Summer Fire Safety

Are you Fire Ready?

If you live, work or travel in Victoria this summer, you may be at risk of bushfire. All those living near bush, grassland or the coast need to be fire ready and have a Bushfire Survival Plan.

This includes people living in suburban areas.

Bushfires can kill, so careful planning and preparation is vital. Not all homes can be defended from bushfire and survival must be your main priority.

If you live in a bushfire prone area and your Bushfire Survival Plan is to leave, the safest option is to leave at the beginning of a day with a declared fire danger rating of Severe or Extreme. You should leave the night before or early in the morning when conditions are declared Code Red (catastrophic).

If you choose to stay to defend, you must have adequate defendable space, be well-prepared and understand the complexities and the risks of your decision, including the very real chance you may be injured or killed. On Code Red (catastrophic) days the safest option is to leave the night before or early in the morning.

Bushfire Survival Guide

The only way to ensure your safety from Bushfires is to be well away from the threat. Proper planning and safety procedures can reduce the risk to your life.

Read the Bushfire Survival Guide - pdf 364k - a brief explanation of how you can protect you and your family..

Please note: This is only a brief overview of bushfire survival. For a full understanding of your bushfire risk and developing a Bushfire Survival plan, please view the complete Fire Ready Kit.

Are you ready for the bushfire season?

Are you at risk?

Understand your environment and understand the Fire Danger Ratings.

Do you have adequate defendable space?

This is a critical step in determining whether you can stay to actively defend your property or should consider leaving early. To find out use the Household Bushfire Self Assessment Tool.

Personal protection

Radiant heat is a major killer during a bushfire. Do you know how to protect yourself?

Leaving early

Do you know what your trigger will be, have you planned where you will go?

Defending your property

During a bushfire there will not be a fire truck available to protect every property. If you choose to stay and defend your property you will need to do some preparation well in advance and develop your own Bushfire Survival Plan.

Learn more

You are urged to:

• Attend a community meeting in your local area
• Join or establish a Community Fireguard group

Community members have a responsibility to prepare for and protect themselves from bushfire.

All community members living in bushfire prone areas should acquire as much knowledge as they can about how to prepare their homes and develop a Bushfire Survival Plan.