Prepare a Bushfire Plan

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If you live in or near the bush, you should make a plan setting out what you are going to do to prepare your home for bushfire, and what you are going to do if a bushfire approaches. A written plan will help you think through the actions logically, and give you something to refer to when a bushfire breaks out nearby.
The plan should be prepared carefully and thoughtfully. Once you've prepared it, stick to it. If you've prepared your home and decided to defend it, don't panic and flee in your car at the last minute - you'll be much safer at home where you can shelter from radiant heat.
However, Tasmania Fire Service recommends that you should not plan to defend your home when the fire danger rating exceeds 50 (severe) unless you have created a defendable space and ember-proofed your home. Unless your home has a defendable space and has been designed and built specifically to withstand a bushfire, you should not plan to defend it if the fire danger rating exceeds 75 (extreme).
 
You should not plan to defend your home on days when the fire danger rating exceeds 100 (catastrophic), unless firefighters have assessed it on the day that a fire is threatening and have advised you that it is defendable. This recognises that even on days with catastrophic fire danger ratings, some homes, because of their circumstances, are defendable. For example, a farmhouse surrounded by several hectares of planted vegetables, ploughed fields or heavily-grazed paddocks is likely to be defendable, particularly if it has been well-constructed and ember-proofed.
 
Your plan should include:
  1. The steps you are going to take to prepare your home for bushfire, 
  2. if you’re planning to stay, the steps you are going to take to make sure you can defend your home safely, and 
  3. the steps you are going to take to make sure you can leave early for a safe place (even if you are planning to stay.
Let your family, friends and neighbours know what you are planning to do.
Remember that if your home has not been prepared and is closely surrounded by flammable vegetation, there is a high probability that it will burn down if threatened by an intense bushfire, even if firefighters are around to protect it. Firefighters will concentrate on saving homes that can be protected with minimum resources and without putting firefighters' lives at risk.
Therefore, regardless of whether you plan to stay with your home if it's threatened by a bushfire, or leave early for a safe place, the Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) urges you to prepare your home so that it can be defended.
If you do not prepare your home and property so you can defend it against a bushfire, you should plan to leave early, well before fire threatens your home. Leaving early is always the safest option.