BUSHFIRE ACTION GUIDE

In bushfires, radiant heat, dehydration and asphyxiation are the main killers. Well-prepared houses resist brief exposure to fire, protecting occupants who can then save their homes.

BEFORE THE BUSHFIRE SEASON - Prevent/Prepare

• Remove rubbish, leaf litter and native shrubs close to buildings.
• Form a wide firebreak around your home, eg short, green grass (use mower, spade, rake), trim branches well clear of the house. Clear roof and gutters of leaves, twigs etc..
• Fit wire screens to doors, windows and vents, and enclose all gaps, roof eaves and the area under your house.
• Store wood, gas, petrol, paint etc well clear of the house.
• Keep ladders handy for roof access (inside and out). Fit hoses to reach all parts of the house and garden. If mains pressure water is not connected, obtain a high pressure pump.
• Fit wire screens to doors, windows and vents, and enclose all gaps, roof eaves and the area under your house.
• Check you have adequate insurance cover for bushfire.
• Agree on a household plan to leave early or stay to protect your home during a bushfire. If leaving, plan when, where, how you will go and what to take.

IF A BUSHFIRE APPROACHES - Leave or Protect

Prepare as above, unless you have decided to leave early or are ordered to do so. Stay in the house after taking these precautions:

• Phone 000 - don't assume the fire service knows.
• Turn off gas. Put door mats inside. Close vents, windows, doors, and block gaps from the inside with wet towels.
• Fill baths, sinks, buckets and bins with reserve water.
• Plug downpipes with rags and fill gutters with water.
• Remove curtains, cross-tape windows and move furniture clear.
• Wear long, woollen or heavy cotton clothing, solid boots or shoes, a hat or woollen balaclava, and gloves.
• Hose down all walls, garden etc on sides facing the fire and watch for spot fires from flying sparks or embers.
• As the main fire-front arrives, go inside with hoses, away from windows, while it passes (usually 5 to 15 minutes).
• Quickly extinguish any fires which may have started in, near, or under the house or roof. Check inside roof too.
• If the house is alight and can't be extinguished, move to burnt ground. Don't go - wait for help. Listen to battery radio for updates.

IF CAUGHT IN A FIRE, DRIVING - Shelter in Car

• Don't drive into or near bushfires. If caught in a bushfire don't drive through flames or thick smoke
• Stop in an area of low vegetation. Leave motor running and airconditioner (recycle), hazard lights and headlights on.
• Stay inside unless near safe shelter. Keep vents, windows and doors closed. Lie inside, below window level, under a woollen blanket for skin protection.
• After the main fire-front passes, if car is on fire or heat and fumes inside are severe, get out and move to already burnt ground, keeping your whole body covered with the blanket.
• The fuel tank is unlikely to explode in the period you need to stay in the car while being shielded from the deadly radiant heat of the main fire-front.

IF CAUGHT IN FIRE, ON FOOT - Seek Shelter

• Don't panic - cover all exposed skin and hair.
• Move across-slope, away from the fire-front, then down-slope towards the rear of the main fire-front.
• Find open or already-burnt ground. Don't try to outrun fire, or go uphill, or through even low flames, unless you can clearly see a safe area very close by.
• If you can't avoid the fire, lie face-down under a bank, rock, loose earth or in a hollow, or if possible get into a dam or stream, but not a  water tank.

EMERGENCY SURVIVAL REQUIREMENTS

If faced with the dangers of body dehydration, smoke inhalation and radiant heat from flames, emergency protection is possible, even in high-intensity fires. Wrap yourself in a heavy, pure wool blanket and carry water to drink; use moistened blanket corner as a smoke mask.