Brain Taylor Bushfire Preparedness
Bushfire management is a year-round job, but it’s especially important heading into summer. We’re facing one of our hottest in years here in Victoria, so I’ve been putting in the extra yards now to keep my home and family out of harm’s way.
23.01.2025
I’m lucky enough to live on a beautiful property on the Surf Coast, but with that comes the need to be prepared for summer. Bushfire management is a year-round job, but it’s especially important heading into summer. We’re facing one of our hottest in years here in Victoria, so I’ve been putting in the extra yards now to keep my home and family out of harm’s way.
We extended our home a few years ago now, and because we’re on land with a lot of thick bushland we needed to get the professionals in to get a bushfire management plan in place.
Basically, because we’re on a steep block with a lot of trees and dense ground cover, once a fire gets going it travels quickly and we’d have pretty much no chance of getting in to fight it. The advice we were given was that prevention was really the only option, so clearing a firebreak, about three metres wide, and keeping it clear year-round is essential.
Now, there’s a few things you want to have thought about before you start clearing a firebreak. For me, that includes trying to protect the native plants, like gum trees. We bought a bush block because we wanted a bush block, so we want to keep as much of the native bushland as we can.

You’re also working with some pretty powerful equipment, chainsaws and the like, to clear your firebreak, so you need to be wearing the right protective gear. As a football commentator, my eyes are my job so I never even think about going into any clearing jobs - even hand clearing - without wearing eye protection.
Chainsaw chaps, as well, are a must before you head out with a chainsaw, and there’s a few other bits of protective gear you want to get your hands on including a helmet, safety glasses and earmuffs, gloves and some good steel-cap boots.
And of course, you’ve got to make sure your equipment is in good nick, so giving it a good clean when you’re done, and taking it in to your local STIHL dealer for a regular service to keep the chain sharp.
Once you’ve got your gear on, you want to start by clearing some of the big stuff, the trees and smaller saplings that can get in your way. I find the STIHL battery chainsaws, with the push-button start, are ideal for this sort of thing where you have to keep putting it down and turning it on and off.
Once you’ve got the big stuff out of the way, all you really need is to go over the ground pretty regularly with a brushcutter to keep any new growth low. Something people don’t always realise is seeds can last about seven years in the ground, and a lot of those will turn into saplings or weeds so you need to keep going back over the ground you’ve already cleared.

Like I said, this isn’t a quick job and ongoing management is pretty essential if your firebreak is going to be effective. Just getting your firebreak to a level where you can manage it with smaller equipment takes years, especially if you live on a block like mine with dense ground cover.
I’ve been working on my block for about three years now and have only just managed to clear a break about 180 degrees round my house, about 400 metres around, so having the right tools for the job is pretty important to getting the area cleared.
One thing we learned when we put our extension in is that every property has a different bushfire risk, so you really need to get an expert in to figure out your management plan. The CFA has some great resources on their website to help you figure out if your property is in a high risk area, and how to get a plan in place if you are.
BT’s top 5 fire safety tips
- Speak with the experts to help develop your fire safety plan
- Prevention is best! Create a firebreak and maintain this all year round
- Building a firebreak around your whole property can take years, but persistence pays off. Keep at it and stay vigilant.
- Get the right equipment to do this work, including all the appropriate safety gear
- Head to the CFA website for information on how to prepare and protect your property