Be Bushfire Ready
What will you do in a bushfire?
It’s a fact. If you and your family home are well prepared, you stand a better chance of surviving a bushfire. Join with everyone else in ensuring that your home and family are protected by following the four simple steps to getting ready for a bushfire.
By taking 20 minutes with your family to discuss what you’ll do during a fire, you could save their lives, as well as your home.
Please click here to access downloadable information.
Four simple steps to being bushfire ready
DISCUSS PREPARE KNOW KEEP
Step one
DISCUSS
Decide to stay, but not prepared
Take this time to discuss your plan with your whole household and ensure you have all of the Equipment Checklist items as listed below. If you don’t, you are not prepared to tackle a major fire. Ensure you all understand your role and what to do. Run through the plan in simulation to check how effective it is. Please familiarise yourself’s with the Action Checklist below and be ready to complete these tasks.
Equipment Checklist
Firefighting equipment you will need
- Hose that can reach entirely around your house
- Water supply of at least 10,000L e.g. Water tank, pool, dam
- Petrol/diesel water pump, fuel, hoses and nozzles
- Ladders to access the roof
- Buckets and mops
- Shovels and metal rakes
Protective clothing
- Wide-brimmed hat or hard hat
- Eye protection goggles
- Protective face mask – P2 is recommended
- Loose, long sleeved cotton shirt and long pants or jeans
- Leather gloves
- Sturdy leather boots or shoes
Action Checklist
Before the fire has arrived
- Turn off gas mains/bottle including the BBQ
- Move flammable items away from the house
- Block drains with sand filled socks and fill gutters with water
- Have a plan for animals and pets
- Patrol the house before the fire arrives looking for embers
- As the fire approaches wet down the house and garden
- Move firefighting equipment to a safe place inside the house
As the fire is upon you
- If flames are on top of you or the heat becomes unbearable move inside until the fire front has passed (usually 5-10 minutes)
- Patrol the inside of the house, including roof space looking for fire, sparks or embers
- Shelter in a room on the opposite side of the house from the approaching fire front and ensure you have clear access to an exit
Immediately after
- Check the house inside and out for fires, including the roof cavity, under the house etc…
- If possible and safe to do so, check that your neighbours are ok
- Alert relatives or friends to advise them that you are safe
- Patrol your home for several hours looking for small fires, hot spots or burning embers
Step two
PREPARE
Trim and mow
Trim overhanging trees and shrubs that are very close to you house. Mow grass and remove the cuttings and if possible clear an area of 6 metres around your home.
Remove
Remove all flammable materials that can burn from around your house. (e.g. doors mats, fire wood piles, leaves, paint, fuel, decking furniture, portable gas bottles etc…)
Clear
To prevent embers setting alight to your roofing cavity, clear and remove debris and leaves from gutters on your home.
Prepare
A study hose or hoses that will reach all around your home. A reliable water source and pumping system and/or sprinkler system.
Step three
KNOW
Know the bushfire alert levels
Step four
KEEP
Keep key information at your fingertips
In an emergency call: Triple Zero (000)
Install the smartphone ‘Fires Near Me’ app.
Listen to local radio, TV and news websites and finally stay up to date on social media.
facebook.com/nswrfs | twitter.com/nswrfs