At this point you should have decided whether you are staying to defend your house or evacuating, or authorities may have ordered you and your family to leave the premises. The precautions you should take are listed below:
If caught in a bushfire while driving
If caught in a bushfire on foot
If you cannot avoid the fire
- Notify the fire brigade of the fire. Do not assume that they know about it: call 000.
- Fill baths, sinks and buckets with reserve water and turn off the gas and electricity.
- Access your emergency survival kit.
- Remove curtains and move furniture away from windows and entrance ways.
- Wear long woollen or heavy cotton clothing, solid shoes/boots, leather gloves, a hat or woollen balaclava.
- Plug pipes and fill gutters with water.
- Hose down the house and garden, focusing on the fire front and watch for spot fires.
- Close all doors and windows to stop smoke from seeping in and block all gaps. When the fire front comes, stay inside away from windows until it passes (usually 5 to 15 minutes).
- Quickly extinguish any fires which may have started in/on/under/around the house and check inside the roof as well.
- If the house is alight and the fire cannot be extinguished – move to safe burnt ground. Do not leave the area. Wait for help.
- Listen to the battery operated radio for official information.
If caught in a bushfire while driving
- Do not drive into or near a bushfire.
- Do not drive through flames or smoke.
- Stop at a clearing or roadside with low vegetation.
- Switch off ignition and turn hazard lights and headlights on.
- Stay inside unless near safe shelter.
- Keep vents windows and doors closed.
- Lie down below window level under a woollen blanket until the fire front passes.
If caught in a bushfire on foot
- Cover exposed skin.
- If on a slope – move across it then down towards the rear of the fire and find a clearing or already burnt area.
- Do not attempt to outrun a fire, or go through low flames unless you can see a safe clearing.
If you cannot avoid the fire
- Protect yourself by lying face down in a rocky area, under an embankment or in a hollow.
- If possible get into a pool, pond, dam, and stream – but not in a water tank.