Wood burns. It is a truth that has shaped the Australian bush often dramatically and drastically. Yet this natural phenomenon has also pushed timber species to evolve, and forge survival under the harshest circumstances. Once again it is a story that while not uniquely Australian, is certainly a theme repeated throughout the natural world of this wondrous continent.
Code requirements for wood interior finish materials are expressed in terms of flame spread index numbers. These values are determined in a standard fire test which evaluates the surface burning characteristics of a material. Several native Australian timber species perform remarkably well on these tests.