This information was kindly provided by Ruth at 187 Waterworks. Timely advice as we go into Summer.

The best thing about having a plan is that it requires you to think about what you will do, discuss it with your household, and write it down – so everyone knows exactly what to do.

Question: When do I implement my plan?

Answer: This is a personal decision, and should be based on how prepared you are to face the predicted fire conditions…

There are two separate sections to a Bushfire Plan – preparation before the fire season, and actions during the fire season.

If you plan to leave, you need to think about these questions:

When will you leave?
Where will you go?
How will you get there?
What will you take with you?
What will you do with your pets?
Who have you told about your plan?

Once you have developed a plan, talk it through with everyone in your house, and put a copy somewhere easily reached – stuck to the fridge, noticeboard, under the phone.

Below is a modified version of our Fire Plan for 187 Waterworks Road. Please feel free to use this as a base for developing your own, and if you can see something I have missed, please let me know.

Household equipment

Petrol-driven pump, good supply of petrol
Long hoses and fittings

(The pump and hoses are stored outside the house. We test the pump each summer, and make sure it’s full of fuel. In a fire the pump, fuel containers and hoses will be brought inside until the front has passed…)

Safe clothing for everyone – long sleeves, long pants, no synthetics
Wide brimmed hats
Leather gloves and leather boots
Goggles or safety glasses (not sunglasses)
A bandana or scarf to cover nose and mouth
Water bottles (at least 4 X 1litre bottles)
Battery-powered radio set to local ABC (and spare batteries)
Torch (and spare batteries)
Metal buckets
Ladder
Tape (for putting across windows to try and stop glass shattering)
Socks filled with sand to block down pipes

An independent water supply (ie. tanks) I know this isn’t possible for everyone, but do think about where you will get water, and what you can do if there isn’t any…

These are the basics (for us). If a fire was on the way we’d gather up woollen blankets and all our towels, soak them with water and place them along window-sills and doors. We also have two old-fashioned cotton-head mops to be used to put out spot fires and a knapsack water sprayer.

Yet to be purchased:

High quality respirators (x 2). I have been advised that ‘high quality’ isn’t needed – just a decent disposable face mask will do. The bulkier this is, the more uncomfortable it can be to wear it.

Preparation before the fire season starts

(This is important, especially if you are planning to leave. Your house is more likely to survive if it is well prepared, and fire-fighters can’t really be expected to try and defend a house surrounded by thick dry undergrowth, long grass, dead trees and piles of firewood.)

This is really just a bit of extra work in the garden…The main things are:

Keep the grass short
Rake up leaves, bark, twigs (‘fine fuels’)
Clear dead trees or bushes and fallen branches
Trim branches on large trees to above 2m.
Move your winter firewood supplies well away from your house
Clean out the gutters
Seal any gaps around doors and windows
Cover vents with metal mesh (not plastic fly-netting)

Actions

• When a fire is expected:

Put on protective clothing
Bring toys, shoes, bikes, kayak, BBQ gas bottle and doormats inside
Move garden furniture away from the house
Move inside furniture away from windows
Move the car to the vegie garden area
Fill sinks, bath, buckets and large saucepans with water
Take rubbish and recycling out of wheelie bins (put this inside the house) and fill bins with water

Remember, water pressure is likely to drop, if not disappear altogether at some point, so do this early on.
Block downpipes and fill gutters with water
Set up ladder for access to roof cavity
Keep doors and windows closed
Set up radio to local ABC 936 AM – use battery power, as electricity will go down at some stage…
Have internet on TFS website to monitor progress – until power goes off!

Start checking for embers and spot fires around the house and inside the roof
Make sure mobile phone is charged – remember, power will go down and phone lines may be cut
Disable smoke alarms as they will keep going off
Soak towels and blankets and place under window sills and doors

• When the fire front has arrived

(This is the scary bit. I can’t really imagine how it will be.)
This is what we plan to do:

Bring pump and hoses inside.
Stay inside listening to the radio (if we can hear it)
Have knapsack sprayer, mops and buckets of water with us.
Keep checking roof cavity and upstairs rooms
Wait
Drink lots of water
Talk encouragingly to each other
Stay away from the windows
If fire is extreme (how will we know???) retreat to pantry (no windows)

• Once the front has passed:

Go back outside and re-attach pump to tank water supply
Check around the house for fires
Use hoses, mops, buckets, rakes to put out fires
Keep checking roof cavity
Keep listening to the radio
Keep drinking water
Help neighbours if and when safe to do so

There are many excellent websites on this issue. Start with the Tasmanian Fire Service