Defending Homes Can Be Dangerous

• You could die or be seriously injured defending your home, even if you are well prepared. It is risky, complex, physically and emotionally demanding and requires significant resources.
• Defending a house requires at least two able-bodied, fit and determined adults to work long and hard in arduous and dangerous conditions.
• If you live in a high-risk bushfire area, your home may not survive a fire. Homes are not designed or constructed to withstand fires when the Fire Danger Rating is declared Code Red.
• You can find out if your home is defendable by completing CFA's online Household Bushfire Self Assessment Tool or booking a free CFA site visit
• If your house is not defendable, the safest option is to leave before a fire is near your area.
• Defending your home is a sound option in less severe conditions when the Fire Danger rating is Severe or Very High.
• You need a comprehensively written and practised Bushfire Survival Plan to defend your home.

Defendable Space

• Defendable space is cleared space around your home aimed at minimising the damage from fire. 
• Work out how much defendable space you need by completing the Household Bushfire Self Assessment Tool on the CFA website or booking a free CFA Bushfire Safety site visit. 
• Defendable space will curb the effects of radiant heat and direct flame contact. But it won't shield your house from ember attack and does not make it safe for you to be outside during a fire.

Leave Early

• Before a Code Red day, decide when you will leave, where you will go, how you will get there, when you will return and what you will do if you cannot leave.
• Leaving high-risk bushfire areas the night before or early in the day is your safest option on Code Red days - do not leave at the last minute. Many people die trying to escape from fires.
• Consider staying at your property only if you are prepared to the highest level on Extreme days - leaving high-risk bushfire areas early in the day is your safest option on these days.
• Children, the elderly, people with illness or disability should leave high-risk bushfire areas early on fire risk days.
• Keep a checklist for what you need to do before you leave on the fridge or somewhere else accessible. Final preparations include filling gutters with water, moving pets and animals to safety, turning off mains gas supply and closing doors and windows. Visit cfa.vic.gov.au for more information. 
• Identify a safe place to relocate such as a shopping complex, large shopping strip or a central business district of a large regional centre.
• Plan what route to take and alternative routes if the road is blocked. A drive that will normally take five minutes may take two hours during a fire.