1st Principle - Don't be there.
Others do not share this opinion.
Joan Webster, OAM - "My principle is for householders to learn thoroughly of the choices of safe reaction to bushfire. 'Not being there' is a far from universal necessity and to be a reasonable choice depends on many factors: the severity of bushfire; a person's physical state; viability of evacuation destination etc., etc., and leads to far more house losses than need be. The cliche 'lives matter more than houses' is not valid; the saving of either is definitely not mutually exclusive."
And that is very interesting as so much of the usual advice is to leave early. Sometimes, it is even to leave before a bushfire happens. For a while, Victoria's advice seemed to be to tell everyone to leave merely because it was one of those rotten hot, windy days. But how and where to? You couldn't possibly have all the cars of all the people in all the country areas trying to go from one area to the next, where it is just as hot and windy. I assume they didn't actually mean that, but that is what it sounded like.
So now to the really valuable stuff.
What if you are threatened by bushfire?
You need to know how best to try and protect yourself. These are guidelines by Joan Webster, OAM, who has made herself an expert on fire safety. Thank you to her for giving me permission to use her words.
This is a lady who has made a study of the subject and has been honoured for it. She received the Order of Australia Medal in 2010 ‘For service to the community in raising awareness of bushfire safety', and was presented with the Australian Fire Protection Association Community Service Award in 1990. Her books include: The Complete Australian Bushfire Book (1986) and The Complete Bushfire Safety Book (1989, 2000).There are other awards and achievements, and a lot of the official bushfire safety advice is based on her work.
She has a facebook page called 'Bushfire Safety Awareness' which has more information.
https://www.facebook.com/Joanoam/?__tn__=kCH-R&eid=ARC0gBLLMXnADKiL3FmdYKc2jAfRXb4nODnp6uTLVoVhxwqwhiCW9fuvI3EahDoQKLyNnB_a9CqbZNWH&hc_ref=ARTrAkgXf1W_Zi71CK4PiqjO71PzosWWl41AFj4FxJb55gIK0vPwT7NnJC5aMDY49oE&fref=nf&__xts__[0]=68.ARCxzf7pPVFz3zL9xEj06WiiZKMMXleICm5x28Y9yEH7YIjbsRwxihKZFsi8pWC2e1_0NjIDkWd5JnQQxrnuOx_hcSqVA5vuyjJs5bEdmnWA2ViPls65LPW-lVu3agEHD8xuk9Ilwf2DgOVkr_RAOvoCDlLFze6hKKLIKsc_GKEFb0VmcfdbCX1x8gg7AL3u9Hw3-2OGalgyZp8vDmnMjathcAuXja4HbEeeYI6zf5hzgEWYmbSlueIBSfTnLTPQotFeH0sI4s-xMseQ-HPusT3MScUNaD6a4zVejL5xjV03NEggY2VAvQJZFBMO6nYDERU8cyYW2vmK2SjLWKVGKKDkxQ
Joan Webster, Bushfire Safety Awareness
She writes: "Although data states that 2/3 of Black Saturday fatalities died while sheltering in or near their house, research by bushfire scientists revealed that they did not die BECAUSE they were sheltering. They died because they did not know how to shelter safely.
SO WHEN THE BUSHFIRE EMERGENCY MESSAGE IS “It is too Late to Leave, You Should Take Shelter and Stay Indoors” - WHAT SHOULD YOU ACTUALLY DO?
IF YOU CANNOT SHELTER IN A BUILDING
* Shelter behind a wall; beside a large fire resistant tree (that has no flammable undergrowth); in or beside a car; in a dam (if no vegetation is near either), in a ditch, (cover yourself with earth or blanket); crouch beneath a blanket (must be PURE WOOL and DRY) on bare ground or an already burnt area.
- Dry pure wool has the quality of extinguishing sparks and embers.
IF YOU CAN SHELTER IN A BUILDING
Before you go inside:
* Shut off gas and electricity at the mains.
* Put pets inside: dogs on leash, cats in covered cages.
* Take in outdoor furniture, doormats, hanging baskets, plastic pot plants.
When you are inside:
* Make sure all doors and windows are securely shut.
* Turn off air conditioners; cover their internal vents.
* If windows are unshuttered, cover with blankets (must be PURE WOOL), heavy quality quilts, foil or wet towels.
*Move flammable furniture away from windows.
* Close internal doors to limit fire spread if embers enter and ignite inside.
* Put on protective clothing and nose mask and drink often.
* Keep blankets (must be PURE WOOL and DRY) handy.
* Cool off when possible.
* Watch the conditions outside if possible through a small window or peephole. Do not open a door or window to look outside.
* When you are sure flaring shrubs have blackened, it’s safe to go out again. (Burning tree trunks do not generally emit killing radiant heat.)
PASSIVE SHELTERERS
* DO NOT SHELTER IN AN INNER ROOM. Not in the hallway. Not in the bath. If you shelter in ANY kind of inner room – no matter how many doors it has – you could be trapped. Embers may have ignited sub-floor or wall cavities or rafters in the ceiling space,. Flaming walls or ceiling could collapse on you. Toxic fumes from smouldering furnishings, synthetic furniture or wall linings could overcome you.
* STAY BY A DOOR THAT EXITS TO OUTSIDE in protective clothing and with blankets (must be PURE WOOL and DRY).
* It is vital for passive shelterers to exit as soon as the potentially killing radiant heat from flames has died down.
ACTIVE SHELTERERS
* Take hose, sprayers and ladder inside with you.
* Fill bath & troughs with water, immerse towels, roll up and place at door gaps and window ledges. Plug keyholes with play dough, blue-tack or soap.
* Fill containers (e.g. garden sprayers) with water; put these, with dippers, mops etc, in each room.
* Watch for invading embers. Particularly in the ceiling space, through windows, gaps under doors. Spray or hit with wet mop any sparks, embers or smouldering furnishings.
* If any ignition cannot be extinguished, close the door of that room.
* Maintain easy access to an exit door.
* Never go outside during a flame front to douse an outside ignition.
EXITING
* Exit with great care, preferably from a door that is sheltered from the wind.
* Wear protective clothing & nose cover, cover yourself with your blanket (must be PURE WOOL and DRY), crouch, lower your eyelids and open the door gradually.
The quintessential bushfire survival resource is a HEAVY DUTY DRY PURE WOOL BLANKET.
Covered with such a blanket and with a flask of water, people have survived the most catastrophic conditions."
Extracted from Joan Webster's Essential Bushfire Safety Tips (CSIRO 2012),
www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6969.htm
She says, "When I wrote my first book, The Complete Australian Bushfire Book, in response to many unnecessary tragedies of Ash Wednesday, 1983, bushfire authorities provided extremely little safety advice for the public (NSW had only an A4 flier).. A great deal of that which they promote now came from that book and from my suggestions to them. These include: Having a family bushfire safety plan, need for a Plan B, the step-by-step actions lists of what to do at various stages of bushfire threat, a personal Survival Kit (1964) window shutters for house protection, the concept of three safety options: Leave, Defend, or Shelter (rather than the official two: leave or defend), how to shelter safely, travelling and holiday safety in the bushfire season, the special needs of children and the frail, care of pets, safety of precious possessions, the need and potential dangers of community refuges … and more."
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Bushfire-Safety-Book-ebook/dp/B006MBHWE8/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?keywords=the+complete+australian+bushfire+book&qid=1580711173&s=digital-text&sr=8-1-fkmr0
Joan has been studying bushfire safety for the householder, and urging authorities to provide information for the public, since 1964. How many lives she may have saved, of course, is impossible to know.
Additional comment about my first principle of 'Don't be there'. Certainly it applies to myself as I am ever only a visitor in bushfire areas. But here is what Joan says.
" 'Don't be there' is a one-size-fits-all blanket term that is the biggest cause of unnecessary loss of homes. Research has proved it. With no-one there to douse the initial ember that penetrates your house, it burns its unhindered way through all you hold dear. Each burning house sends off embers to ignite others, in a domino effect. These house-to-house embers can destroy more houses than embers from the bushfire itself. The bushfire trauma from losing one's home - and all that is in it - is greater than any trauma from 'being there'. We see this on TV news after every bushfire. You can learn to 'be there' safely. To protect your home safely. To thus prevent the loss not only of your home, but your town. Others have."
I think she is right. If all of the residents leave, the houses are quite unprotected, and far more are likely to be lost. So it depends on circumstances, including your own fitness to stay and whether you have young children who really should not be there if at all possible.
For those interested, here are some details of my books.
'Not a Man.'
'From boy of the slums to Oxford Graduate. This is the story of Shuki Bolkiah, modern day eunuch.
'Not a Man' is set in an unnamed country of Arabia. Shuki is aged ten, and a 'bed-boy.' His master wants his beautiful boy to stay beautiful, so arranges for him to have 'a small operation.' This traumatic event changed forever the life of a clever, determined boy.
Shuki learns to manipulate his master. He learns to read and write, he gets his master into the habit of giving him large sums of money, and he makes friends with the master's sons.
Shuki becomes more beautiful with every passing year. His master becomes more possessive, more jealous, and Shuki is guarded. When his master takes him to England, he escapes and starts a new life with the money he's saved. He is fifteen.
This book is complete in itself, but like many of my readers, I loved the character, and wrote three more books to complete the series. In the last, I move Shuki from Arabia, where he is too well-known for his own good, and placed him in Australia, actually between Uralla and Armidale, NSW, though different names have been used.
So "Not a Man,' 'The King's Favourite,' 'To Love and to Protect' and 'The Frost and the Sunshine.' They they are the Shuki books.
The Penwinnard books are about the adventurous boys who live in a Boys' Home. There are six stories, each of them complete in itself. They are in chronological order, but I regard them as a series of stories rather than a true series.
And then there is 'The Death Mother,' which is completely different.
What would you do if you suddenly found you had the ability to make someone die just by thinking it?
The protagonist is a middle-aged lady, a volunteer in a Nursing Home. It starts with euthanasia, but doesn't end there.
She has a facebook page called 'Bushfire Safety Awareness' which has more information.
https://www.facebook.com/Joanoam/?__tn__=kCH-R&eid=ARC0gBLLMXnADKiL3FmdYKc2jAfRXb4nODnp6uTLVoVhxwqwhiCW9fuvI3EahDoQKLyNnB_a9CqbZNWH&hc_ref=ARTrAkgXf1W_Zi71CK4PiqjO71PzosWWl41AFj4FxJb55gIK0vPwT7NnJC5aMDY49oE&fref=nf&__xts__[0]=68.ARCxzf7pPVFz3zL9xEj06WiiZKMMXleICm5x28Y9yEH7YIjbsRwxihKZFsi8pWC2e1_0NjIDkWd5JnQQxrnuOx_hcSqVA5vuyjJs5bEdmnWA2ViPls65LPW-lVu3agEHD8xuk9Ilwf2DgOVkr_RAOvoCDlLFze6hKKLIKsc_GKEFb0VmcfdbCX1x8gg7AL3u9Hw3-2OGalgyZp8vDmnMjathcAuXja4HbEeeYI6zf5hzgEWYmbSlueIBSfTnLTPQotFeH0sI4s-xMseQ-HPusT3MScUNaD6a4zVejL5xjV03NEggY2VAvQJZFBMO6nYDERU8cyYW2vmK2SjLWKVGKKDkxQ
Joan Webster, Bushfire Safety Awareness
She writes: "Although data states that 2/3 of Black Saturday fatalities died while sheltering in or near their house, research by bushfire scientists revealed that they did not die BECAUSE they were sheltering. They died because they did not know how to shelter safely.
SO WHEN THE BUSHFIRE EMERGENCY MESSAGE IS “It is too Late to Leave, You Should Take Shelter and Stay Indoors” - WHAT SHOULD YOU ACTUALLY DO?
IF YOU CANNOT SHELTER IN A BUILDING
* Shelter behind a wall; beside a large fire resistant tree (that has no flammable undergrowth); in or beside a car; in a dam (if no vegetation is near either), in a ditch, (cover yourself with earth or blanket); crouch beneath a blanket (must be PURE WOOL and DRY) on bare ground or an already burnt area.
- Dry pure wool has the quality of extinguishing sparks and embers.
IF YOU CAN SHELTER IN A BUILDING
Before you go inside:
* Shut off gas and electricity at the mains.
* Put pets inside: dogs on leash, cats in covered cages.
* Take in outdoor furniture, doormats, hanging baskets, plastic pot plants.
When you are inside:
* Turn off air conditioners; cover their internal vents.
* If windows are unshuttered, cover with blankets (must be PURE WOOL), heavy quality quilts, foil or wet towels.
*Move flammable furniture away from windows.
* Close internal doors to limit fire spread if embers enter and ignite inside.
* Put on protective clothing and nose mask and drink often.
* Keep blankets (must be PURE WOOL and DRY) handy.
* Cool off when possible.
* Watch the conditions outside if possible through a small window or peephole. Do not open a door or window to look outside.
* When you are sure flaring shrubs have blackened, it’s safe to go out again. (Burning tree trunks do not generally emit killing radiant heat.)
PASSIVE SHELTERERS
* DO NOT SHELTER IN AN INNER ROOM. Not in the hallway. Not in the bath. If you shelter in ANY kind of inner room – no matter how many doors it has – you could be trapped. Embers may have ignited sub-floor or wall cavities or rafters in the ceiling space,. Flaming walls or ceiling could collapse on you. Toxic fumes from smouldering furnishings, synthetic furniture or wall linings could overcome you.
* STAY BY A DOOR THAT EXITS TO OUTSIDE in protective clothing and with blankets (must be PURE WOOL and DRY).
* It is vital for passive shelterers to exit as soon as the potentially killing radiant heat from flames has died down.
ACTIVE SHELTERERS
* Take hose, sprayers and ladder inside with you.
* Fill bath & troughs with water, immerse towels, roll up and place at door gaps and window ledges. Plug keyholes with play dough, blue-tack or soap.
* Fill containers (e.g. garden sprayers) with water; put these, with dippers, mops etc, in each room.
* Watch for invading embers. Particularly in the ceiling space, through windows, gaps under doors. Spray or hit with wet mop any sparks, embers or smouldering furnishings.
* If any ignition cannot be extinguished, close the door of that room.
* Maintain easy access to an exit door.
* Never go outside during a flame front to douse an outside ignition.
EXITING
* Exit with great care, preferably from a door that is sheltered from the wind.
* Wear protective clothing & nose cover, cover yourself with your blanket (must be PURE WOOL and DRY), crouch, lower your eyelids and open the door gradually.
The quintessential bushfire survival resource is a HEAVY DUTY DRY PURE WOOL BLANKET.
Covered with such a blanket and with a flask of water, people have survived the most catastrophic conditions."
Extracted from Joan Webster's Essential Bushfire Safety Tips (CSIRO 2012),
www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6969.htm
She says, "When I wrote my first book, The Complete Australian Bushfire Book, in response to many unnecessary tragedies of Ash Wednesday, 1983, bushfire authorities provided extremely little safety advice for the public (NSW had only an A4 flier).. A great deal of that which they promote now came from that book and from my suggestions to them. These include: Having a family bushfire safety plan, need for a Plan B, the step-by-step actions lists of what to do at various stages of bushfire threat, a personal Survival Kit (1964) window shutters for house protection, the concept of three safety options: Leave, Defend, or Shelter (rather than the official two: leave or defend), how to shelter safely, travelling and holiday safety in the bushfire season, the special needs of children and the frail, care of pets, safety of precious possessions, the need and potential dangers of community refuges … and more."
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Bushfire-Safety-Book-ebook/dp/B006MBHWE8/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?keywords=the+complete+australian+bushfire+book&qid=1580711173&s=digital-text&sr=8-1-fkmr0
 |
| Joan Webster, OAM |
Joan has been studying bushfire safety for the householder, and urging authorities to provide information for the public, since 1964. How many lives she may have saved, of course, is impossible to know.
Additional comment about my first principle of 'Don't be there'. Certainly it applies to myself as I am ever only a visitor in bushfire areas. But here is what Joan says.
" 'Don't be there' is a one-size-fits-all blanket term that is the biggest cause of unnecessary loss of homes. Research has proved it. With no-one there to douse the initial ember that penetrates your house, it burns its unhindered way through all you hold dear. Each burning house sends off embers to ignite others, in a domino effect. These house-to-house embers can destroy more houses than embers from the bushfire itself. The bushfire trauma from losing one's home - and all that is in it - is greater than any trauma from 'being there'. We see this on TV news after every bushfire. You can learn to 'be there' safely. To protect your home safely. To thus prevent the loss not only of your home, but your town. Others have."
For those interested, here are some details of my books.
'Not a Man.'
'From boy of the slums to Oxford Graduate. This is the story of Shuki Bolkiah, modern day eunuch.
Shuki learns to manipulate his master. He learns to read and write, he gets his master into the habit of giving him large sums of money, and he makes friends with the master's sons.
Shuki becomes more beautiful with every passing year. His master becomes more possessive, more jealous, and Shuki is guarded. When his master takes him to England, he escapes and starts a new life with the money he's saved. He is fifteen.
This book is complete in itself, but like many of my readers, I loved the character, and wrote three more books to complete the series. In the last, I move Shuki from Arabia, where he is too well-known for his own good, and placed him in Australia, actually between Uralla and Armidale, NSW, though different names have been used.
So "Not a Man,' 'The King's Favourite,' 'To Love and to Protect' and 'The Frost and the Sunshine.' They they are the Shuki books.
The Penwinnard books are about the adventurous boys who live in a Boys' Home. There are six stories, each of them complete in itself. They are in chronological order, but I regard them as a series of stories rather than a true series.
And then there is 'The Death Mother,' which is completely different.
The protagonist is a middle-aged lady, a volunteer in a Nursing Home. It starts with euthanasia, but doesn't end there.
More about my books can be found on previous blog posts and on these online booksale sites.
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Samray
http://www.amazon.com/Not-Man-Shuki-M-McRae-ebook/dp/B0089H5X58/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1384312972&sr=1-1&keywords=m.+a.+mcrae%2C++not+a+man
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