I live in an area of bushfire risk and need water for emergency use

Australians living in rural or regional Australia or on the urban interface that surrounds major metropolitan areas enjoy a unique lifestyle.

These lifestyle advantages are not without risk, and many homeowners live with the threat of summer bushfires. Bushfires are one of the greatest challenges facing authorities and fast-moving fires can quickly overwhelm emergency services and threaten life and property.

With many years of community education, the risk of bushfire is well understood, and for many homeowners, springtime is when they start preparing their property for the upcoming fire season.

A bushfire plan is essential

It is the responsibility of every homeowner living in an area of bushfire potential to understand their risk and develop a personal bushfire plan.

The purpose of the bushfire plan is to outline what you need to do to help safeguard your property and what actions each member of your family will take on fire risk days and if a fire threatens. Fire authorities are clear – making a choice when a bushfire threatens is too late and people all-too-often make poor decisions when faced by the fear and anxiety of fire.

A fire plan will answer the question about whether to leave early or to stay and defend a property. Planning to stay is a big decision and requires the capacity to defend a property without relying on the support of emergency services and potentially without municipal power supply.

Independent fire-fighting capability

While planning is critical, bushfires are fast-moving and extremely unpredictable so even if you plan to leave early, it makes good sense to have some independent fire-fighting capability on your property.

A reliable and accessible water supply is essential and if you don’t have access to a swimming pool or dam, this will typically mean a water tank.

This might be a separate stand-alone water tank, but if your water tank is used for domestic water supply, you will need to ensure that you always have an adequate reserve of water for fire-fighting purposes.

The larger the water tank the better

At full capacity, a high-pressure fire pump can deliver 100-200 litres per minute. If you only have a small tank, your water supply could quickly be exhausted, so the larger the water tank the better, and a minimum tank size of 5,000L is recommended for fire-fighting purposes. If you ever have to confront a bushfire, you must have the necessary clothing and equipment to protect you from radiant heat and flying embers.

Remember, emergency services recommend that you leave early and with no time to think in the face of a crisis, the importance of proper preparation cannot be over-stressed.