Don't let fires happen again

Volunteer firefighters say there are "nightmare" areas in the Perth Hills where a bushfire could potentially destroy more homes than those lost in last year's devastating blaze in Roleystone and Kelmscott.

The prediction comes as an expert warns that the fire danger in the urban fringe is higher than it was last year, with heavy fuel loads created by a wet winter.

Bruce Buckley, principal weather analyst for insurer SGIO, said the day of the Perth Hills bushfire, which destroyed 71 homes and damaged another 39, was windy but only about 30C.

"If you had had those same conditions but an increase in temperature of 10C, we could have lost into the hundreds of homes," he said.

"If we see a 45C day, we could see really large numbers of houses lost, at no fault of the firefighters."

Almost a year on from last year's February 6 blaze, firefighters are frustrated at the "apathy" of residents in fire-prone areas who still fail to safeguard their properties.

Roleystone volunteer fire captain Noel Plowman, one of the first on the scene of last year's fire, took _The West Australian _to a forested area dotted with houses he described as his "worst nightmare".

"If a fire gets in there, you'd have, easy, 100 to 120 houses go without any way of stopping it because the terrain is so steep and people have bush right up to their houses," he said.

"People don't think it's going to happen and that worries me, especially in a couple of areas.

"You could have every fire unit sitting at the bottom of the hill and you still wouldn't be able to save that area."

Dave Gossage, a volunteer fire control officer from Serpentine-Jarrahdale, said there were several places around WA and along the Darling escarpment, including parts of Kalamunda and Mundaring, which were "bombs" in terms of fire risk.

"The people who live (in high-risk areas) often don't see it like that until there is a fire running up towards their house," said Mr Gossage, who represents the metropolitan urban fringe on the Bushfire Association.

"You see people's apathy towards their own safety.

"I had it quoted to me, 'It's never going to happen to me, so why should I prepare myself?'

"Someone who lost their home in the fire said to me, 'It won't happen again in my lifetime'.

"The reality is, you own the land, you own the risk."

He said volunteer brigades were available to help residents reduce fuel loads, especially if they were unable to, but "nobody seems to want to make the call".

Dr Buckley, a former senior Weather Bureau forecaster, said some residents in the Perth Hills were better prepared but others had bushes up against houses, making them extremely difficult to defend in a fire.

He urged people to ensure they had adequate insurance and to do their bushfire preparations well in advance.

"The lesson we should learn from those devastating fires is that by the time it becomes evident your property is about to be threatened, there is often very little time to do anything," Dr Buckley said.

Mr Gossage said only a minority of people had ramped up their bushfire preparations in the past year.

"A strong community is one that understands where they live and the risks associated and comes together to support each other to reduce that risk," he said.