Most of the driveways we look at before summer were fine when they went in. Years later the blackwoods and wattles hang low over the gravel, the gate is still the width it always was, and nobody has stopped to ask whether a fire truck could actually get up there. CFA's access standards are written for exactly that question, and plenty of properties in the Strzeleckis and the hills around Baw Baw would have trouble meeting them.
Below is what CFA asks for, where Gippsland properties tend to fall short, and how we build a track that still works after a wet winter.
What CFA asks for on a driveway or fire track
The figures come from CFA's property access page. For a driveway, gate or access track you need:
- a trafficable surface 3.5 metres wide, gate included
- another 0.5 metres clear on each side, with no posts, fences or shrubs in it, so a crew can open the truck's doors
- 4 metres of clear height above the track (overhanging branches are where most driveways fail)
- a load rating of at least 15 tonnes, for the track and for every bridge, culvert and creek crossing on it
- somewhere to turn if the driveway or internal road is longer than 100 metres, either a circle with a radius of at least 8 metres, or a T or Y head at least 4 metres wide with each arm at least 8 metres long
- on driveways longer than 200 metres, a passing bay about 20 metres long and 6 metres wide at least every 200 metres, or a road that's 6 metres wide
Access tracks have the same width, turning and passing requirements. They also shouldn't be too steep, any dead end has to be signposted, and trees and branches need to be kept back off them.
If your property is under a Bushfire Management Overlay, or you're building under a planning permit, there are extra design rules for access, including limits on curves and dips. CFA points to Clause 53.02 of the planning scheme for those. Your council or building designer can tell you which set applies to you.
CFA is clear that you shouldn't count on a fire truck reaching your property during a bushfire. Good access gives a crew the option of coming in. You still need a bushfire plan.
Where Gippsland properties usually fall short
Overhead branches are the most common problem. Blackwood, wattle and messmate along a drive drop to well under 4 metres as they grow, and a tanker stands a lot taller than a ute.
Gates and cattle grids come next. One sized for a tractor is often under 3.5 metres between the posts. Long drives also tend to finish at a house yard or shed with no room for a heavy vehicle to turn.
Then there's the ground itself. Old pipe culverts rust out, and a wet section that a car gets through easily would bog a loaded truck in winter. Along the shoulders, bracken, blackberry and burgan keep creeping in, so the clear width shrinks a little every year.
How we build a fire track that lasts
A track that only works in February isn't much use. Winter is what wrecks most tracks in Gippsland, so most of the job is about the base and about getting water off.
We open the corridor to full width and height first, using a tracked mulcher. It turns scrub and small timber into mulch on the spot, so there's nothing to burn and no green waste to cart away. Bigger fallen timber gets shifted with hydraulic grabs.
Then the CAT D5R cuts the formation and gives it a crown or crossfall, so water runs off the track instead of down it. On sidling tracks we make sure the outside edge is firm.
On a slope, drainage matters more than anything else we do. Table drains, mitre drains and cross-banks get the water off before it picks up speed. A track that carries water turns into a gully within a few winters.
Culverts and crossings are sized for the 15 tonne requirement and armoured where the water comes out. On clay and in the wet sections we lay crushed rock, sometimes over geotextile fabric, so the surface stays trafficable all year. It's the same method we use for access roads and driveways.
Turnarounds and passing bays are cut and surfaced in the same job, so the machines only have to be floated in once.
Before the work starts
A few things are worth sorting out before the machines turn up.
Removing native vegetation can need a planning permit. There are exemptions for fire protection, including the 10/30 rule around qualifying houses in bushfire prone areas, but they come with conditions. Our guide to land clearing permits in Gippsland goes through what to check, and your council's planning department can confirm what applies to your block.
For anything that disturbs the ground, lodge a free enquiry with Before You Dig Australia. If the work is on or across a waterway, you may also need a permit from the catchment management authority.
Timing matters as well. Get clearing and track work done well before the Fire Danger Period is declared for your municipality. Once it is, burning is restricted and some machinery work is limited on high-risk days. CFA lists the declared dates by council.
Keep it maintained
Every track needs a once-over each year before summer. Trim the regrowth back to full width and height, clear the drains and culvert inlets, and fill any soft spots. Slashing the shoulders in late spring holds the clear width without any heavy work, and it costs a fraction of rebuilding a track that's been left for five years.
If you're not sure your driveway or fire track would pass, give us a call. We'll walk it with you and point out anything CFA would want changed, then quote the work.