Australia must urgently develop bushfire standards in the aftermath of the devastating February bushfires, says Victoria’s building commissioner.
A lack of regulation is leading people to invest in “risky”, unsafe bushfire bunkers, the Bushfire Royal Commission was told when it resumed in Victoria yesterday.
Building standards in bushfire zones are the subject of the hearings tackling issues such as construction materials, fire resistant design, and bushfire bunker designs.
Victoria’s building commissioner and chair of the Green Building Council of Australia, Tony Arnel, told the hearing that under current regulation a bunker (or any underground structure) is not classified as a building.
Some of the bunkers are potentially dangerous because they do not have the necessary safety equipment, such as oxygen tanks, to withstand high temperatures.
“Some of them are very risky and we need to be aware of that and the community needs to be aware of that as well,” he told the hearing.
“I’ve been quite concerned that people may be too prepared to rush into these situations without fully considering the technical aspects of personal refuges.”
There are currently no standards in Australia for such designs, but Arnel said that they could be fast tracked within six months.
The commission has this month released a 367-page interim report making 51 recommendations. The report is the culmination of six months’ work, including four weeks of community consultations; examination of more than 1,260 submissions and eight weeks of public hearings involving a total of 87 witnesses.
“The Interim Report has focussed on those things we consider can and should change in the short term to make Victoria a safer place during the upcoming fire season,” Hon. Bernard Teague AO said.
Commissioner Teague said the underlying principle throughout the inquiry had been the preservation of life and this would continue to be the Commission’s focus.
The Final Report of the Royal Commission is due on 31 July 2010.
