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To establish a site’s BAL rating, land was surveyed by the various state authorities and classified as ‘bushfire prone’ or not, with the exception of most farmland. The BAL approach represented a complete overhaul of the existing framework for building in fire-risk regions, which had been based on CSIRO research. The previous standard had well-documented problems, and a wholly new regime based on a Bushfire Attack Level, or BAL rating, was already percolating through the bureaucracy. Introduction of the Bushfire Attack LevelĪt the time of Black Saturday in February 2009 a necessary review of the relevant Australian Standard 3959-1999 was underway. The political and community response to the horror of Black Saturday sparked a Royal Commission – and with thousands of people directly and indirectly affected, it also focused public attention on the standards required for construction in bushfire-prone areas.
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The Black Saturday fires in Victoria were especially deadly and stopped the nation in its tracks: 173 people lost their lives and over 2100 homes were destroyed. And unfortunately, with the effects of climate change, the trend globally is towards greater fire risk and more extreme fire events into the future. Mega-fire events are usually labelled a ‘black’ day, and records of these events can be traced back to the early 20th century, but not earlier. Without expert management, bushland soon grew dense and wild and when fires occurred in this new landscape they had open slather on vast swathes of country and could quickly become mega-fires. This approach ensured any wildfires had a short run of uncontrolled fuel and were thus easily managed. (1)Įvidence shows that pre-1788, regular cool burns were used to produce a variety of responses from the pastures and forests, allowing grain harvests and more effective selective hunting. Aboriginal people have used fire for at least 60,000 years as a land management and farming tool, in the same way as European-style farming uses fences and ploughs. Much of the country’s most iconic flora can survive fire and many species use it to assist in reproduction and germination. Building designer Dick Clarke unpacks his experiences with the standard, and suggests ways to improve its workability.Īustralia has a long relationship with fire. Almost a decade since Black Saturday and the subsequent introduction of Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) ratings, many people are still grappling with this aspect of the building regulations.