The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) has released for public comment a draft national standard for private fire bunkers on 25th January, 2010.This was announced by the ABCB chairman Graham Huxley. He told that the development of this technical standard was a significant step towards the future regulation of private bushfire shelters. The Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission had earlier recommended a national standard for the design and construction of bushfire bunkers.
This uniform standard will be helpful for the building designers and approval authorities to make professional judgments in respect of the technical and safety aspects of the fire bunkers and fire shelters. The finally approved standards would be included in the building codes of Australia in its 2011 edition.
If state and territory governments wish to develop their own regulations prior to 2011 they could use the draft to make their own standards as an interim measure.
Mr. Graham Huxley however warned that extreme caution should be taken when using fire shelters and misplaced reliance could be life threatening.
At present the interim regulations on fire bunkers are in force in the state of Victoria. The regulations made it compulsory the standardization of fire bunkers through approval by building surveyors on satisfying certain conditions. Apart from this, it requires some amenities inside a fire bunker when people use it as a shelter during bushfire. Basically any structure going to be used as a fire shelter should have,
- Safe access to the building.
- Adequate sanitary facilities.
- Provision for looking the external environment.
- Safe egress from the building.
- Provision for identification of such a structure by suitable sign board.
Before installing such a structure, the persons responsible for such installation must specify,
- The maximum number of people that it can accommodate and the duration of maximum stay.
- Actions to which the building may be subjected.
- The possible effect of buildings, vegetation and topography in the vicinity.
- The effect of external fire intensity.
- The prevention of unpleasant experiences within the structure during a fire.
Without proper drainage it is difficult to remove water form a fire bunker especially underground ones. Since most of the fire bunkers are installed into side or slope, special care should be taken not to allow water inside. The base of the bunker may be provided with slotted pipes. To stop ground water and rain water entering into the bunker, a waterproof barrier may be used. A sealable drain hole will allow the water to drain away. However it should not be kept open all the time. If it is kept opened during a fire time smoke and radiant heat may enter inside the bunker. Therefore the sealable drain hole may be kept closed all the time except during a maintenance or cleaning time. This will help to keep away bugs and other creatures entering into the bunker. The drainage can be blocked by brick which is covered by a wet cloth. In any case the opening should not be exposed to radiant heat.
