Colin Wood, Construction in Bushfire Prone Areas

In this episode of The Master Builders Podcast called “Building in Bushfire Prone Areas with Colin Wood”, co-hosts Max Rafferty and Robert Shaw sit down with Colin to chat about building in bushfire prone areas, with such factors as material selection and landscaping near the home being a major consideration.

Colin Wood has been looking at the issue of building in bushfire zones for the past 25 years and as you will hear, Colin was right in the middle of the recent bushfires in the Shoalhaven area which is located on the South Coast of NSW where he is the Section Manager for Building & Compliance with Shoalhaven City Council.

Colin is an Environmental Health and Building Surveyor and has 39 years experience with Local Government and Private Practice. He is the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors national representative on AS3959 and he has held that position since 1995. Colin is also the chair of the Construction Sub-committee to AS3959 (Construction in Bushfire Prone Areas).

HIGHLIGHTS

7:39 Colin explains how he got into designing in bushfire prone areas.
10:49 Key factors that affect the development of bushfires
14:42 Overview of AS3959
16:43 When to use AS3959
22:53 Core construction requirements for homes in bushfire prone areas
28:55 Decking timber for bushfire prone areas