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Bush-Fire
Plans.....
Should
You STAY or EVACUATE Your Home?
To
Stay...
To Evacuate...
Bushfire
Emergency Warnings - Use of the Media
Should
You STAY or EVACUATE Your Home?
This is a question
you must answer well before a bushfire approaches your house. If your
home and property has been properly prepared, has had fuel reduction work
done and is set up as a safe refuge it can provide safety for your family
and allow you to defend your house from fire but it may be better to evacuate
as early as possible instead using prior plans. Only you can make this
decision for your own individual situation but you must make the choice
now, well before there is any threat of fire.
Elderly, very young,
ill or disabled members of the family MUST be evacuated as
should anyone who feels that they cannot cope with the trauma of
the fire.
Anyone who has NOT
taken sufficient action to protect their home and keep it as a SAFE
REFUGE may need to evacuate too. But planning to leave is just as
important as planning to stay and must be done early to safe-guard your
family. Staying may ensure your home is saved but only if you do the proper
planning, prevention and know what to do.
To
Stay...
Your home MUST
be properly maintained to be a SAFE REFUGE. Fire Prevention,
Cleaning Up, Spark Proofing, Landscaping, Water Supply and basic Equipment
must be taken care of to safe guard your property. Identify risks, threats
and plans of action and do what you can NOW.
You would need to
be physically able to defend your home and may need several fit,
able-bodied people to help you.
You will need to
be able to patrol your property for up to 6 hours or more to guard
against spot fires and have necessary equipment to extinguish them.
You need to be able
to endure heat, smoke, noise, strong winds and frightening conditions
as well as hard, physical work.
You will need suitable
protective clothing (long sleeved top and long trousers of natural
fibres, a wide-brimmed hat and sturdy footwear as well as gloves and
goggles for extra protection).
You will need some
fire-fighting equipment such as decent length hoses, buckets
of water (and fill the bath in case your mains supply water is cut off),
rags, towels and other items to block gutters, place under door gaps
to stop smoke entering, etc., and possibly reserve water and pumps,
roof sprinklers or knapsacks. What you need depends on your individual
property - ask if you are not sure.
You must also
know what to do - get some clear information from your local Fire
Service or Fire Prevention Officer, contact the Country Fire Service
(ph 1300 362 361 or www.cfs.org.au)
or visit your local council to get some printed advice. There are plenty
of information sheets available from the CFS or you can talk
to someone so that you are totally prepared. If you decide that you
do want to stay you should be confident that you are prepared and have
done all you should. Don't expect that a fire truck will be able
to be there with you when the fire arrives - we will try but our resources
will be stretched to the limit so we can't be at every house, be prepared
to act on your own.
Some Actions to
Take to Survive in a House Threatened During a Bushfire:
1. Dress
in protective clothing and drink plenty of water.
2. If you have time, block the downpipes with rags and fill gutters
with water.
3. Shut off gas and electricity at the main switches.
4. Close all doors and windows.
5. Block gaps beneath outside doors with wet towels or blankets.
6. Remove window curtains and push all furniture away from windows.
7. Fill all sinks and baths with water and place buckets nearby.
8. Shelter in the part of the house which is furthest from the
approaching fire, the coolest and cleanest air is near the floor.
9. The main fire can be expected to pass within five minutes.
For the next thirty minutes the house is at greatest risk from small
fires which may have just started, or are smouldering in debris.
10. Search for fires - with care. Inspect the house - particularly
the roof space to see if any have started.
11. If the house is alight and you cannot extinguish the fire,
cover all exposed skin and move onto burnt ground outside.
12. Do not move away from the area; await firefighters so that
they know where you are.
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To
Evacuate...
You need to decide
when you choose to go - leave well in advance of the arrival
of a fire front or even go to a safe refuge on any day in which there
is very high danger of a bushfire! You cannot wait until you see the
flames or are completely surrounded by smoke of the fire - it could
be too late to safely leave. Smoke and flying embers are an immediate
warning to leave but play it safe and leave early.
You must have a
planned escape route and alternative routes in case one should
be blocked. Allow lots of extra time - visibility is likely to be very
poor and traffic conditions may slow you a lot.
Decide on where
you will go - make sure it is a safe area. Lots of communities have
designated community refuge areas or even community evacuation plans
- find out if yours does! Have an alternative if you think the routes
there may be blocked.
Decide what you
will take with you - you need survival equipment (such as woollen
blankets, plenty of drinking water, medicines and first aid kit), essential
documents (your insurance policies, bank records), your valuables and
other possessions you feel you must take. Write a list now and
keep it where you can find it, also check that you know where everything
on the list is - that way you won't forget anything precious to you.
Pack what you
are taking EARLY - you don't want to leave it to the last minute
and spend your evacuation time searching for photos or possessions you
want to save.
Pack Pets and
their needs - if you are taking the family pets with you they must
have drinking water and be able to be secured once you
reach your safe refuge. If considering evacuation keep pets where you
can easily collect them, you don't want to have to leave them behind
or search for them when you should be leaving.
Even if you do decide
to evacuate you will need to do all that you can in the way of Fire
Prevention measures to protect your home. The Fire Service cannot
be at every home when a bushfire approaches and although they will
try their very hardest to save every home the best chance your home
has of surviving a bushfire is YOUR FIRE PREVENTION. Clean
gutters, spark proofing, cleared vegetation, sensible lanscaping and
well maintained fire-fighting equipment such as roof sprinklers help
because the better your Fire Prevention the better the chance your home
will survive - get some clear information from your local Fire Service
or Fire Prevention Officer, contact the Country Fire Service (ph 1300
362 361 or www.cfs.org.au)
or visit your local council to get some printed advice. There are plenty
of information sheets available from the CFS or you can talk
to someone so that you are totally prepared. Do it today!
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Bushfire
Emergency Warnings - Use of the Media:
In the event that
a major bushfire should move towards and threaten a township or heavily
populated rural area, the Country Fire Service will use local radio
and TV stations to warn the public of the danger and provide safety
advice. These will be issued in the form of "Official Bushfire Warnings"
-- Phases One to Four.
Please be aware
that these Warnings will be used by the Country Fire Service for major
fires only. At other times advice is given to local radio stations regularly
during the progress of any fire.
During the summer
have a battery powered radio on hand to monitor these reports.
PHASE
ONE WARNING: Will advise that a bushfire is burning in a
specified area and moving in a particular direction. It will also advise
residents to take precautions to protect life and property.
PHASE
TWO WARNING: Will be preceded by a loud warning signal. It
will then provide further advice on the movement of the bushfire and
areas that are threatened. Residents in those areas will be warned to
consider evacuation to a designated safe area if they consider their
houses not safe to stay in.
PHASE
THREE WARNING: Will also be preceded by the warning signal.
It will indicate the locality threatened and advise all persons in that
area to seek shelter in their houses and to keep off the roads.
PHASE FOUR WARNING:
Will broadcast the 'all clear' for residents to return to their properties
as the bushfire is under control.
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