bushfire preparation, warnings & action – what the community thinks

Today the CFA released details of three recent surveys into community attitudes towards bushfire preparation, warnings and action.

The survey results show that significant numbers of people still plan on staying at home on Code Red days.

As a result of the surveys Emergency Services are again reminding people living in high bushfire risk areas of the importance of leaving early.

CFA and the Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner both recently commissioned research into community attitudes towards bushfire preparation, warnings and actions. A third piece of research was also commissioned by the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre into residents actions during the Black Saturday bushfires.

The CFA report shows that more than 84% of people living in high bushfire risk areas have a Bushfire Survival Plan and 94% of people recognise that they need to be self-sufficient in the event of a bushfire.

Most alarming was that almost one in three people surveyed (31.3%) plan to stay at home on Code Red days. Of these respondents 25 percent of said there would need to be a fire before they considered leaving their home.

This is a dangerous decision to be making, the last place to be when there is an active fire is on the road trying to escape and on a Code Red day conditions are guaranteed to be treacherous.

The weather conditions on Black Saturday were ferocious and resulted in a tragic loss of life, natural assets and built assets. Code Red days are, by their very nature, fierce and extreme weather days, it is not safe to be in an area of bushfire risk on these days let alone on the road.

I urge people to think very carefully about their fire plans on these days, it is extremely dangerous to stay in your home on these days.

If you’d like to read a summary of each of the three research papers released today click here, for a full copy of the reports click below:

http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/documents/Benchmark_Report_Dec09.pdf

http://www.oesc.vic.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/OESC/Home/Working+with+Communities/OESC+-+People+Movement+During+Bushfires+Research+REVISED+PDF

http://www.bushfirecrc.com/publications/downloads/Mail-Survey-report-10-1-10-rt-2.pdf