Prepare yourself, your family, your animals

Making a choice when a bush fire threatens is too late. Your safety and survival during a bush fire will depend on how prepared you are and the decisions you make, and a written bush fire plan will take the pressure off you and avoid arguments and delays.

Developing a Bush Fire Survival Plan will help you and your family to make the important decision of whether you want to Stay and Defend your well-prepared home or Leave Early. Both options involve difficult choices that you need to think through depending on your circumstances and the predicted fire conditions.

If you are unsure, fire authorities recommend Leaving early as it is always the safest option! If you are in a high-risk area, e.g. answered ‘yes’ to any of the questions listed in the Know Your Risk section, that means leaving before there are any signs of a fire. Don’t wait for a warning/until you see or smell smoke/for a knock on the door. It also means you may leave several times during a bush fire season – just to be safe.

Decide when to leave, what to take and where to go and include it in your written Bush Fire Survival Plan. The best chance for you, your family and your property to survive a bush fire is to plan in advance.

Make your plan online in as little as five minutes at www.myfireplan.com.au