Firebreaks
A firebreak is a strip of land where vegetation has been removed or modified to contain or to reduce the spread and intensity of any veld fire that may occur in or enter a property.
When is a firebreak necessary?
Landowners are required to prepare firebreaks on their side of the boundary where there is a reasonable risk of veldfire. How do we know what a reasonable risk is? The courts use the “reasonable person test”:
if a reasonable person in the position of the landowner would foresee that by not preparing a firebreak, a veld fire could start or spread across his or her land, causing harm to someone else, and therefore would prepare one, then the landowner should also prepare one.
Removing alien plants
One of the main contributors to veld fires in South Africa is the presence of alien plants. The DWAF has embarked on various projects to curb alien plant invasions through the Ukuvuka Fire Stop Programme. Through this programme alien plant species are removed which contributes to more soil moisture and less fuel that can burn.
What should / do to reduce my risk of veld fire?
You can prevent a fire from affecting your home and family.
If possible, make firebreaks around your home (use mower, spade, rake), trim branches well clear of the house. Clear roof and gutters of leaves, twigs, etc.
Remove all rubbish, leaf litter and shrubs growing too close to house. Keep grass short and green.
Fit wire screens to doors, windows, vents, and enclose all gaps, roof eaves and the area under your house.
Keep a ladder handy for roof access (inside and outside) and fit hoses to reach all parts of the house and garden. If water is not connected, obtain a high-pressure pump. Store wood, fuel, paints, etc well clear of the house.
If possible, check you have adequate insurance cover for veld fire.
Decide on a household plan to either leave early or stay to protect your home during a veld fire.
What should I do if a veld fire is imminent?
Leave or Protect?
If you prepare as noted above, unless you have decided to leave early or are ordered by authorities to do so, stay in the house after taking these extra precautions:
Phone the Disaster Risk Management office in your municipality-don’t assume they know.
Turn off gas and power. Close all external windows and doors, and block gaps from inside with wet towel.
Fill baths, sinks, buckets, etc with water.
Plug down pipes with rags and fill gutters with wet water.
Remove curtains and furniture away from windows.
Wear long, woolen or heavy cotton clothing, solid boots or shoes, a hat or woolen balaclava, and gloves.
Hose down wall, garden etc on sides facing the fire and watch for spot fires from flying sparks or embers.
When the main fire-front arrives go inside, away from windows, while it passes (usually 5 to 15 minutes). Quickly extinguish any fires, which may have started in, near, or under the house or roof. Check inside roof too.
If the house is alight and can’t be extinguished, move away onto burnt ground.
Don’t leave- wait for help.
Listen to (battery) radio for official information.
What if/ am caught in a fire while driving?
Don’t drive into or near veld fires. If caught in a veld fire don’t drive through flames or thick smoke.
Stop at a clearing or roadside in a low vegetation area. Turn ignition off, and hazard lights and headlights on.
Stay inside unless near shelter. Keep vents, windows and doors closed. Lie inside, below window level, under a woolen blanket until fire front passes.
After the main fire passes, if heat or fumes inside become severe, get out and move to already burnt ground, keeping your whole body covered.
The petrol tank is unlikely to explode in the period you need to stay in the car while being shielded from the deadly radiant heat of the fire front.
What if/ am on foot?
Find shelter
Don’t panic — cover all exposed skin.
Move across-slope, away from the fire-front, then down-slope towards the rear of the main fire.
Find open, or already burnt ground. Don’t try to out-run fire, or go uphill, or even through low flames, unless you can clearly see a safe area close by.
e If you can’t avoid the fire, lie face down under a bank, rock, loose soil, or in a hollow, or if possible get into a dam or stream, but not a water tank.
