LIVING WITH WILD FIRESProtection of houses within

or near forest areas

MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE,NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

DEPARTMENT OF FORESTSwww.moa.gov.cy/forest

P.I.O. 125/2010 — 5.000 Published by the Press and Information Office

l Remain calm.

l If flammable materials such as wood used for the construction of your house, move in safeplace away from the house.

l Back vehicles into the garage facing the outside, and roll up all the windows. Never try tofind shelter inside your vehicle.

l Close the garage door, but leave it unlocked. If you have an electric garage door opener, dis-connect it so that the door to be opened manually.

l Open the entrance of your yard in order to facilitate the access of the fire fighters and vehi-cles.

l Shut off any fuel tank and gas cylinder.

l Remove immediately all flammable materials from the environment of your house and putthem in safe place

l Close all exterior vents.

l Close all exterior doors (don´t lock them) and windows.

l Remove lightweight and or non-fire-resistant curtains and other combustible materials fromaround windows

l If available, close fire-resistant drapes, shutters, or blinds. Attach pre-cut plywood panels tothe exterior of windows and glass doors

l Make sure that all garden hoses are connected to faucets, and attach a nozzle set on “spray”

l Leave a light on in each room and outside of the house

l Prop a ladder against the house so fire fighters have easy access to the roof

l Close all interior doors in order to reduce the spread of fire

l Make sure family members are aware of a prearranged meeting place If you have not yetbeen moved from the house in a safe place is not attempt to abandonment your house.

l Tune in to a local radio station and listen for instructions

l Provide to have lenses and extra batteries in case where the electric current it is interrupt-ed

l Make sure all family members are in the same room of the house.

l After the passing of the fire get out of the house and extinguish immediately small fires.

Remember… Protect the forest in order to protect your family and

your house

(B) WHEN WILDFIRE APPROACHES

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Every year big fires cause enormous and irreparable destructions. In many cases, forest firesthreatened residential regions too. Those permanently or periodically residing in houses in thecountryside or in forested regions have to bear in mind that fires constitute a serious threat totheir properties and lives. For this reason, essential precautionary measures should be taken, inorder to protect human lives and properties in case of forest fire..

l Do not burn wastes, land grasses and branches in your courtyard.

l If you light fire in your courtyard for food preparation, this should be done in barbecues. Thesurrounding area should be clear from grasses and other flammable material.

l Avoid if possible works that are likely to cause fire (use of welding, emery and other toolsthat cause sparks) otherwise take the required precautionary measures.

l Do not throw burning cigarette ends or matches in your courtyard. Use ashtrays.

l Call immediately the telephone number 1407 (free call on a 24-hour basis), giving preciseinformation about the locality of the fire.

l Remove your vehicle or other obstacles, to facilitate the passage of the fire engines

l Stay calm and try to extinguish the fire using any means you have in your disposal. Throwwater, or soil in the base of the fire or strike the fire using green branches. It is easy to sup-press the fire in its early stages.

IN CASE THAT YOU DETECT SMOKE OR FIRE CALL IMMEDIATELY

(1407

l Consider fire-resistant building materials for your house,l Enclose the underside of balconies and aboveground decks

with fire resistant materials.l Avoid the use of plastic gutters or plastic pipes on the walls of

your house.l Install only dual-paned or triple-paned windows. l Consider fire-resistant building materials for your roof since the roof is the most vulnerable

part of the house in case of a wildfire,

l Remove dead branches overhanging your roof.

l Keep your roof and gutters clear of dead leaves and needles.

l Cover your chimney outlet and stovepipe with a non-flamma-ble screen of 13 mm or smaller mesh.

1. Construction

Create a defensible space between the home and an oncoming wildfire. Modify thevegetation to reduce the wildfire threat and to allow fire fighters effectively defend thehouse.

l Create a fire trace around your house and removeall flammable materials from your yard,

l Break up continuous and dense vegetation of treesand bushes around your house.

l Prune the trees up to the height of 3 metres andremove all brunches of trees and bushes that touchupon your house.

l Remove all stacks of construction materials, pine nee-dles, leaves and other debris from your yard.

l Locate fuel tanks at least 10 metres from any structure and surround them with 3 metres ofclearance.

l If you have electric generator system, you must remove all the vegetation from the sur-rounding area and the exhaust pipe must be leads to container with water.

l Stack woodpiles at least 10 metres from all structures and remove all flammable vegetationwithin 3 metres of woodpiles.

l Build block wall around the yard of your house.

l Install fire extinguishers and learn how to use them,

l Keep in good condition other fire fighting tools such as hoes, shovels etc,

l Be provided with metal ladder that will reach the roof of your house.

l Maintain your house with water supply through one of thefollowing:

m Community water

m Hydrant system

m Emergency storage tank.

l If a swimming pool exists, install a pump and an appropriatehose.

l Place around your house taps or fire hose rill.

l Clearly mark all emergency water sources and notify your local Forestry Department andother responsible services for their existence.

l Identify at least two exit routes from your neighbourhood

l Clean all flammable vegetation at least 3 metres from roads.

l Cut back overhanging tree branches above roads.

2. The roof

3. Yard

4. Water supply

5. Access

Fire Danger

Living within or near the forest?

In case, you notice smoke or forest fire

(A) PREVENTION MEASURES