By LAUREN HAYWARD
BLACK Saturday was one of the worst natural disasters that Australia has ever seen. As we come into the first bushfire season since the tragedy we will see changes to policy in action. The traditional Leave Early or Stay and Defend policy has been replaced with Prepare. Act. Survive. This new slogan accompanies a policy that focuses on preservation of life over property, emphasising community education, preparation and decisiveness. This policy coincides with a new fire danger warning system as well as a new warning policy for emergency services.
What’s in?
There is the new slogan Prepare.Act.Survive. This slogan and accompanying policy has been adopted by all state and territory fire authorities across Australia. Each authority is responsible for educating its community though different ad campaigns. The NSW rural fire service has employed actor Peter Phelps to explain the new fire danger levels and explain the new slogan. The actor appears in three television commercials, each explaining the different stages of the policy. The commercials run on free-to-air television through NSW and the ACT. Each state is running similar campaigns.
What’s out?
There is no mention of wait and see, and the policy itself as well as the TV campaign states that waiting is potentially deadly. The campaign also removes the presumption that fire services or personnel will rescue those in affected areas. The new policy encourages evacuation upon a bushfire threat, as opposed to evacuation when there is a fire approaching.
What’s new?
The new policy has several components. One is the Prepare.Act.Survive. slogan. Another is a new fire-danger warning system with six levels of fire danger: Low, Moderate, High, Very High, Severe, Extreme, and Catastrophic. These are used in conjunction with a numerical value associated with predicted weather patterns and the presence of fires in a region. There is also a new warning system from emergency services. This final warning system is to be implemented in the Survive part of the policy. These warnings are: advice, watch and act, and emergency warning. Essentially, if an emergency warning has been declared there is little hope of evacuation.
What’s right?
The policy has shifted focus from saving property to saving lives. This is a move in the right direction to prevent a repeat of Black Saturday. The policy also emphasises leaving early rather than staying to defend and reminds communities that they are unlikely to receive help from emergency services during a bushfire, solidifying the message of leaving early to survive. The recent bushfires in Queensland have seen this new policy in action and it has been a success. In an environment that is extremely dry with temperatures reaching record highs, the loss of only one home and no loss of life can be seen a successful implementation of the new policy.
What’s wrong?
The policy assumes that each householder will complete a bushfire emergency plan. These plans are provided on each state’s fire authority website and are easily accessible; however, a busy family taking the time to sit down and fill out their bushfire emergency plan is an unrealistic expectation. The policy emphasises evacuation, which in theory is the safest thing to do, however it is not clear where the evacuees can go or when it is really necessary to leave. The policy states that evacuation is necessary on any day that has a “severe” fire danger warning or higher, unless houses are properly constructed and prepared to face a bushfire. With most houses not adequately protected from bushfires, there may be hundreds, if not thousands, of people evacuating their homes over the bushfire season.
When does a bushfire become a threat?
You may have prepared your home; you may be ready to act; you intend to survive, but how do you know when a fire is an actual threat?
Russell Edwards of the Country Fire Authority of Victoria says,“Unless it is made very clear that people who do not plan to stay and defend should be leaving as soon as there is a fire within 75 km in the direction of existing or forecast wind, we are doomed to see Ash Wednesday and Black Saturday repeat themselves again and again.”
The policy itself does not include this kilometre reference and instead relies upon warnings issued by emergency services.
So, how will you be warned?
The policy incorporates several methods of warning, including radio, internet and text-message alerts. Alerts and updates are to be issued at exactly the same time with the same wording to remove any ambiguity. The warnings from emergency services will be circulated in the three different warning levels: advice, watch and act, and finally, emergency warning. These warnings are issued with the assumption that those receiving alerts are also aware of the Prepare.Act.Survive. guidelines.
What can we do to Prepare.Act.Survive?
Get more information and guidance from your local fire authority. There is a plethora of information on each website including guides to protecting yourself and your home, as well as resources to assess your bushfire preparedness.
www.rfs.act.gov.au – Australian Capital Territory www.rfs.nsw.gov.au – New South Wales www.pfes.nt.gov.au – Northern Territory www.fire.qld.gov.au – Queensland www.cfs.org.au – South Australia www.fire.tas.gov.au – Tasmania www.cfa.vic.gov.au – Victoria www.fesa.wa.gov.au – Western Australia Resources:
