Emergency Services Minister Fran Logan is calling on Western Australians to start treating a bushfire survival plan like putting on a seatbelt in a car – it should be second nature and could save your life. Launching the official bushfire season today (October 1), Mr. Logan said just 16 per cent of Western Australians have discussed with their families how they would survive a bushfire, according to research conducted by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. “Western Australians face bushfires every year but we are not doing enough to be prepared. If you live in an area close to or surrounded by bush, you need to start treating a bushfire survival plan like putting on a seatbelt in your car. It has to become second nature. And just like buckling up, a little bit of time taken to be ready for what’s coming could well save your life.” Mr. Logan commented.
The Minister said the new DFES Fire Chat tool, available online and in hard copy, would help individuals and families create a simple survival plan in five minutes. The Fire Chat questionnaire guides home owners through if they know when to leave, where they would go and which way they would go.
“This year’s Fire Chat tool is a straight forward and easy-to-follow plan and I believe, if it’s put in place, it will make a huge difference. Get it done and you can get on with life knowing that if a bushfire threatened, you can stay in control by following the plan instead of trying to think on-the-spot about what to do in an extremely stressful situation.” Mr. Logan commented “There is also a significant responsibility on people to realise that if they fail to prepare their properties for a bushfire, not only are they putting themselves at risk of losing their homes or worse, they are creating a hazard for their neighbours and surrounding communities.”
The Minister explained that The Fire Chat questionnaire guides home owners through if they know when to leave, where they would go and which way they would go. The Are You Bushfire Ready? campaign was launched today in Argyle, in the State’s South-West, to highlight the importance of being prepared, having a plan and knowing how to implement it. The Minister said that Argyle has been recognised as one of the State’s leading bushfire-ready communities after it rallied together following a bushfire in 2015 to ensure it was better prepared if one struck again. Their common-sense and practicality paid off in January this year when another significant bushfire threatened the town but no lives or homes were lost.
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