carried by the wind to spread the fire elsewhere.
To provide more insight into the dangers of ember attacks and protection techniques, Madeleine McErlain, Marketing Manager of the 4Land Property Group, shares her thoughts on the subject based on her experience in the WA area.
“Bushfires are a real danger to families and homes and their damage can be devastating if proper measures aren’t taken ahead of time to protect yourself. Thankfully, there is much that can be done to prevent a bushfire from entering and destroying your home.”
She then goes on to explain techniques that can be executed to protect the outside of a home from bushfires.
“Because bushfires feed off of vegetation, it’s a good idea to minimise them from the exterior of your home. That way, if the fire is creeping towards your home, it will have a hard time spreading since there are no plants. This is especially useful for preventing debris from being gathered for ember attacks.”
McErlain goes on to explain what modifications can be made to the home itself in the interest of fire safety.
“Even with prevention techniques, fires can still find their way towards your home. If and when this happens, you want to be prepared. Using sealants and designing your roof and windows in certain ways, you can prevent fires and heat from finding their way into crevices and into the home. If a fire should get in, having a good sprinkler system will serve you well as it could put out any stray fires that would normally destroy a person’s valuables.”
She concludes with insight into which homes would be best protected and how to do this.
“If you live in an area at risk for bushfires or if one has occurred there, protection is a must. Retrofitting is available, but if you are building a new home, then it is vital. We at 4Land and the real estate team in Geraldton would be happy to help you design a home this way to ensure the safety of your whole family.”
Geraldton Heights Estate is a master planned community developed by 4Land Property Group. To learn more about them and how they equip homes for fire safety, please call them on (08) 9301 4445 or visit their website: http://www.geraldtonheights.com.au/.