Stay and actively defend
Defending your home is risky - you could be seriously injured, suffer psychological trauma or die. The safest option is to be well away from the threat.
Defending a house requires at least two able-bodied, fit and determined adults who are physically and mentally prepared to work in arduous and difficult conditions.
Only consider staying with your property on Extreme or Severe days if you are fully prepared and can actively defend your home.
You'll need to read the complete Stay and Actively Defend section of the Fire Ready Kit (pdf 1791k) if you plan to stay and actively defend your property.
If you live in a high-risk bushfire area, leaving early is your only safe option on Code Red Days.
Key factors to consider
Your personal capacity
Defending your home is extremely hard work and requires significant resources. It may take hours and sometimes days of extreme effort.
Children, the elderly, and people with special needs or a disability should be well away from the threat.
Do not stay and defend if you, or somebody with you, suffers from physical or mental conditions such as a disability, asthma, heart problems, emotional or mental health problems.
Property preparation
We recommend you have a free property assessment by a CFA Fire Safety Officer if you're planning to stay and actively defend. An assessment will help determine:
- property maintenance and improvements to better prepare your home
- vegegation that needs to be managed, and the best way to do this
You can also learn what you must do as a minimum to reduce the effects of bushfire on your property in Prepare your house and property.
Understanding how a fire behaves in your environment will help you to better prepare.
House design and construction
How well your house is constructed and designed plays a big part in how it will withstand a fire.
CFA and the Building Commission have produced a guide to better prepare your home.
Download A Guide to Retrofit your Home for Better Protection from a Bushfire - pdf 2572k
Equipment and resources
If you are confident you are capable and prepared to actively defend your property, CFA recommends you have these resources and equipment as a minimum:
- 10,000 litres of water
- A firefighting pump that is protected from radiant heat and not reliant on mains power supply
- Firefighting hoses that reach around your home
- Protective clothing.
