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 yesterday, 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.
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.
The Are You Bushfire Ready? campaign was launched in Argyle, in the State’s South-West, to highlight the importance of being prepared, having a plan and knowing how to implement it.
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.
The Are You Bushfire Ready? advertising campaign, managed by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services with support from the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, will be rolled out across key regional and urban fringe areas throughout the season.
The State Government is also committed to building bushfire resilience across local governments with $3.7 million allocated in this year’s Budget to extending the rollout of Bushfire Risk Management Plans through much of the State.