Forgot your password?
New user?
Document Actions
8.3.
Firebreaks
Up one level
Firebreaks are an essential feature of rural fire protection. Farmers or owners of homes with large areas of surrounding grassland should try to have firebreaks established before the fire season starts.
Preparation
-
Initial ploughing of a break is best carried out in winter or very
early spring, before the grass begins to grow. Just before the fire
season the ground should be worked with a set of disc harrows. Plough
around the fenceline, with the last working leaving a clean face or
furrow on the side nearest to that from which fire may be expected to
come.
It is important to check that there has been no new growth on the break after the final cultivation. When a break is ploughed too early and left unworked, grass will grow from under the sod. Introduced weeds may also start to grow. In this case further cultivation will be needed. Delaying cultivation until grass is long is also a bad practice as it leaves the dry grass as a fuel on the ground or covered by only a shallow working of soil.
Mowing or slashing:
-
Slashing is an economical method of fire prevention. The cut grass
should be removed; use it for fodder. Grass is best cut after it has
seeded but has not yet died. Extensive mowing is essential on smaller
farmlets where little grazing is carried out.
Grazing:
-
Close grazing in the home paddock is most effective for homestead
protection. Grazing of roadsides, using temporary fences, may also be
appropriate in some cases, however obtain council approval. Practise
roadside grazing only where the roadside vegetation is dominated by
exotic grasses. Where native trees, shrubs and grasses are present it
is much better to maintain the roadside as a shelterbelt.
Grazing tends to destroy the native shrubs and grasses and prevent
natural regrowth. More flammable exotic grasses and weeds are
encouraged and, in the long run, the roadsides become a greater fire
hazard.
Green summer crops:
-
Potatoes, rape or lucerne, amongst other crops, are excellent
firebreaks if strategically placed near the home area, and they will
provide an economic return as well.
Planning your firebreaks
To be effective a firebreak system must be part of a well considered fire control plan:
- Place major ploughed breaks along the northern and western
boundaries of the whole property; normally the greatest danger lies
here. However, do not neglect the eastern and southern boundaries;
provide some form of firebreak on these sides as well.
- Provide protection adjacent to highways, main roads and railway lines.
- Place subsidiary breaks along internal fencelines, at least 2
m wide each side of the
fence except where there are trees on one side - in this case a wider
break should be placed on the open side of the fence with furrows
turned towards the fence on both sides.
- Surround the homestead area with firebreaks.
- Major firebreaks should be as wide as possible and not less than 10 m. Once properly planned and formed, firebreaks are easily re-formed with little cost in labour and time.
