Sprinklers Protect House on Black Saturday

[MrPuddingate]

good work on the sprinkler system dude your a very clever man

[rubythepigrules]

The fire storm was so hot that day that the radiant heat melted my skin and it burnt my leg muscles down to the bone, that shows how hot it was.

[bandicootgully]

When the fire is that close there is no choice but to stay inside away from the 600C+ radiant heat. The back up plan was the large dam which is 25 metres from the front door. When the fire fronts pass and the home is alight there is normally enough time to get to the water safely. Yes i was shit scared but not too scared not to video tape it. I have 20 years of fire fighting experience. The last 2 hours before the fire i was updating advising others to leave early.

[KidsWithGuns1992]

Regardless, it was very silly of you to stay in your house when the fire got that close.

[instante101]

@KidsWithGuns1992 That reaction is how people die. Leave early, or stay and defend.

[KidsWithGuns1992]

@instante101 That's my point, I would have just left, screw staying behind to defend yourself - there's really nothing you can do when you have a blazing inferno surrounding all of your house.

[jarelynmonroe]

i can't believe you stayed in the house with just sprinklers to protect you. i mean, it's great that they worked! don't get me wrong. i just mean, wouldn't you still leave anyway? weren't you terrified?

[Keruaran]

No matter how prepared you are, a firestorm like that is still very scary stuff.

[MUDSWAT]

You know this is like spiting on a campfire, your lucky you and your house are OK.

[Netkiller3714]

That is absolutely the smartest thing I've seen. Having an outer house sprinkler system. Any fires come hit the switch, water force feild lol.

[ozjenva]

This vid impresses me so much. I too live in the victorian bush, but in a small town. If I was to build on a bush block, this system would be mandatory for me, especially after seeing this vid quite a few times.

[phoenixrisingharley]

I am so thankful to see this, we live in bushfire prone area, it is clear around our house and we have spend about $6,000 on 17,000 litre tank, diesel generator, 50mm PVC pipe, butterfly sprinklers and big pump to circulate 100L per min around system, it works like a beauty, so our plan is to turn it on 30 mins before go inside and hope for the best, and do a lot of screaming, if it ever happens, hopefully we will never have to use it, but I feel so much better having it.

Thanks Trevor,

[allysonand]

im so glad we have these in our 6000 sp ft house it might come in handy

[rvpKellz]

We need these in America...especially in California because they have wildfires every year.....they should be able to afford something like this

[voltscommissar]

@rvpKellz Joseph Mitchell of M-bar Technolgies has already got the US version on the market: "WEEDS" = Wind-Enabled Ember Dousing System

[rvpKellz]

So the house survived?

[cfavic]

yes

[Imaginationplay123]

@cfavic Is there any chance of more information on this set up?

Diesel pump and size, water source, irrigation material and size, sprinklers used, head, etc?

I understand the legalities in this system not being 100% safe but would be interested to see how they set it up, etc?

Cheers for any advice

[way2muchNFO]

crazy

[PolxenTwo]

Wow 6 days it came in handy

[carmenlee87]

I take my hat off to you sir

[SilverVonRaven]

That is so intense. I hope that systems like this and concrete bunkers become the norm for all houses surrounded by bush. I live in QLD surrounded by bush, and it has me thinking of ways to make sure we are safe if there is a major bush fire in our area. My heart goes out to everyone effected by what happened in Feb.

[LilithFilth]

...goosebumps....

[jwn96]

i live in bendigo and we were rite near the fire we had all our sprinklers on and were on the evacuation list it was so scary

[Charzy2111]

great to hear your smoke detector in the background..not the toast this time and no time to smash the begeezus out of it.

[MAKER6450]

holy shit...it looked like hell out there...im sure it wouldve felt like it.

[filhiki]

Amazing footage Trev - I feel sick just looking at it. What did the temp inside the house get up to - any ideas?

[bandicootgully]

I had my full PPE on in the house when this was taken. Many video footages that i see on the TV are of people in shorts and even thongs standing on their roofs. Standing on the roof gives you a good view but cooling your roof is ineffective. Get risd of the rubbish around the home that will be the kindling for your home.

[ROBwithaB]

bandicootgully

Are you Trev? Is this your house? If so, I must commend you on the well-conceived sprinkler system. And full props to all in the CFA.

I noticed in the one video that most of your couches etc were OUTSIDE the house during the fire. I'm guessing you carried them out to avoid having too much fuel INSIDE the house.

Does your PPE include hood with air tanks/rebraethers ?

What about radiant suit (reflective foil)?

I am trying to get in touch with survivors/witnesses.

Will msg.

[bandicootgully]

Hi Rob, The PPE was standard CFA wildfire gear without the hard hat whilst inside and no BA. The couches were outside funiture on the verandah that was dragged to the yard but under the sprinkler spray. They were covered but the canvas cover blew off and it all burned. the dog will miss that couch.

[brenyboy26]

I know it seems pretty protected but i dont think that you should have stayed in the house, there is no guarrantee that your house could of stayed

[bandicootgully]

The house might not have survived but the dam is very close as another option.

[nancyQ99]

imagine the fear of those who were in their houses with no sprinkler system & knew what was coming. This is horrific footage.

[walker2006au]

at the speeds the fires were going if the full blaze came your way itd destroy your house regardless of the sprinkers.

[ROBwithaB]

Hence the need for bunkers as a refuge of last resort.

One does not always KNOW beforehand how intense the fire is going to be, until it hits you, becuase of all the different variables involved, especially wind speed and direction. So generally, one should try to stay and defend, because in many cases one would be able to save the structure.

But in the worst firestorms, when you realise that you can't do anything more, you abandon the house and head for the bunker.

[ROBwithaB]

cupcakes

Please be aware that it is not my intention to argue or lay blame.

I think that this video demonstrates that there ARE things that can be done to protect lives and property. This simple sprinkler system saved the house and its owner.

It is interesting that NOT ONE of the many volunteer firefighters was killed during the fires. (And these guys are generally going IN while the public is heading OUT.) They have the training, equipment and experience.

Let's try to share that expertise.

[ROBwithaB]

cupcakes

I sort of put 2 and 2 together in the meantime from your comments on the other video that you were directly involved with firefighting.

1. Firstly, let me say that I take my hat off to all in the CFA for the selfless efforts during the fires.

2. I knew that quite a few volunteers had received injuries but I didn't know it was so bad. Wishing all a speedy recovery.

3. I DO realise that this was an exceptional 1/100 fire event.

All I'm trying to say is: let's learn from it.

[voltscommissar]

@ROBwithaB Section 30 (1) of the Country Fire Authority Act 1958 says the Chief Officer has the power to PREVENT fires, so he could have ordered the power companies to turn off the rural power grid until the windstorm blew through. I'm serious and wrote a web page making the case for such leadership and innovation: (three Ws)(dot)voltscommissar(dot)net­/bushfires/

[gollstar]

@voltscommissar, leadership and innovation are you joking they all had dinner to go, while the little fellas are out there busting gut and putting their lives in danger, the fat cats are out partying on their bloated salarys, why was Marysville not warned,

why has no put up their hand and admited they fugged up,

This is not derected at the volunteers or the police who where on the ground you guys are number 1 its derected at the pukes that wiped there hands of the matter on the day,

[gollstar]

@voltscommissar, leadership and innovation are you joking they all had dinner to go, while the little fellas are out there busting gut and putting their lives in danger, the fat cats are out partying on their bloated salarys, why was Marysville not warned,

why has no put up their hand and admited they fugged up,

This is not derected at the volunteers or the police who where on the ground you guys are number 1

[bandicootgully]

The full blaze did come my way and up hill.

i t was not just the sprinkler system but a blank page design for the property 20 years ago that was based on an event of Ash Wednesday proportion. the sheds took a lot of the wind force.

[bvienet]

Very happy to still have you Trev!

[GoldCoastGirl]

Ah yes I agree! Both. +1

[GoldCoastGirl]

I say instead of the "fire bunkers" ... this "fire suppression system" should be mandatory instead. You and your home is living proof that it works.

[ROBwithaB]

Or both. Plus some sort of fire-proof shutters over the windows.

Every house that is saved provides a buffer against the approaching fire front, rather than additional fuel. Also, an intact house provides a refuge for its inhabitants.

So sprinklers should be mandatory. But there will be situations where the sprinkler system fails for whatever reason. And in a severe drought, there may not be sufficient water available for the duration of the fire.

Bunkers are then the last resort.

[tubester4567]

I so agree. If you live in the bush and especially if you have kids a bunker is a must. They should be mandatory.

[ROBwithaB]

I also think they should be mandatory in high risk areas. The problem is that people don't know how to construct such a bunker. It is pretty much trial and error at the moment, with a very high cost of error.

I'd like to see a number of designs, each being tested by the CSIRO or similar, so that people could know for sure what to build/buy to guarantee survival even in the worst fire.

Will send you a video.

[tailoredvid]

I agree - there should be funding for the CSIRO to figure a lot of things out - the ideal fire proof house. We will never stop fires happening (being one of the driest countries) - we just need to be more prepared for when they do. How much money has been put into fighting terrorism, and yet one day of fires has been far more devastating for lives and homes, not to mention the environment; trees and animals.

[GrahamAndFriends]

yes I agree, even with the sprinkler system, the fire around would be very scary. Would a pity he couldn't put his bmw bike in the house. Maybe all houses in the area should have such sprinkler systems.

[samantharox1327]

That would of been so scary!

Lucking he his still alive and his house is still there