Bushfire preparedness

Preparing an emergency plan

Planning is essential for anyone living in a high bushfire danger area. For some people, staying to defend on any day of high fire danger is not a viable option. This might include those living in very isolated areas or those who are not physically able to move around or too and from their property without help.

Things to think about:

Do you have access to your own reliable transport in order to evacuate?
Do you have a family member, friend or neighbour who can help if you need to evacuate?
Are you physically able to look after yourself, should a fire occur?

If you are not sure about any of these issues, then your plan should be to leave your home well before a potential fire.

Bushfire planning resources

The booklet Bushfires - Preparing to leave early has been produced by the Australian Red Cross and CFA to help you prepare a plan. The booklet provides steps and checklists to guide you through the actions you need to take to make your own plan to leave early. Working through the booklet will also help you to think about how you will access any health care and support services you may need while away from home, or how to evacuate when the transport services you normally rely on are affected by the risk of fire.

Download Bushfires - Preparing to Leave Early Booklet from Red Cross website

You can find out more about the Bushfires - Preparing to leave early booklet and arrange to have information sent to you by calling the Victorian Bushfire Information Line on 1800 240 667, or download a copy from the Australian Red Cross website.

If you know of someone – a friend, neighbour or family member – who might need help to complete the steps in the Bushfires - Preparing to leave early booklet, talk to them about what they need to do to stay safe when there is a high risk of fire.

Preparing people and community - bushfires
The impact of a bushfire emergency can be stressful and exhausting, and people are encouraged to look after themselves in this period. People who readily use formal and informal support from family, friends or other support organisations are generally found to recover better from stressful situations.