This Standard specifies requirements for the construction of buildings in bushfire-prone areas in order to improve their resistance to bushfire attack from burning embers, radiant heat, flame contact and combinations of the three attack forms.
Although this Standard is designed to improve the performance of buildings when subjected to bushfire attack in designated bushfire-prone areas there can be no guarantee that a building will survive a bushfire event on every occasion. This is substantially due to the unpredictable nature and behaviour of fire and extreme weather conditions.
This Standard does not provide any requirements for fencing and screen walls. Fencing and screen walls may reduce exposure of a building to embers, radiant heat and flame contact from the bushfire front and from other potential fire sources such as adjacent buildings. The efficacy of fencing and walls depends on its resistance to ember, radiant heat and flame attack and potential for ignition and subsequent sustained flaming, height and structural design and specific site configurations. Therefore no specific advice has been provided in this Standard but designers may consider utilizing fencing and walls to improve house survivability beyond the base levels provided in this Standard..