A lot more than you might think, as it turns out.

The CSIRO “flame-tested” an eco-friendly building at the Rural Fire Service Training Facility at Bimbimbie on Wednesday, and found that the small building, constructed of ModakBoard, a magnesium oxide building panel, around a steel frame, stood up well.

The hay insulation between the two layers did not ignite.

“It didn’t get anywhere near the temperature it would need to ignite,” CSIRO project leader Justin Leonard said.

“The occupants would have been quite uncomfortable, but they would have survived.”

The house was subjected to bushfire-like flame intensity, with a view to providing information for bushfire regulations reform, for use by building authorities across Australia.

“The flames simulated a worst-case scenario of bushfires,” Mr Leonard said.

“It will provide a lot of background information for building authorities to improve regulations, and also to the community to give them a toolkit of options of how to approach bushfire safety.”

At present, building regulations for bushfire safety focus on individual components, but the idea behind this was to test an entire house.

Mr Leonard said the worst performing area was the seals around the door, but that the windows prevented the fire getting through.

“The windows turned opaque and sealed themselves,” Mr Leonard said.

The CSIRO has performed a series of test burn simulations over the past few years with varying results. The last time they conducted such a test at the Bimbimbie facility was in 2010, but the building stood up to the flames much better this time.

Mr Leonard said the Eurobodalla was an appropriate place to conduct such a test.

“With the level of fires you experience here, it is all quite relevant,” Mr Leonard said.