Protect your home

One of the biggest changes to building a home in recent years has been the introduction of the Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) rating – designed to improve the ability of a home or building to withstand a bushfire attack.

While these regulations mean that if you are building or renovating, you now have a clear direction on how you can potentially make your home safer – what are the things you can do to help protect an existing home?

Often overlooked for bushfire protection, Crimsafe security products have been tested to meet the highest level – BAL FZ – reducing your risk without the need to be closed in by shutters that will take all of your natural light and also leave you unable to see what is going on around you, which in an emergency situation can be critical.

Made from a unique, Tensile-tuff woven stainless steel mesh, it’s the way that Crimsafe is fixed into the frame, by use of a screw-clamp system, that gives it superior strength to many of its competitors.

Through the use of the screw-clamp, metal screws actually fix through the mesh into the frame, allowing it to withstand the impact of burning debris better than other products that rely on plastic wedges which may melt, weakening the system or resulting in the mesh actually coming out of the frame.

With a small aperture size of 1.5mm x 1.5mm, risk of bushfire spreading through floating embers is also significantly reduced.

Installing Crimsafe on your home will not only provide protection in the event of a bushfire, it also works as a security product – keeping out unwanted intruders – along with insects such as flies and mosquitoes.

Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that covering your windows to prevent debris and ember attack may make it difficult or near impossible to get out yourself, if you have an internal fire or another emergency and you can’t access your doors.

This is where a lot of thought has gone into the development of Crimsafe and its range of products – Safe-S-Capes feature a keyless locking system that can be quickly opened from inside, turning your window into an emergency escape.

Crimsafe actually has a full range of products – designed foremost as a security product – that have also been tested and approved for use in Fire Attenuation and Balustrading; have been found to filter 62 per cent of UV radiation, while still allowing 53 per cent airflow – much better than standard insect screens.

When looking for Crimsafe, make sure you visit crimsafe.com.au to ensure you are dealing with a licensed Crimsafe dealer; there are many competitors out there who claim to be the same as Crimsafe, but once you’ve seen for yourself the real Crimsafe, you’ll recognise the difference.

Obviously every home and situation is different, and at times, no amount of preparation can protect your home, so it is vital to have a plan and be prepared to leave early.