Bushfire Safety Tips

With all of the recent news about Bushfires around the country, we at DELTRA Australia have found some great tips for staying safe this bushfire season. Emergency Management Australia, a government body offers the following advice:

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.

Source: Emergency Management Australia

http://www.ema.gov.au/ema/emaInternet.nsf/AllDocs/RWP07C6046B98D07DB8CA256C5A00230553?OpenDocument