Why gutters matter in a bushfire
Embers, not the fire front, take most homes. The NSW RFS says ember attack accounts for 85% of houses lost, and that embers can travel more than 100 m ahead of a fire.
A gutter full of dry leaves is an easy place for an ember to catch, right at the roof edge. Monier, the roof tile maker, says roof spaces are highly vulnerable to ember entry, so gaps along the gutter line matter too.
What makes a guard suitable for bushfire areas
There's no single product called ember guard. What counts is the material and the fit. NSW RFS guidance says gutter and valley leaf guards should be non-combustible, which means metal mesh rather than plastic, foam or brush.
For upgrading existing homes, an older NSW RFS guide, written to the 2009 edition of AS 3959, says gaps over 3 mm should be sealed or covered with mesh no coarser than 2 mm, made from corrosion-resistant steel, bronze or aluminium. Ask your installer what the current edition asks for at your BAL.
Fit is the other half. The mesh has to close the gap between gutter and roof along the whole length, valleys included. A neat guard with gaps at every rib still lets embers in.
Where your BAL comes in
A Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) rates how exposed a site is. Monier says there are six levels, from BAL-LOW to BAL-FZ (the flame zone). In Victoria, the rating is based on fire danger index, slope and surrounding vegetation, and it sets the construction type required.
For homes already built, the rules mostly bite when you build or renovate. In Tasmania's Bushfire Hazard Areas, replacement materials must meet the BAL set for the original build. If you're planning work, ask your council what applies.
On the gutters themselves, BlueScope says Colorbond gutters and downpipes can form part of a compliant system in bushfire-prone areas, up to and including BAL-FZ under AS 3959:2018.
What you can do before fire season
You can
- Clear leaves from gutters you can reach safely from a single-storey ladder
- Check from the ground after storms for mesh that's lifted or come loose
- Ask your council whether your property is mapped as bushfire prone
Leave to a roofer
- Fitting ember mesh, trims and valley covers with no gaps
- Clearing valleys and anything else that means being on the roof
- Tiled roofs, where edge tiles are lifted to fit the mesh
- Replacing box gutters during a renovation near bush
If we lived near bush
We'd have metal mesh fitted as full cover over every gutter and valley, and ask the installer to show us how the gap at the roof edge is closed. We'd still have the roof line cleared before each fire season, because the NSW RFS recommends it and mesh keeps most leaves out, not all. And if a renovation is coming, we'd get the BAL sorted first, so the gutters are done once, to the right standard.
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