New guidelines for building homes or adapting old ones to be more resistant to bushfires and heat have been published and released by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA).
Aimed at combatting the impacts of bushfires in Queensland, the new guidelines promise to help improve the bushfire resilience of new and existing homes.
Welcoming the guidelines, the Minister responsible for the QRA, Steven Miles said the Authority worked in partnership with the CSIRO to develop them, entitled Bushfire Resilient Building Guidance for Queensland Homes.
“Last year more than 3,000 bushfires burned 7.7 million hectares across our State, impacting 23 communities from the Far North to the New South Wales border,” Mr Miles said.
“Scientists are predicting longer bushfire seasons and more extreme bushfire conditions, so managing bushfire risk is essential for Queenslanders living in areas prone to bushfire,” he said.
“Based on extensive research, QRA and CSIRO’s hazard reduction experts have developed these guidelines, which provide innovative, practical and affordable solutions for adapting homes and gardens to be more bushfire and heat resistant.”
Mr Miles said building guidelines provided Queenslanders with information on best-practice building and landscaping measures that used tailored, site-specific solutions to adapt buildings for bushfire resilience.
Minister for Fire and Emergency Services, Mark Ryan said Queenslanders were familiar with the impacts of bushfires after experiencing two severe seasons in 2018 and 2019.
“Queensland is the most disaster-resilient State in Australia,” Mr Ryan said, “and we need to be prepared for whatever a bushfire season may bring.”
“These guidelines are important as they describe the various measures that can be taken to improve the chances of both people and property surviving a bushfire event.
“We’re also taking this opportunity to again encourage Queenslanders to take proactive measures to protect themselves from bushfires, such a creating a bushfire survival plan,” he said.
The ministers said the guidelines were developed in collaboration with Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, the Department of Housing and Public Works, Queensland Treasury, the Local Government Association of Queensland, Queensland Building and Construction Commission, Livingstone Shire Council, the Scenic Rim Regional Council, Queensland University of Technology (Dr Ian Weir), James Davidson Architec, and Barracuda Design.
The 140-page guidelines can be accessed at this PS News link.
