How To Protect Your Home Against Ember Attack
EMBER ATTACK PROTECTION A Blue Mountain Mesh Information Guide 2013How to protectyour home againstember attackSAFEGUARDING HOMES AGAINST BUSHFIREExtreme weather and dangerous fire conditions across southern Australia eachsummer serve a painful reminder of our ongoing need to safeguard our homes againstbushfire. As more and more Australians build homes adjacent to bushland areas eachyear, the number of people affected by the danger grows.The reality check for thousands of Australians living along regional and urban fringesare the statistics that show the high number of homes destroyed by ember attack. Thisis where houses ignite and burn due to wind borne embers as opposed to direct flamecontact by the bushfire front. Ember attack is in fact the main cause of house fire duringa bushfire.This issue was highlighted after the devastating Victorian bushfires in 2009, whichprompted new building regulations for homes built or renovated in bushfire-proneareas (AS3959-2009). The regulations were amended again in 2011 after the VictorianBushfire Commission decided that homes built in bushfire prone areas needed tofurther increase their ability to resist ember attack.This paper will look at: Why ember attack is a serious issue for home owners in bushfire-prone areas. What you need to do to comply with the Australian Standard for building in bushfireprone areas. How Blue Mountain Mesh meets all the Standards and offers the highest level ofprotection against ember attack. Australia is consideredthe most bushfire pronecountry in the world. Ember attack (not directcontact with the bushfirefront) is the main cause ofhouse fire during bushfire. Houses in regional andurban fringe towns andcities; in and aroundbushfire-prone areas aresusceptible to emberattack. Building standards havechanged in 2011 to helpincrease homes’ ability toresist ember attack. Having gutters that areclear of leaves and debrisis an important precautionto safeguard your homeagainst the spread of fire. Choosing an ember guardthat meets the Standardsand can also act as a gutterguard offers the bestprotection against emberattack.Photo : BERT KNOTTENBELD, May 2007bluemountainmesh.com.au1
EMBER ATTACK PROTECTION A Blue Mountain Mesh Information Guide BUSHFIRE IN AUSTRALIA:A REAL AND CONSTANTDANGER 2013DarwinAustralia is considered the most fire pronecountry in the world. As such, bushfires are anintrinsic part of Australia’s environment. Naturalecosystems and landscapes are shaped by, andrely on, patterns of fire. But as human settlementsencroach further into bushland and fire proneareas, fire poses a threat to people in nearly allparts of the country at different times of year asseasonal weather patterns come into play.When are the bushfire seasons? Most of southern Australia: Summer andAutumn NSW and Southern Queensland: Spring andearly Summer Northern Australia: Winter and SpringThe impact of extreme fire weather varies greatlywithin these regions, depending on the proximityto built-up areas, and in some cases the type offire that occurs.BrisbanePerthAdelaideWinter and SpringSpringSpring and SummerSummerSummer and AutumnSydneyCanberraMelbourneHobartAustralia’s bushfire seasons (BOM)Where are the worst fires?The areas facing the most severebushfires are usually in the southeastern corner of Australia, southof a line from Sydney to Adelaide,where hot, dry, strong winds aremost common. This area has thetallest forests and heavy fuel loadswhich produce some of the mostintense and devastating fires.Large parts of Victoria, the ACT,South Australia (Adelaide Hills),Tasmania, WA (Perth Hills) andNSW (Blue Mountains, SouthernHighlands, Gosford/Hunter Valleyand Wollongong) are key bushfireaffected areas.In terms of the total area burnt,the largest fires are in theRaging bushfire through the Lake Repulse / Meadowbank area, as seen from the village of Hamilton, TasmaniaPhoto : TONI FISH, 4 Jan 2013Northern Territory and northernareas of Western Australia andAustralia’s recent history has been marked by many terribleQueensland. However, the closer fires get to regional townsbushfire events. In February 2009, Victoria was devastated by theand urban centres anywhere, the potential for significant lossworst bushfires in Australian history. 173 people lost their lives,increases. Sadly, this often includes loss of homes, businesses2,000 homes were lost in 78 communities. Entire towns were leftand, tragically loss of life.unrecognisable as the fire burnt 411,000 hectares of land.bluemountainmesh.com.au2
EMBER ATTACK PROTECTION A Blue Mountain Mesh Information Guide 2013UNDERSTANDING FIRE:WHY HOUSES BURNWHAT IS ANEMBER ATTACK?Research has shown that the main cause of house fire duringa bushfire is from ember attack. Over 85% of fires that destroyhomes are started this way, despite the long held view thathouse fires start by direct flame contact by the bush fire front(CFA 2010). One of Australia’s leaders in bushfire urban designresearch, Justin Leonard from CSIRO’s Ecosystem Science teamexplains:Ember attack occurs when burning parts of trees (e.g. twigs,branches, leaves) are carried by winds in a cluster. Embers canrange from tiny sub millimetre sparks to large inch sized chunks,which lodge in gutters, get under doorways, enter roof spaces orwindows and start internal fires. The movements of embers froma bushfire are the primary cause of spot fires, which contribute tothe continued spread of a bushfire. Ember attack can occur for upto 30 minutes before the bushfire front passes a given house andover distances greater than 100 metres from the fire front.“The reasons why a house is burnt to the ground and lookslike it’s been impacted by a devastating fire isn’t reallybecause the fire was so intense. The fuel loads withinthe house and the fuel load that the house structure itselfrepresents is responsible for all that intense heat.“Usually a house is actually ignited by a fairly small insidiousember. And then the internal fire within that structuredevelops into quite a ferocious fire which causes all thatdevastation and damage.” (CSIRO 2011)This type of fire commonly starts from what is known as an‘ember attack’.500 metersbluemountainmesh.com.au100 meters Embers are burning twigs, leaves and pieces of debris Ember attack occurs when twigs and leaves are carried by thewind and land on or around houses Ember attack is the most common way houses catch fireduring bushfires Embers can land on top of debris in your gutters and set fire toyour house Ember attack can happen before, during and after thebushfire.(CFA 2013)House3
EMBER ATTACK PROTECTION A Blue Mountain Mesh Information Guide 2013WHAT DOES EMBERATTACK LOOK LIKE?A simulated ember attack by a Universityof California fire scientist has been used totest what sparks up first in a house underthreat from bushfire. In this case, emberscaused the wooden decking and driedleaves in the gutters to catch fire beforeanything else.“Embers like those shown in the pictureare the main cause of houses catchingfire during wildfires. Often flyingthrough open windows or attic vents,the embers set furniture and carpetsablaze and burn the house from theinside out.” Steve Quarles, University ofCalifornia(New Scientist 2013)The results can be devastating, with eventhe most sturdy, stately homes unable to escape the dangers.Fires can also start long after the fire front has passed, as was thecase with this historic Victorian property, which was completelydestroyed by fire sparked from an ember attack:Fire destroys historicVictorian homesteadA small spot fire sparked by emberattack took about 15 minutes to burnthrough the roof of an 100-year-oldhomestead on Carngham Station nearBallarat on 9 January 2013.Carngham Station’s live-in gardener,Ron Bolton, said the embers thatstarted raining on the property late intothe night quickly started an inferno asfire swept through central Victoria.“The CFA was actually on the grounds atthe time, but they couldn’t do anythingto save it (the homestead). It was justtoo hot,” Mr Bolton said.Mr Bolton said he was amazed at howquickly the house went up after whatstarted as a small fire on the corner ofthe house.(The fire had) pretty much calmed downand we thought it was pretty safe, thenwe just happened to see a little fire start Live-in-gardener Ron Bolton said he was surprised at how quickly the fire engulfed the main house. Picture:Nicole Garmstonin the corner of the house.Before the guys could get enough water on there the whole roof of the property was alight. It’s a pretty substantial house too. The actualhouse lit up about an hour or so after the worse of the fire had gone through.”(Herald Sun 2013)bluemountainmesh.com.au4
EMBER ATTACK PROTECTION A Blue Mountain Mesh Information Guide PROTECTING HOMESFROM EMBER ATTACK 2013“The greatest protection homes canhave from burning down in a bushfireis to ensure they are intrinsicallyember proof, so they don’t have anygaps where embers can get underdoorways or through vents or into roofspaces and start internal fires.”Many thousands of Australians enjoy living in ruralcommunities. Many more are choosing to build homes onthe fringes of towns and cities, close to bushland areas.As a result of this, many areas in regional and urban fringetowns and cities in Australia are susceptible to ember attackand subsequent house fires because of their proximity tobushland and fire-prone areas.Researchers have estimated that, in addition to homes in ruralareas, there are some 340,000 homes around major capitalcities in Australia at risk due to their location near bushlandboundaries. As urban expansion continues, this number is setto rise (Australian Journal of Emergency Management 2007).Do you live in a bushfire-prone area?Issues arise not only where homes are located, but also in howthey are built and maintained. Any gaps, cracks or areas whereembers and fuel can lodge significantly reduce a home’sresistance to fire. This is true of many of the bushfires thathave raged in Australia over the years. This was all too true inthe Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria in 2009.A bushfire-prone area is an area of land that can supporta bush fire or is likely to be subject to a bush fire attack(NSW Rural Fire Service 2013). Designated bushfireprone areas are declared by local governments andcertified by state fire services. Land maps have beenprepared to identify these areas within council zones.After the Royal Commission to the Black Saturdaybushfires, several recommendations about house designwere offered down. Specifically, it was recommended thathouses be designed and built in such a way that embershave less chance of settling on or inside a house – andsubsequently setting it on fire.Check with your local council to find out whether yourproperty is in a designated bushfire-prone area.BUILDING INBUSHFIRE-PRONEAREAS: WHAT THECHANGES MEANFOR YOUAll new homes built in bushfireprone areas must comply with theAustralian Standard AS3959-2009and AS3959-2009/Amdt2011Construction of buildings in bushfireprone areas. This Standard isprimarily concerned with improvingthe ability of buildings in designatedbushfire-prone areas to betterwithstand attack from bushfire,giving a measure of protection tothe people inside as well as to thebuilding itself.bluemountainmesh.com.auBUSHFIREATTACKLEVEL (BAL)Justin Leonard, CSIRO, 2011Even if you live in a leafy suburb, you should considertaking steps to mitigate the risk of ember attack toprotect your home from spread of fire.RADIANTHEAT EXPOSURE(AS3959)DESCRIPTION OF PREDICTEDBUSHFIRE ATTACKAND LEVELS OF EXPOSUREBAL – LOWInsignificantThe risk is very low, radiant heat on the building isinsignificant to warrant specific construction requirements,however, ember attack may still occurBAL – 12.50 to 12.5 kW/m2Primarily risk of ember attack; risk of radiant heat isconsidered lowBAL – 1912.5 to 19 kW/m2Risk is considered moderate with increasing levels ofember attack and burning debris ignited by wind borneembers; increasing likelihood of exposure to radiant heatBAL – 2919 to 29 kW/m2Risk is considered to be high. Increasing levels of emberattack and burning debris ignited by wind borne embers;increasing likelihood of exposure to radiant heatBAL – 4029 to 40 kW/m2Risk is considered to be very high. Increasing levels ofember attack and burning debris ignited by wind borneembers; increasing likelihood of exposure to radiant heatand some direct exposure to flames possibleBAL – FZ40 kW/m2 plus(Flame Contact)Risk is considered to be extreme. Direct exposure toflames from fire front is likely in addition to high levels ofradiant heat exposure and ember attackAS3959-2009 uses Bushfire Attack Levels (BALs) to determine construction requirements for each site5
EMBER ATTACK PROTECTION A Blue Mountain Mesh Information Guide After the 2009 Victorian bushfires, AS3959 was updated tothe current version – AS3959-2009. The standard contains sixbushfire risk categories and prescribes minimum constructionrequirements based on the Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) of a site.There are six BALs which describe different risk categories, fromBAL-LOW (insignificant risk) to BAL-FL (Flame Zone – highest risk).The Standard exists to provide property owners with cleardirection on how to increase the protection of their homes aspart of good site preparation and risk management. Anyoneconsidering building, renovating or retrofitting their homes needto be aware of the changes relating to ember guard complianceand what level of protection their site needs according to theirspecific BAL rating.AS3959-2009 was amended in 2011 when the Victorian BushfireCommission decided that homes built in bushfire prone areas 2013needed to increase their ability to resist an ember attack.The amendment requires that any gaps around the housegreater than 3mm need to be sealed by a mesh or perforatedsheet with a maximum aperture of 2mm so that embers haveless chance of settling on or inside a house and subsequentlysetting it on fire. The amendment also prescribes suitableconstruction materials for ember guards based on the specificBushfire Attack Levels. For homes situated in designatedbushfire-prone areas, a 2mm mesh gutter guard (steel, bronze oraluminium for BAL 12.5 - BAL 29 and steel or bronze for BAL-40and BAL-FZ) is able to be installed as an ember-guard solution.Other ember guard options include mineral wool and other noncombustible material that can fill the 3mm gap.See page 7 for an extract of the Standard for more details.EMBER GUARD VS. GUTTER GUARD: KEY DIFFERENCES EXPLAINEDWith the new standards requiring all new homes and buildingsconstructed in bushfire-prone areas to be guarded by using anember guard, many gutter guard manufacturers are claimingtheir products can be used as both an ember guard and a gutterguard.An ember guard is a cover inserted in or over an opening orcavity to prevent the entry of burning embers. An ember guardis not specifically designed to act as a gutter guard, but somegutter guards – e.g. Blue Mountain Mesh 2mm Superfine Mesh,is not only a high quality steel gutter guard, but also meets therequirements to act as an ember guard for your gutters stoppingaccess of embers to the roof cavity. Blue Mountain Mesh 2mmSuperfine Mesh can be used in other ember guard applicationsaround the home (e.g. sealing between roof components, at thewall line or in roof valleys and ridges) as it conveniently comesas a roll or sheet of mesh, which can be made into the otherapplications as required.While there are many benefits of using a gutter guard asan ember guard; it’s important to understand that emberguards and gutter guards are two different things and are notinterchangeable terms. Their reference is in regard to differentapplications and should not be confused in determiningcompliance with the Australian Standards and Building Code ofAustralia. A Gutter Guard is designed to minimize the access of debrisand leaf litter to the gutters of your home. In a bushfire-pronearea zone, it is not mandatory, but if you are installing one itmust : except for being non-combustible there is no otherrequirement of a gutter guard product An Ember Guard is designed to limit access of embers intoareas of risk, like the roof cavity. It must : be non-combustible have a maximum aperture (or gap) of 2mm. be made of corrosion-resistant steel, bronze or aluminiumin BAL 12.5 – BAL 29 be made of corrosion-resistant steel or bronze in BAL 40 &BAL FZWhat is an ember guard?An ember guard is a cover inserted in or over an opening orcavity to prevent the entry of burning embers.While there are many benefits ofusing a gutter guard as an emberguard; it’s important to understandthat ember guards and gutter guardsare two different things and are notinterchangeable terms. be non-combustiblebluemountainmesh.com.au6
EMBER ATTACK PROTECTION A Blue Mountain Mesh Information Guide HOW BLUE MOUNTAIN MESH COMPLIESWITH THE NEW STANDARDSBlue Mountain 2mm Superfine All Steel Mesh has been specifically designed to meetthe new Australian Standards requirements for the ember guard protection of sheetroofs for all Bushfire Attack Levels (BAL-12.5 clause 5.6.3; BAL-19 clause 6.6.3; BAL-29clause 7.6.3; BAL-40 clause 8.6.3; BAL-FZ clause 9.6.3-2011).The 2mm aperture is the prescribed opening to restrict burning debris from enteringgaps and igniting buildings. The products have also undergone rigorous, independenttesting by the CSIRO to certify that the materials used meet the definition of noncombustible prescribed in the Building Code of Australia, achieving Spread-of-FlameIndex of ‘0’. (CSIRO 2009). 2013Blue Mountain SuperfineMesh is a mesh with amaximum aperture of2mm, made of corrosionresistant steel, specificallydesigned to meet the newAustralian Standards forember guard protection forall Bushfire Attack Levels.RELEVANT EXTRACTS FROM AUSTRALIAN STANDARDAS3959-2009/AMDT 2011 CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS INBUSHFIRE-PRONE AREASRELATING TO BAL-12.5, BAL-19, BAL-29 RESPECTIVELYClause 5.6.3, 6.6.3 and 7.6.3Sheet roofs shall –b) have any gaps greater than 3mm (such as under corrugations or ribs of sheet roofing and between roof components) sealed at the fasiaor wall line and at valleys, hips and ridges by –I. a mesh or perforated sheet with a maximum aperture of 2mm, made of corrosion-resistant steel, bronze or aluminium; orII. mineral wool; orIII. other non-combustible material; orIV. a combination of any of items I, II or III aboveClause 5.6.1, 6.6.1 and 7.6.1These clauses also state the following should apply to all types of roofs and roofing systems:A) roof tiles, roof sheets and roof covering accessories shall be non-combustibleB) roof ventilation openings, such as gable and roof vents, shall be fitted with ember guards made of non-combustible material or a meshperforated sheet with a maximum aperture of 2mm, made of corrosion-resistant steel, bronze or aluminiumRELATING TO BAL-40, BAL-FZClause 8.6.3 and 9.6.3Sheet roofs shall –b) have any gaps greater than 3mm (such as corrugations or ribs of sheet roofing and between roof components) sealed at the fascia orwall line and at valleys, hips and ridges by –I. a mesh or perforated sheet with a maximum aperture of 2mm, made of corrosion-resistant steel or bronze; orII. mineral wool; orIII. other non-combustible material; orIV. a combination of any of items I, II or III aboveClause 8.6.1 and 9.6.1These clauses also state the following should apply to all types of roofs and roofing systems :C) roof tiles, roof sheets and roof covering accessories shall be non-combustibleD) roof ventilation openings, such as gable and roof vents, shall be fitted with ember guards made of non-combustible material or a meshperforated sheet with a maximum aperture of 2mm, made of corrosion-resistant steel or bronze.bluemountainmesh.com.au7
EMBER ATTACK PROTECTION A Blue Mountain Mesh Information Guide THE RISK OF USING NON-
Ember attack occurs when twigs and leaves are carried by the wind and land on or around houses Ember attack is the most common way houses catch fire . during bushfires Embers can land on top of debris in your gutters and set fire to your house Ember attack can happen before, during and
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