Experience has shown that many residents receive little, if any, official warning of an approaching fire. Will you have time to leave the area safely? When will you go? Where will you go? What will you take? Who will you tell? What about your pets? Will you know in which direction the fire is travelling?

If you decide to evacuate, or to have some members of your family leave the home, you must plan to do so early, well before it gets hot, dry and windy, and before the fires reach your vicinity.

The announcement of a Total Fire Ban or increased fire danger should be the trigger for your decision. Many people visit family or friends on high fire risk days.

WHEN YOU LEAVE

If you are leaving in a car, make sure woollen blankets are taken with you in case you are forced to seek refuge on the roadside. There are certain essential items you should take with you when you leave your home including water, legal documents, insurance policy documents, certificates, prescriptions, medication and so on.,

Will you go to a designated refuge area (do you know the closest one to your home?), a neighbour’s house, or a place well away from the threatened area?

When the time comes to put your plan into action, be decisive and stick to your plan.

If you don’t drive or don’t have access to a car, you may need to make arrangements to book a taxi or look up the bus schedule. Or ask a friend or family member to collect you on high fire risk days.

DON’T LEAVE TOO LATE

If you can see the fire it’s probably too late to leave. You should not attempt to leave your home at the last minute, when radiant heat is at its peak. Lives are most often lost during unplanned last-minute evacuations.

The vast majority of deaths in bushfire involve people caught in cars or on foot. Once the fire is close, visibility will be very poor and travel will be hazardous. Your house offers better protection from radiant heat than your car. Fallen trees, power lines, abandoned cars or even firefighting vehicles may block roads.

Whatever your decision, it is essential that you and your home are prepared to withstand a bushfire. If the fire is upon you before you can safely leave, you might be forced to shelter in your home.

BE PREPARED

Whether you plan to stay or go, it is essential that your home is prepared as well as possible to withstand a bush or grass fire. If you ignore the need to reduce ground fuel prior to, and during, the Fire Danger period, you may endanger not only your property, but the lives and property of your neighbours.

A well thought out bushfire plan should address all major issues. Make sure everyone in the household knows the plan and what their roles are.

COMMUNITY FIREGUARD GROUPS

This is a community education program designed to reduce the loss of lives and homes in bushfires. It is a good way of learning more about bushfire.

The basis for the program is that many people may have to face a fire without the immediate protection of the CFA, which cannot guarantee that every person and home in a large area with individual protection during a major bushfire.

The program helps people develop strategies which are simple, inexpensive and effective.