CFS guide: How to stay safe in a bushfire emergency
JEFF Ayers knows what it’s like to have a bushfire roar towards you in a true life-or-death emergency. This is what you need to know to survive when fire poses an imminent threat to your safety.
JEFF Ayers has experienced first-hand the terrifying feeling of a bushfire bearing down on his property.
The devastating Sampson Flat blaze came perilously close to his Inglewood home. Fences around his property were destroyed by the fierce flames.
Mr Ayers’ house was spared because he had prepared thoroughly, which allowed him to stay safe.
“Vegetation clearance around the house, availability of water and a method independent of mains electricity or water supply — those are the three basics to prepare for a fire,” he said.
“This basic preparation is the foundation on which you can then build on what you are going to do.
“If you choose to stay and you do, that is the foundation you are standing on.
“If you choose to leave, then what you have left behind is much more likely to survive.”
Country Fire Service preparedness operations director Leigh Miller said people trapped in a bushfire were more likely to be killed by radiant heat impact than smoke inhalation or being burned by flames.
“Radiant heat is much like sunlight and we can shelter from radiant heat and sunlight by being inside a solid structure,” he said.
“If we can reduce the chance of that heat energy impacting on our bodies we can go a long way to improving our safety.
“People in Ash Wednesday were being killed by radiant impact from 20m away, so radiant impact is a pretty significant thing for people to think about.
“Sheltering in a building is the best place for anybody to be in a bushfire because buildings are very solid structures generally and they intercept a lot of radiant heat.”
The CFS recommends that you should, if possible, shelter in a room that has two exits and is on the opposite side of the house to the approaching fire.
You should also check for embers and small fires, including in the ceiling space, and ensure all firefighting equipment is taken inside as it may melt during the fire.
Mr Miller said being on foot or in a vehicle was the least desirable place to be during a bushfire.
“In the past, cars provided a good radiant heat barrier but they don’t any more because they are made of lighter materials, the glass is thinner than a lot of plastic and so it is not a particularly good place to be,” he said.
“If people get trapped in a bushfire the best thing to do is think about ‘is there a building I can shelter in nearby?’ That is the place to be.
“If they are trapped in a vehicle they need to think about ‘where do I move my vehicle so there is the least amount of fire fuel around?’ — it might be a slashed paddock or a parking bay on the side of the road.”
CFS bushfire safety project manager Peta O’Donohue said seeking refuge in water — such as a swimming pool or dam — should only be considered as an absolute last resort when people are unable to get to a solid structure.
“If you are to go into water, whether a pool, dam or the sea, you risk not only a lack of oxygen due to smoke and intensity of the air temperature, but also exposure to deadly radiant heat,” she said.
HOW TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF A FIRE
The continual development and availability of online resources means the ability to monitor a bushfire has never been easier.
The latest updates, including fire danger ratings and messages, can be found by calling the CFS bushfire information hotline on 1300 362 361 or visiting the CFS website at www.cfs.sa.gov.au
The CFS has also designed a mobile and tablet app and has a strong presence on Facebook and Twitter, where fire information is regularly sent to followers.
The Advertiser website — advertiser.com.au — will incorporate the latest CFS tweets and provide free in-depth community safety information about everything you need to know from bushfire zones and weather forecasts to health alerts and heatwave advice.
There are three levels of bushfire alerts that will be issued once a bushfire has started:
* ADVICE — a fire has started but there is no immediate danger. There will be general information to keep you up to date with developments.
* WATCH AND ACT — A fire is approaching and conditions are changing. If you are in the vicinity you need to take action now to protect your life and your family.
* EMERGENCY WARNING — Anyone in the vicinity is in danger and needs to take action immediately. This message will usually be preceded by the Standard Emergency Warning Signal (SEWS).
Bushfire watch and act messages will be issued when there is a potential threat to public safety in the immediate area of a bushfire.
Bushfire emergency warning messages will be issued when a bushfire burning out of control under very high to catastrophic weather conditions requires an immediate response from the public to ensure their safety and survival.
Bushfire watch and act and emergency warning messages also will be issued through ABC and FIVEaa radio stations.
In addition, the daily fire danger ratings provide crucial information to South Australians about how dangerous a bushfire is likely to be if one starts.
These ratings are based on variables like forecast temperature, forecast wind speeds and the dryness of vegetation in the area.
There is also a national telephone warning system, called Emergency Alert, which is used by emergency management agencies.
During emergencies such as fire, flood or extreme weather events, your landline or mobile telephone may be used to send you an emergency warning message.
The message will tell you the origin of the fire. Even if this location is not close to you, by receiving this message you are in the impact zone so please follow its instructions.
Emergency Alert is not an evacuation message — it will likely tell you it is too late to leave and to seek shelter in a solid structure. Be aware that many fatalities happen on roads when people leave at the last minute.
An emergency alert is just one way to warn a community and will not be issued in all circumstances. Do not wait to receive an alert before taking action.
The Emergency Alert service is available across all telephone networks. You do not need to register for Emergency Alert.
For more information visit www.emergencyalert.gov.au
HOW THE CFS FIGHTS FIRES
Firefighters on the ground will be supported by 10 single-engine air tankers with a firebombing capacity of 3200 litres and one high-volume helicopter with a load capacity of 7500 litres.
There are also six surveillance aircraft — two rotary helicopters and four fixed-wing planes.
But Mr Miller said while aerial bombing aircraft were a great tool for firefighting, they were ineffective without ground crew support.
“What the aircraft do is they actually suppress the fire to enable fire crews to get there to do the final mop-up,” he said.
“One of the things that we need to realise is that aircraft cannot always operate on bad fire days
“When there are strong winds it is unlikely that we are going to be able to use the aircraft.
“When the aircraft are out of contract at the start of the year and the end of the year they are not going to be available for us so we need to put the aircraft in perspective.”
Mr Miller said decisions on how to fight a fire were based on its behaviour, which included fuel type, relative humidity, recent rainfall, wind strength and the temperature.
“Wind is probably one of the key determinants about how severe the fire danger rating is going to be,” he said.
“One of the things people need to consider when they think about their bushfire risk is the terrain and the likely direction the wind is going to be.
“Terrain affects fire behaviour because fires tend to burn more quickly and more intensely uphill — so people living on top of ridges, for instance, are at greater risk than people living at the bottom of a gully.
“We have some pretty consistent wind directions in South Australia during summertime with a front coming through that will see winds turn from the north through the northwest around to the south.
“It is important for people to understand that fires are driven by the direction of the wind and so people are able to tell which way a fire is burning by the direction the smoke is leading.”
WE ALL SHARE RESPONSIBILITY FOR FIGHTING FIRES
Fighting bushfires is not just the responsibility of the CFS. Everyone plays an important role in not only being prepared, but also staying safe.
Mr Miller said people need to consider the risk to themselves, their families and the community they live in.
“All of our volunteers are members of the community so they are people who have actually stood up and said ‘we will take on a more prominent role in firefighting’ but that does not mean to say that we as individuals in the community do not have a role as well,” he said.
“There are maybe 13,000 active volunteer firefighters but they cannot be everywhere at every time so it is up to each of us as individuals to start looking at how we can reduce the impact of fire on our property and our families.
“When we have large going fires we will put as many fire vehicles as we can on those fires but that does not mean to say we will have a fire truck at every house.”
Mr Miller said the CFS could not hand-feed people information about what to do during a bushfire and instead urged them to seek out information on how to best protect themselves.
“One of the beauties of the CFS community fire safe program is that we link up similar neighbourhoods and those people develop telephone trees and look out for one another,” he said.
“That is an important way for people to start communicating in their neighbourhood.”
Police will also be monitoring firebugs during the bushfire season as part of Operation Nomad.
Officers will regularly visit people identified as being an arson risk, including daily visits on days of extreme or catastrophic fire danger rating.
MORE INFORMATION
Part 1 of our special report: How to prepare for bushfire season
CFS website — fire ban, warnings and incidents, plus information for the public and volunteers