Did you know a rural New Zealand fire crew will use (on average) at least 40,000 litres (or just under 9000 gallons) to fight a property fire?
And that your friends who live in town can expect a fire crew to turn up about 8-10 minutes after they dial 111, depending on the time of day, but you'll be waiting three or four times that long?
In the country, volunteer fire staff have to stop milking cows, fencing or other farm activities, get to the station, then get to you as quickly as they can but you can expect to wait around 20-25 minutes or more depending on your location, and it will probably feel twice as long as it actually is.
What’s worse, if you are found to be responsible for causing a fire on rural land, you will be personally liable for the costs associated with it. The costs of fighting fires in rural areas are passed on to the individuals responsible and can run from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars very quickly.
So what can you do to try and prevent a fire destroying everything?
1. Install a sprinkler system
A cheap home sprinkler that runs off your normal household plumbing is now available. It can be installed into a new three-bedroom home for around $1500 and is triggered by heat sensors, not smoke, so a sprinkler will only go off in an area where it senses a fire and not when you burn the toast. Ninety percent of fires will be controlled by just one sprinkler so water damage is limited.
It does cost more to retro-fit this system but the fire service believes the difference will be fairly small in most houses and the saving could be your home, precious family mementoes or even more importantly, the life of a family member.
A professional, licensed plumber will be required to install this system and can give you a more accurate price for your situation.
There's no need to test whether it is working, because if water is coming through the kitchen tap at a reasonable pressure, then the sprinkler system is fine. The odds of it going off accidentally or wearing out have been put at 1 chance in 16 million.
You will still need smoke alarms to warn you of a fire so you have time to evacuate safely.
2. Help the fire brigade
If your property only has tank water available, you may want to consider installing a second or even a third water tank. On a windy day, a fire can quickly spread to other buildings or even dry pasture and your water supply will be used up very quickly.
A water tank should have easy vehicle access right up to it - the average fire engine is 3m wide, 3m high and weighs 14 tonnes. That same truck will also need to be able to get up your driveway easily and possibly turn around to get access to your tank. If you have a bridge on your driveway, will it cope with that weight?
If you have a pressurized well, you can fit a coupling that fire fighters can connect directly into, saving more time.
3. Other precautions
The best way to protect your home from a vegetation fire, is to “starve” it as it approaches. That means removing as much flammable material as possible, up to 20 metres around your house. The defensible space this creates will not only reduce the possibility of flames reaching your house, it will also provide a safe space to allow firefighters room to defend the property should the need arise.
Other tips:
• Have your gate number displayed so it is easy to see.
• On a large property, or where access isn’t clear, have someone meet and direct fire vehicles in the event of a fire.
• Put a sign on available water supplies so firefighters can easily see where to go if you aren’t there to direct them.
• Have a family plan for escaping your home and a meeting point so children know where to go if they can’t find you.
• Have large fire extinguishers easily available – one in the kitchen, one in the garage, one in the barn. If you need to take more than 20 seconds to get it, you’re probably too late to fight an ever-growing fire.
• Never go back into a burning structure to save anything.
• Carefully dispose of cigarette butts, matches and other flammable objects like aerosol cans.
• If you have to burn rubbish, do so in an area away from trees, bush and tall grass. Make sure you have a rural fire permit, that no fire bans are in place and make sure a water supply is nearby. Don’t leave any fire unattended. Thoroughly soak a fire with water after it has died down.
• Keep mufflers and spark arresters on agricultural equipment maintained and watch out for rocks and metal when mowing.
• When hay-baling, check for hot bearings or hay caught in rollers and keep a fire extinguisher handy.
• Watch out for sparks when using welding equipment to build fences or repair equipment.
Nadene Hall
NZ Lifestyle Block magazine
