Fire Safe; Are You Ready?

The Brumby Government in co-operation with the CFA, have released a new fire safety policy that helps to prevent the tragedy that was Black Saturday.

You would have to be living under a rock to not know about Black Saturday so I will skip over the horrific facts and bring to your attention the Brumby Government scheme. Tell me your thoughts and whether or not this is enough to help prevent, Australia’s worse natural diaster from happening again:

The biggest change is the introduction of a new Fire Danger Rating Policy. This policy contains six categories of danger: Code Red-Catastrophic, Extreme, Severe, Very High, High and Low Moderate.

CODE RED, CATASTROPHIC: If you live in a bush fire prone area your safest option is to leave the night before or early in the morning.

EXTREME: Leave early in the morning or you can stay on your property if you are well planned, have a well constructed home and you can defend your property.

SEVERE: Leave your property early in the morning or say if you can protect and defend your home.

VERY HIGH: If you live in a high-prone area, you should leave at the beginning of the day.

HIGH: Go over your bush fire survival plan and make sure you’re ready if the time comes for you to flee.

LOW MODERATE: Check your bushfire plan.

This policy however doesn’t give any form of authorities the power to forcibly remove anyone from their property. That decision still lies firmly with the owner. But will anyone take that risk? Would you after what happened on Black Saturday?

It has also been estimated that the freakish weather conditions of February 7th, will happen at least once more this summer. It’s not only up to the Government or the CFA, local councils have to do there bit too. The Dandenong Ranges have been ravaged recently with a mass clean up (or clean out) of trees. This is NOT the way to go.

Allow local fire authorities to back burn the possible hot spots and clean up debris and scrub. This won’t stop fires from happening, but it will rob them of fuel.

So, with the fire season officially beginning on October 28, I ask you, the very people who could be affected, is the Government’s new fire policy enough to help prevent another Black Saturday?