IndexArticles
31st Oct 2007
Pets are your responsibility. It is up to you to prepare for their safety in case of an emergency. There can be confusion during emergency situations, so it is best everyone in the home to be prepared and practiced. Include your animals in your household emergency plan. Wildlife will often escape approaching smoke or a bushfire depending upon its intensity, speed and direction. For example, kangaroos, emus, lizards and the like usually run in the opposite direction. Lizards often move under protective rocks if the fire is not too intense. Birds usually escape by flying. Koalas often climb down trees and move along the ground. And wombats escape into their burrows.
If time permits, pets that can transported should be moved to a safe place well before any bushfire activity approaches. Even if the householder chooses to remain with the home during a fire it is recommended that pets be relocated to minimise the stress on the animal.
If time does not permit then the following should be considered:
• Confine dogs and cats to the house if there is any possibility of danger
• Ensure there is access to plenty of food and water
• Put small animals and birds into suitable containers and place them near the front door in readiness for emergency evacuation.
• Fit halters or collars to all pets, and have leads ready
• Larger animals such as horses should be untied or released.
• Make sure that each animal wears a firmly attached identification label showing name, address and contact details.
If you have to leave pets behind:
• If possible, leave your pets indoors
• Place pets in separate rooms with small or preferably no windows (eg laundry, bathroom)
• Provide adequate food and water in large heavy bowls
• If left outside, do not tie them up
Here are some positive measures that can be undertaken following a bushfire:
• Do not leave food out for animals in natural bushland or burnt-out areas. You might be inadvertently discouraging those animals from migrating to safe, unburnt areas
• Keep your pet dogs and cats inside or restrained for a few weeks after a bushfire to protect any wildlife in the area.
• Attach a bird box to a tree to help replace the loss of logs and hollow trees for the birdlife.
If you find an injured native animal it is best to call a wildlife rescue group or, if safe to do so, take the animal to the nearest veterinary surgery. Some vets will treat injured native animals free of charge. Perhaps contact your local surgery to ask their advice as a preparatory measure.
Wildlife rescue groups such as Wildcare Australia on the Gold Coast can assist. For further information contact them on 07 5527 2444 or visit their website at www.wildcare.org.au.
Leave all rescues to the professional emergency service personnel. Never re-enter a burning building to rescue your pet or to collect possessions. You not only risk your life but also those of firefighters who will have to go in to try and save you. Once you are out, it is important for everyone’s safety that you stay out. Your pet may well escape on it’s own.
Please make it clear who needs to be rescued and from where. Often, residents who have evacuated or been rescued from a house fire will be under great stress. They may tell the attending firefighters that their “. . . baby is still in the house”. Firefighters will then ask the exact whereabouts and name of the person still inside the house. They need to know if you are referring to a person or an animal so their search pattern can be adjusted.
Once your pet has escaped or been rescued, please secure it so it does not try to re-enter the building.
Please act safely and responsibly. Your safety and that of your family is of primary importance. Do not risk a human life to try to find and protect animals.
In a real fire, you will only have one to two minutes from the warning of your smoke alarm to when your life is seriously threatened by fire or smoke. Smoke and other products of fire are poisonous. Just one breath in a room full of smoke can be fatal.
If there is a fire, your first priority is to escape safely. You should prepare and practice an evacuation plan. Start with a floor diagram of the home. Then identify and mark out a primary escape out of every room. Next pick a secondary route in case the first is blocked by fire. Select a meeting place outside of the home such as the letterbox where everyone can meet and be accounted for to the firefighters. If anyone is missing, tell the fire service. DO NOT re-enter the house
Yell to others in the home to alert them but make sure you get out safely. If you cannot get out through the door then use the window. If you are higher than 10 feet off the ground do not jump. Rather, be sure the door to the room you are in is closed to keep the smoke and heat out, open the window and yell for help. Throw something out to attract attention and stay close to the window so firefighters can find you.
Make sure your family and friends all know the following:
• The sound of the smoke alarm. Strobe light and vibration accessories are available for the hearing impaired.
• The freshest air is close to the floor, so Get Down Low and Go Go Go.
• Stop, Drop and Roll if your clothes are on fire.
• To call Triple Zero (000) and ask for Fire. You should call once you have escaped.
Remember: Only Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives. Alarms should be tested, and their grilles vaccumed for dust monthly. Batteries should be changed annually. The Queensland Fire & Rescue Service suggests April Fool’s Day or you birthday or anniversary as a reminder date.
Safehome is a Queensland Fire and Rescue Service initiative to assist householders conduct a fire safety awareness inspection of their home. Your local firefighters will visit you, at a convenient time, and help you recognise fire safety hazards in and around the home. They will also discuss a home evacuation plan with you. All homes are different but a visit should take no longer than 45 minutes. This is a FREE service provided in the interest of developing a safer community.
If you would like to book a Safehome visit, please phone the Department of Emergency Service Community Contact Centre on 1300 369 003 or you can book online at www.fire.qld.gov.au
It is necessary for the person living in the property to call and book the visit. If you are renting, tenants should book the visit and not lessors/agents. If the firefighters recommend making changes to the property during the visit, such as installing a smoke alarm, the tenant should raise this with the lessor/agent and discuss options.
Bushfire is a natural occurrence, and one of natures most devastating forces. And more people than ever before are choosing to live in or near bushland. Semi-rural and urban residential estates on the outskirts of our cities and towns as well as properties exposed to corridors of bushland in urban settings are potentially at risk of bushfire threat.
Firefighters urge residents to be aware of the risks and responsibilities of living in grass and bushfire-prone areas, and to prepare their properties for the fire season.
Responding to bushfires must be shared between the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, local government, communities and most importantly, individuals. The Service takes its responsibility very seriously to protect the lives and property of those in the path of bushfire. However, in some situations, such as major or multiple bushfires, it cannot guarantee that a fire fighting appliance and crew will be available to protect every individual residence.
If you live in an area where human development meets bushland then contact 1300 369 003 for a copy the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service’s Bushfire Prepared Communites booklet or download a copy at www.fire.qld.gov.au.
Prepared by Jenny Tunbridge, Community Liaison Officer, Queensland Fire & Rescue Service, Ph: 07 55 837 574. The following references are acknowledged and recommended for further information:
www.fire.qld.gov.au
www.emergency.qld.gov.au
www.ema.gov.au/agd/EMA/ - Action Guides;
www.agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/bushfire
www.members.westnet.com.au/esperancefire
www.fire.nsw.gov.au/community/bushfire
