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It's your decision...
 When making a decision about what you will do if there is a bushfire
in your area, the first and most important thing to decide is whether
you intend to stay with your home.
In Victoria, CFA's position is that it is the right of
residents to decide for themselves whether they will stay and
defend their
property.
The Emergency Management Act and the Country Fire Authority Act
allows residents to stay with their homes in a bushfire if they
have a financial interest in their home.
Note, however, that once a resident has left his or her home or
if he or she is away from the home at the time of the fire, that
person may be legally prevented from returning to the residence
by Police at traffic management point.
If you decide to leave home you must do so before a fire threatens
and road travel becomes hazardous.
If a
fire
is
burning nearby, late evacuation is a deadly option.
 If you are well prepared for a bushfire and are physically able
to protect your house once the fire has passed, you have a very
good chance of surviving by remaining with your home.
Most houses can survive the fire front if actively defended and
the house and property has been well prepared. Staying with your
home will mean that you can put out any small fires after
the
fire front has passed, which is
the most likely time for small fires to start.
During bushfires, a house may catch
on fire by sparks and embers lodging themselves in wall vents,
on window ledges, under floor boards, in roof gutters, on
the roof, and nearby bushes, grass and leaves catching fire.
Some houses cannot be saved in a bushfire by the occupants alone.
This can depend on:
- the house design
- position of the house on the land
- types of plants close to the house, and
- adequate access to a water supply.
Some houses are more likely to burn in a bushfire, for example,
houses built on a slope with unprotected area underneath the house.
Late evacuation is a deadly option
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? Will you know in which direction the fire is travelling?
Don’t risk being caught on the open road in your car or worse,
on foot.
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.
How safe is your home?
A home is far more likely to survive if able-bodied people are
there during a bushfire because they can quickly put out small outbreaks
on or near the house. However you need the proper equipment and
to be mentally and physically prepared to fight the fire.
More importantly, your house and its surrounds have to be prepared
well before the day of the fire threat - preferably before the start
of the fire season.
Find out more about how to prepare for a bushfire
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