on monday, the cockburn council sent inspectors to look at all the blocks in out area to ensure they had sufficient fire breaks
the firebreak has to be about a cars width around the perimeter of the property to allow fire truck access in an emergency
we have been in the area 40 years, we understand and accept this.
fI dont really understand the logic though of coming around mid summer and telling every they have to plow their firebreak. after plowing the sand is soft and wont firm until after lost of rains. if a firetruck goes down the blocks now, they are likely to get bogged.
thats not my gripe though.
when they inspected the properties, they didn't bother to knock on the door of any homeowner and speak to them about the firebreaks. I only know they were here on monday because it was my day off and I saw them out the front of our house.
On thursday letters went out telling people that their firebreak wasn't good enough and what they had to do.
my neighbour got told that his firebreaks were fine, but he had to make access in the north west corner of his block (via a break in his fence or a gate) to allow fire trucks access to get onto and off his block.
they can already get through on the north east corner. they can also go down his driveway on the south west corner, around the back of his house and join onto the north firebreak, or use the south one instead
the stupidity if him being told to make access on the north west corner, and why he doesn't have access there is (and if the council checked their maps they would know this) there is a sump at the end of the firebreak.
my neighbour will make the access if he is forced to, but the first firetruck that tries to use it isn't going to go very far and the sump will collapse under the weight of the truck.
if they bothered to knock on his door though, he could have told them this and saved them posting him a registered post letter