Fire prevention

If you see a fire, call the Fire Brigade immediately on 000

Preventing fire by clearing fire hazards is a shared responsibility between government, emergency services and the community.

The risk of a fire is significantly reduced when properties are well-maintained.

It is your responsibility to maintain your property, in line with Council’s Amenity Local Law under the Dangerous and Unsightly Land and Nuisance provisions.

Fire hazards

You can reduce the risk of fires starting and prevent fire from spreading to neighbouring properties by clearing any flammable or hazardous materials that could fuel a fire.

Fire hazards include:

long, dry or dead grass
dry or dead branches, leaves and plants
rubbish piles
chemical and gas containers
newspapers
piles of firewood or building materials
piles of garden mulch or compost.

What you can do

There are many ways you can maintain your property to remove fire hazards and reduce the risk of fire:

mow lawns regularly, keeping grass no more than 15cm high and clearing piles of dead grass
store building materials and firewood away from your home and fence line
remove all dead foliage from outdoor areas, especially in roof gutters and in undergrowth
remove unused flammable chemicals – you can drop them at the Boroondara Recycling and Waste Centre
Book a free bundled green waste collection. Available in April and October.

Complying with the local law

We check for fire hazards to minimise the risk of fire starting on residents’ properties. This helps prevent fires from spreading to neighbouring properties.

We identify and inspect vacant land in the lead up to summer, to make sure it is not a fire risk. This ensures that the owner is complying with the Amenity Local Law. Property owners are contacted with a ‘Notice to Comply’ if properties are poorly maintained or hazardous. Property owners may be issued with an infringement for continued non-compliance. The fire hazard will be removed at the owner’s expense.

Report a fire hazard

We investigate reports of possible fire hazards throughout the year.

If you see a potential fire hazard, you can:

Smoke alarms

Smoke alarms are compulsory in every home under Victorian law. A working smoke alarm protects you and your household by providing early warning of a fire and time to escape safely.

Smoke alarms must be placed:

on or near the ceiling of every storey, and
between each bedroom area and the rest of the house.

If you are renting a house or unit, it is the landlord's responsibility to ensure smoke alarms are installed and in working condition.

Specialised smoke alarms with visual and tactile alerts are available for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Smoke alarms in the home of older people or those with disabilities should also be connected to a personal alarm system. For more information or to buy specialised smoke alarms, visit Expression Australia’s web shop.

To learn more on smoke alarms and fire safety, visit Fire Rescue Victoria’s website.