Burning issue for new homes

SYDNEY - Outbreaks of bush fires have destroyed homes in virtually all corners of Australia this summer, prompting calls for a fresh approach to building new houses, particularly in leafy outer areas of major cities.

In the past three months, hundreds of bush fires have razed about 300 homes across the states of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. The cost of the damage, including losses to the tourism industry and businesses, has been more than A$100 million (S$112 million).

The damage has prompted debate about whether Australia needs to change its approach to planning and building new homes and suburbs, and ensuring that home owners reduce their fire risk.

An expert on bush fire risk management, Dr Trent Penman, from the University of Wollongong, said government planners should avoid new developments in "areas where we already know bad fires occur".

He said the most populous state of New South Wales should stop developing properties at the top of steep, vegetated slopes which face west and bear the brunt of strong dry westerly winds.

"The places we really need to avoid around Sydney are areas which we know are most likely to be exposed to high intensity, destructive fires," Dr Penman told The Straits Times.

"A lot of the time, we are trying to (reduce the risk from bush fires) retrospectively, after we have already moved into these high-risk areas."

Bush fires are an annual occurrence in Australia, the world's driest continent. More than 80 homes are lost in fires each year but this is expected to rise as the population increases and as climate change is expected to cause more extreme and severe fires.

Victoria declared certain areas barred from developments following the devastating Black Saturday bush fires in 2009, which killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes. But other states, such as New South Wales, have not gone that far, preferring to rely on strict building standards.

There are now growing calls for the authorities and home owners to be more vigilant.

New South Wales fire authorities estimate up to a million houses in Sydney alone have been built too close to bushland. About 85 per cent of properties lost in Australian bush fires were within 100m of the bush and all were within 700m. In Sydney alone, almost 200,000 homes are within 100m of bushland.

"When the fires are out, questions have to be asked about the sense of living in bush fire-prone areas, whether enough is done to limit the risks, and how to attract enough volunteers to work on prevention as well as firefighting," said a Sydney Morning Herald editorial on Tuesday.

Australia has strict building standards for homes deemed by fire authorities to be high risk. But the cost of complying can be as much as A$200,000. The standards require high- risk homes to have thicker windows, water systems and metal screens outside the house to prevent embers entering, and a ban on timber balconies or exteriors.

Studies have shown that home owners can drastically reduce the fire threat by ensuring their homes and gardens are clear of trees, leaves and scrub. A study of the 2009 fires found clearing vegetation reduced the risk of losing a house from 70 to 30 per cent.

The problem is what the authorities should do when home owners fail to take such steps. In Victoria, councils can impose fines of up to A$1,444 for failing to clean up fire risks. But fines in other states are much lower and not always enforced.

Professor Jim McLennan, from La Trobe University, said fire authorities should be more proactive and inspect all households in fire-prone areas and then advise owners on reducing the threat. "Many people who live in these urban fringe areas suffer from 'bush blindness' - they don't see the bush as a threat and see it as a lovely natural environment."

But Dr Penman said the authorities should avoid dictating to home owners because it would undermine the community ethos needed to encourage neighbours to work together to reduce fire risks.

One thing the experts agree on is that, inevitably, Australians will continue to live near bushland. Some have moved there for the picturesque scenery, others because property values tend to be more affordable away from urban centres.

Yet governments have been reluctant to release detailed maps which show the precise degree of fire risk, perhaps because of the impact on property values and insurance rates.

"Australians need to be able to make genuinely informed decisions about where to live and in what circumstances they should stay or leave when the heat is on," Professor David Bowman, from the University of Tasmania, wrote in The Conversation. "We can't expect firefighters to keep trying to defend indefensible homes or, worse, risk their lives to rescue home owners who make bad bets on their own survival."

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