Fire Bunkers


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Fire Assembly Point

If a person was browsing for facts regarding Fire Assembly Point I wish to help you in your inquiry.

As we move into the warmer half of the year we are forced to again consider the grave threat of wild fire and Fire Assembly Point. If your home lies within an area thought to be at risk during the fire season it would be prudent to address your fire safety plans.

You are not alone when determining fire risk as most local fire brigades offer comprehensive fire safety planning assistance. These plans include such measures as removing flammable liquids, clearing a fire break, removing trees and shrubs that are likely to burn freely, establishing an adequate water supply and planting a screen of slow burning evergreens on the properties perimeter.

Only consider fighting a major fire if you are both a physically and mentally strong person. For those of us who don?t think they are up to the task, we should plan to leave the threatened area as soon as the risk becomes apparent. This is called the stay or go policy and on the surface it would appear to be a simple matter of common sense as a well defended home offers the safest place to avoid the life threatening danger of radiant heat which causes the majority of bushfire casualties and leaving before the fire front arrives obviously speaks for it?s self.

The stay or go policy has been in effect in Victoria for the last few decades and until recently had served us relatively well but last summer we experienced a wild fire of unprecedented ferocity which claimed many lives and destroyed many millions of dollars worth of property. While this fire was unique in coming at the end of ten years of drought, on a forty two degree Celsius day and fanned by winds of over one hundred kilometers an hour it is feared that global warming will create conditions similar to that fateful day on a much more regular basis. In light of this current bush fire planning measures are being reviewed by our planning authorities.

One of the most frequently asked for measures is the establishment of both community and private fire shelters. People living next to the bush are now investigating the practicalities of installing their own shelters. The debate surrounding these shelters is still going on and should be evaluated before going ahead and building one.

Commercial shelters can vary widely because there is no established construction standard. The old fashioned log and dirt bunkers of the past were responsible for saving many people but are now considered an unreliable response. In response to the need for a more sophisticated approach, manufacturers are now building shelters out of reinforced concrete and fire rated steel. These standards of safety can cost a good deal of money.
The cost of shelters will vary of course depending on the level of safety and sophistication provided. For example there are a number of proprietors currently offering shipping containers and water tanks featuring various modifications that might satisfy some buyers. The important things to remember if you are considering one of these sorts of shelters is the level of threat you might reasonably expect to face and can it comfortably provide shelter for every one who will need it. For instance people sheltering from a grass fire burning across farmland would require a different level of protection to those sheltering from an enclosed forest fire.

While the fire shelter debate goes on I am sure that many of us will go ahead and install some form of shelter. Having gone to the trouble of reading this article I hope that you have a better understanding of some of the issues surrounding fire shelters – Fire Assembly Point, and advise you to seek out the best shelter you can afford. May God watch over you this summer.

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 5:00 pmand is filed under fire shelters. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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