Protecting your shed against bushfire

As recent years have taught us, the risk of bushfire is a very real Australian threat to lives, property, and communities.

Just as the focus should be on protecting your home against that threat, it should also extend to additional items including infrastructure like your shed.

With that in mind, NOW is the best time to prepare and protect your shed, ahead of the bushfire season.

Clear your gutters

One of the key ways that bushfires swiftly spread is through ember attack, where hot embers from the fire front are blown into surrounding areas.

To combat this risk, you should ensure your shed gutters are free of leaf litter and debris. As a general rule of thumb, shed gutters should be cleaned once or twice a year, including in advance of the bushfire season.

It‘s also worth installing gutter guards to prevent the build-up of leaf litter and debris.

Keep firewood away

While it might be tempting to stack your firewood against the wall of your shed, this creates a fire risk. It can also make your shed more appealing to creepy crawlies like snakes.

Keep firewood away from your shed area and separate to your house.

Trim back overhanging trees

In order to keep your gutters clear, trim back trees that overhang your shed area. This also helps further minimise your bushfire risk by reducing fire fuel that is in the vicinity of your shed.

Mow your lawn

One of the best ways to mitigate fire risk around your home and other infrastructure is to keep your lawn mown. This reduces the risk of ember attack and also helps stop the spread of a fast-moving ground fire.

Install metal flyscreens

Combatting bushfire risk involves considering all the areas where embers could enter a building and start a fire. This includes windows, vents and eaves.

For windows, consider installing metal flyscreens which stop embers entering the building, then fill in or cover other gaps such as vents and eaves.

Have a readily available water supply

Should a fire take hold on your property, it’s important to have a readily available water supply.

Look at your shed and consider whether existing hoses reach that far or whether there is water available in the vicinity of your shed in the form of a water tank that you can run a hose from.

If bushfires are occurring in your area, be sure to keep the roof of the shed wet. This might involve hosing down the roof and filling your gutters with water.

Consider a sprinkler system

On that note, a sprinkler system is a great idea when it comes to mitigating bushfire risk. Sprinklers can be installed on the shed roof, and then turned on in the event of a fire.

Install a fire alarm

We might be talking about bushfires here, but the reality is anything you can do to minimise the risk of general fire in your shed is a worthwhile investment.

After all, this is likely to be a place where you store valuable machinery, tools and perhaps even personal items.

That means a smoke alarm might be worth considering. Modern smoke alarms can quickly alert you when a fire is starting and new smart alarms can even send an alert directly to your phone.

Seeking some shed inspiration?

If you’re looking for some shed inspiration, you can browse our range of shed products, including carports, garden sheds, agricultural sheds and granny flats, here.