Central Coast Council has completed two sections of fire trails at Mardi to help protect residences in the area from the risk of bushfire.

The fire trails between Old Maitland Road and Scadden Ridge Road in Mardi have been upgraded with corrugated concrete to allow better access for emergency services to the area in the event of a fire and for hazard reduction burning activities.

Corrugated concrete has proven effective in steeper areas of the Coast and significantly reduces maintenance costs.  Council has saved around $50,000 a year after a similar upgrade to Kincumba Mountain six years ago.

Council’s Senior Manager, Property Management, Mr Peter Stokes, said Council had been upgrading fire trails across the Coast to ensure emergency services can better protect the community from the threat of bushfire.

“Mardi has been assessed as a high risk area for bushfires which is why these trails were prioritised in this round of works,” Mr Stokes said.

“We know that better fire trails mean our emergency services can get to where they need to be more quickly and every minute counts when it comes to saving lives and properties.”

Council invested $240,000 on 280 metres of new fire trails through some of the most rugged terrain in the Mardi area.

Council’s Administrator Mr Ian Reynolds, said with the threat of fire now quite real, it is time for local residents to prepare their own properties for the bushfire season, if they haven’t already done so.

“We are doing everything we can to mitigate direct and indirect bushfire impacts on residents and will continue to do so,” Mr Reynolds said.

“Last financial year with the support of Rural Fire Service grants programs, Council invested over $1.3 million in bush fire mitigation activities.

“The threat of fire on the Coast is very real and I urge everyone to prepare a bushfire survival plan for their home and family and ensure that their property is ready for the fire season.

“Embers can travel long distances and are one of the main reason houses are lost during a bushfire. There are a number of simple things residents can do to protect their homes and better prepare for the bushfire season.”

Residents can prepare for the bushfire season by:

• Clearing leaves from gutters on a regular basis or installing gutter guards
• Raking leaves and mowing long or dry grass around the house
• Storing firewood, mulch and woodpiles away from the house
• Ensuring vents on LPG tanks face away from houses
• Installing metal fly screens on windows and doors to ember-proof the home
• Removing any materials or structures from fire breaks and fire trails on public land

More information on preparing for the bushfire season can be found at rfs.nsw.gov.au

Recent analysis by Macquarie University-affiliated Risk Frontiers group, and reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, reveals the Central Coast as home to the most at-risk homes near Sydney, with about 40,000 addresses within 100 metres of bush.