Balingup Fire Protection Events and Mitigation in Balingup, Western Australia | Community organisation

Balingup Fire Protection Events and Mitigation

Locality: Balingup, Western Australia

Phone: +61 497 555 120

Address: Forrest Street 6253 Balingup, WA, Australia

Website: https://firewisewa.me

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• Home improvement
• Community organisation
• Fire protection service

19.01.2022 A somewhat pessimistic view with not enough emphasis on the fact that residents can do a whole lot more themselves, in particular, in lessening fuels around their house and to at least 20m out from the house, plus blocking embers from entering the house itself.

19.01.2022 A sensible interview with a scientist who knows the reason for the intense bushfires being experienced in the eastern states - the fuel loads are way to high. None of the politicians seem to know anything about the main cause, high fuel loads, and how it can be remedied through prescribed burning, but also for some areas, by grazing or other methods.

18.01.2022 This has been considered by Western Power as a precaution on severe fire danger days. I don't think it is current policy.

18.01.2022 Even making a few changes near your house can make a difference in how safe you are when a bushfire comes close. For example remove the wood chips from the garden bed 2m from the house. Have bare earth or possibly a small lawn or make a new path from gravel or crushed rock.

17.01.2022 Firewise Excursion starts 10am this Sunday at the Balingup Fire Station. Come along and learn what you can do around your own home to reduce your risk of bushfire attack.

17.01.2022 Not just beautiful blossom, but both the plums and the pear (with the white blossom) being deciduous, will not advance a bushfire, instead they can serve a role in trapping embers. They offer shade in summer and let the light through in winter, so good choices for firewise gardens in bushfire prone areas.

16.01.2022 The bush spruced up with wattle and hardenbergia creeper flowering exuberantly after a prescribed burn a couple of years ago. These plants are quick to re-establish after a burn and are known as pioneer plants. Note the Xanthorrhoea (Grass Trees) which are looking healthy with most of the old leaves (thatch) gently burnt off

15.01.2022 The Excursion starts from the Balingup Fire Station with a short introduction about "firescaping", ie landscaping and gardening with fire in mind. View books about bushfire in Australia from the homeowners perspective with several topical books being given away. Then travel to see an example of the Parkland Cleared concept. Choice of vegetation and its arrangement in relation to the house are critically important to ensure greater safety from bushfires including ember attack. Thus we then visit a Balingup property that illustrates what can be achieved to reduce the risk from bushfires.

14.01.2022 Our Firewise Excursion is on Sunday 1 September, 2019. 10am to noon starting at the Balingup Fire Shed. Making your home and grounds safer has a lot to do with keeping the vegetation under control. It's often a case of less is better, especially if the shrubs, grasses and trees are flammable.... The photo is of me in December 2016 armed to combat some of the shrubbery that had spread rather too much. It's a Viburnum tinus gone wild. See more

13.01.2022 Not only prescribed burns are being done on Christmas Day to reduce fuels, but the work is shown on interactive maps available to everyone. These are world-class technologies and systems. Gail Duns Andrew Burrell

12.01.2022 This article is five years old and is relevant today - grow plants of low flammability, both trees and shrubs. However more recent articles have succumbed to the idea of growing natives, often to try to save water, but with the unfortunate result of promoting highly flammable plants in the garden. This creates an increased hazard of bushfires affecting residents and their property. Keep the eucalypts and similar plants with volatile oils well clear of the house to provide a ...safe area, a buffer zone, where nothing much can burn. Peter Stewart Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA Melissa Howard Louise Kingston

11.01.2022 Essential viewing for us in Bushfire Prone Areas. There is lots you can do to make yourself, your house and your surroundings safer.

10.01.2022 It's the time of the year when cutting back and taking out vegetation is necessary to lessen the chance of a bushfire taking hold. Removing what are essentially ground fuels is a good idea, so that there is less susceptibility to ember attack which may occur with a nearby bushfire. A small timber cottage is about 5m away from this verge so it makes sense.

08.01.2022 Here is some information about the new Rural Fire Division in WA under the auspices of Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA

07.01.2022 Intelligent coverage of the many, often simple, steps that a homeowner can take to reduce their risk of bushfire attack. Excellent!

06.01.2022 Tips on vegetation removal to reduce bushfire risk. Two tools that have proved their worth.

05.01.2022 Please share as widely as possible. There is no way we would want these Fire Ants to become established in WA.

04.01.2022 A rhododendron in its spring splendour. It is often difficult to grow in WA unless conditions are mild and reasonably cool. It likes acid soil, some morning sun and is definitely not a plant that would do well in full afternoon sun in summer. Under deciduous trees can be all right if the roots of the tree are not too vigorous. We also have a little wooden shed immediately to the north of it which provides shelter from strong winds and sun. It obviously likes the spot. Camelli...as are more robust and do very well in our valley soils in Balingup. It is best to provide regular summer watering for both these plant species as they come from regions that will have summer rain. Both camellias and rhododendrons are at the lower end of the flammability scale and keeping them moist means they are even less likely to fuel a fire and they will grow better, too. In all, given the right position, rhododendrons and camellias are worthwhile garden subjects for the shaded garden, especially for those of us who live in bushfire prone areas.

04.01.2022 This could be happening here to us, if the Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA were to try to involve homeowners more instead of just volunteer firefighters. An overriding problem is that DFES considers their main stakeholders are the volunteer firefighters not the residents. Until this strategic decision is scrapped and the focus shifts to bringing residents on board (who pay the ESL) as the principal stakeholders, there will not be sufficient emphasis on fuel (vegetation, mulch) reduction and house hardening.

02.01.2022 We're planning a Firewise Excursion for Sunday 1 September from 10 am to noon starting at the Balingup Fire Station, SW Western Australia. If you would like to know more about how you can make yourselves and your property less at risk from bushfires, here is your chance to pick up ideas and put them into practice. The images are of the two sides of the flyer we made which have more details. We are distributing 1000 flyers around the central SW. The excursion will be fun wit...h discussion encouraged. Some walking and car travel needed, though the excursion is in and around Balingup itself. All welcome! Bring your friends. Senator Linda Reynolds, Nola Marino MP, Peter Stewart, Bernie Masters, Michele Steinberg, Lucian Deaton, Louise Stokes, Louise Stokes, Gail Duns, Andrew Burrell, Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA, Melissa Howard