Although data states that 2/3 of Black Saturday fatalities died while sheltering in or near their house, research by bushfire scientists revealed that they did not die because they were sheltering. They died because they did not know how to shelter safely.

When the emergency messaging is saying “It’s too late to leave, you should take shelter and stay indoors.”, What should you actually do?

IF YOU CANNOT SHELTER IN A BUILDING:

• Shelter behind a wall; beside a large fire resistant tree (that has no flammable undergrowth); in or beside a car; in a dam (if no vegetation is near either), in a ditch, (cover yourself with earth or blanket); crouch beneath a blanket (must be pure wool) on bare ground or an already burnt area.

IF YOU CAN SHELTER IN A BUILDING:

Before you go inside:

• Shut off gas and electricity at the mains.
• Put pets inside: dogs on leash, cats in covered cages.
• Take in outdoor furniture, doormats, hanging baskets, plastic pot plants.

When you are inside:

• Make sure all doors and windows are securely shut.
• Turn off air conditioners; cover their internal vents.
• If windows are unshuttered, cover with blankets (must be pure wool), heavy quality quilts, foil or wet towels.
• Move flammable furniture away from windows.
• Close internal doors to limit fire spread if embers enter and ignite inside.
• Put on protective clothing and smoke/dusk mask and drink often.
• Keep blankets (must be pure wool) handy.
• Cool off when possible.
• Watch the conditions outside if possible through a small window or peephole. Do not open a door or window to look outside.
• When you are sure flaring shrubs and tree heads have blackened, it’s safe to go out again. (burning tree trunks do not generally emit radiant heat.)

PASSIVE SHELTERERS

• Do not shelter in an inner room. Not in the hallway. Not in the bath. If you shelter in any kind of inner room – no matter how many doors it has – you could be trapped. Embers may have ignited sub-floor or wall cavities or rafters in the ceiling space. Flaming walls or ceiling could collapse on you. Toxic fumes from smouldering furnishings, synthetic furniture or wall linings could overcome you.

• Stay by a door that exits to outside – in protective clothing and with blankets (must be pure wool).
• It is vital for passive shelterers to exit as soon as the radiant heat from flames has died down.

ACTIVE SHELTERERS

• Take hose, sprayers and ladder inside with you.
• Fill bath & troughs with water, immerse towels, roll up and place at door gaps and window ledges. Plug large keyholes with Play Dough, Blu-Tac or soap.
• Fill containers (e.g. garden sprayers) with water; put these, with dippers, mops etc, in each room.
• Watch for invading embers. Particularly in the ceiling space, through windows, gaps under doors. Spray or hit with wet mop any sparks, embers or smouldering furnishings.
• If any ignition cannot be extinguished, close the door of that room.
• Maintain easy access to an exit door.
• Never go outside during a flame front to douse an outside ignition.

EXITING

• Exit with great care, preferably from a door that is sheltered from the wind.
• Wear protective clothing & nose cover, cover yourself with your blanket (must be pure wool), crouch, lower your eyelids and open the door gradually.

The most important bushfire survival equipment is a heavy duty, pure wool, blanket. Covered with their blanket and with a flask of water people have withstood the most catastrophic conditions.

Extracted from my Essential Bushfire Safety Tips (CSIRO 2012), www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6969.htm

Thanks, worth reading.

I’m not sure how burning tree trunks can not emit radiant heat though.

The Rev Dodgson said:

Thanks, worth reading.

I’m not sure how burning tree trunks can not emit radiant heat though.

It’s a relative thing. A hot full-forest fire will emit radiant heat that is calculated to be deadly at a distance of three times the flame height. Tree trunks are nothing like that threat.

So the take home message is pure wool blankets.

Rule 303 said:

Although data states that 2/3 of Black Saturday fatalities died while sheltering in or near their house, research by bushfire scientists revealed that they did not die because they were sheltering. They died because they did not know how to shelter safely.

When the emergency messaging is saying “It’s too late to leave, you should take shelter and stay indoors.”, What should you actually do?

IF YOU CANNOT SHELTER IN A BUILDING:

• Shelter behind a wall; beside a large fire resistant tree (that has no flammable undergrowth); in or beside a car; in a dam (if no vegetation is near either), in a ditch, (cover yourself with earth or blanket); crouch beneath a blanket (must be pure wool) on bare ground or an already burnt area.

IF YOU CAN SHELTER IN A BUILDING:

Before you go inside:

• Shut off gas and electricity at the mains.
• Put pets inside: dogs on leash, cats in covered cages.
• Take in outdoor furniture, doormats, hanging baskets, plastic pot plants.

When you are inside:

• Make sure all doors and windows are securely shut.
• Turn off air conditioners; cover their internal vents.
• If windows are unshuttered, cover with blankets (must be pure wool), heavy quality quilts, foil or wet towels.
• Move flammable furniture away from windows.
• Close internal doors to limit fire spread if embers enter and ignite inside.
• Put on protective clothing and smoke/dusk mask and drink often.
• Keep blankets (must be pure wool) handy.
• Cool off when possible.
• Watch the conditions outside if possible through a small window or peephole. Do not open a door or window to look outside.
• When you are sure flaring shrubs and tree heads have blackened, it’s safe to go out again. (burning tree trunks do not generally emit radiant heat.)

PASSIVE SHELTERERS

• Do not shelter in an inner room. Not in the hallway. Not in the bath. If you shelter in any kind of inner room – no matter how many doors it has – you could be trapped. Embers may have ignited sub-floor or wall cavities or rafters in the ceiling space. Flaming walls or ceiling could collapse on you. Toxic fumes from smouldering furnishings, synthetic furniture or wall linings could overcome you.

• Stay by a door that exits to outside – in protective clothing and with blankets (must be pure wool).
• It is vital for passive shelterers to exit as soon as the radiant heat from flames has died down.

ACTIVE SHELTERERS

• Take hose, sprayers and ladder inside with you.
• Fill bath & troughs with water, immerse towels, roll up and place at door gaps and window ledges. Plug large keyholes with Play Dough, Blu-Tac or soap.
• Fill containers (e.g. garden sprayers) with water; put these, with dippers, mops etc, in each room.
• Watch for invading embers. Particularly in the ceiling space, through windows, gaps under doors. Spray or hit with wet mop any sparks, embers or smouldering furnishings.
• If any ignition cannot be extinguished, close the door of that room.
• Maintain easy access to an exit door.
• Never go outside during a flame front to douse an outside ignition.

EXITING

• Exit with great care, preferably from a door that is sheltered from the wind.
• Wear protective clothing & nose cover, cover yourself with your blanket (must be pure wool), crouch, lower your eyelids and open the door gradually.

The most important bushfire survival equipment is a heavy duty, pure wool, blanket. Covered with their blanket and with a flask of water people have withstood the most catastrophic conditions.

Extracted from my Essential Bushfire Safety Tips (CSIRO 2012), www.publish.csiro.au/pid/6969.htm

That’s actually good.

I’ve watched three videos about the Black Saturday fires now. One specifically with interviews of survivors on how they survived, at the places where they survived.

Can I add more? Not much.

Don’t shelter in a creek or water tank, chances are you’ll be boiled to death. Don’t shelter under a sprinkler, toxic fumes or radiant heat will get you.

Always have an object between you and the flames. Otherwise radiant heat will get you.

Don’t stay anywhere near a window, heat causes windows to shatter.

Active shelter first. Passive shelter second.

If there are flammable trees within 20 metres of the house get out before the fire.

Beware of extreme winds. Debris blown by extreme winds can be deadly, too.

> Shelter behind a wall; beside a large fire resistant tree

Yes! The video had the toughest case of survival where two people had sheltered next to a concrete water tank behind a tree trunk. Long after their house had burnt to the ground.

This is interesting. I remember the fires on the Geelong Road at Lara in 1969. People died when they tried to run. I think after that was when the stuff came out about having water and a blanket in your car and if you absolutely had to, stay in the car and shelter under the blanket. But I also have a vague memory of something on TV showing how to shelter behind a log (look for snakes first!) and I reckon they showed how with a grassfire in a low grass paddock you can run through to the burnt bit if you are adequately clothed in the first place. Last resort though.

Pretty much all of the stuff in the OP seems very familiar to me. It’s difficult to say how long I’ve known some of it. Some must have been what I learnt after the Ash Wednesday fires.

And people laugh at me and my red buckets of water around the verandah and mops on standby over Summer. I’m persistent. I’ve been doing it for a very great number of years now.

And of course..Garry Dempsey.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/afl/champ-recalls-roar-of-hell/news-story/62bfe3ef005082352fb5314862726856?sv=9ebc1c6ba87cc131834660e8b17665fe

buffy said:

This is interesting. I remember the fires on the Geelong Road at Lara in 1969. People died when they tried to run. I think after that was when the stuff came out about having water and a blanket in your car and if you absolutely had to, stay in the car and shelter under the blanket.

Specific advise for cars:

Pull off the road, into a clear area.
Wind all windows up, unlock doors.
Turn headlights and Hazard lights on.
Turn air conditioner on full, set to recirculate.
Crouch below window level, cover with a pure wool blanket.

Cars are capable of withstanding severe burn-over conditions.

(Source: CFA training package)

Rule 303 said:

buffy said:

This is interesting. I remember the fires on the Geelong Road at Lara in 1969. People died when they tried to run. I think after that was when the stuff came out about having water and a blanket in your car and if you absolutely had to, stay in the car and shelter under the blanket.

Specific advise for cars:

Pull off the road, into a clear area.
Wind all windows up, unlock doors.
Turn headlights and Hazard lights on.
Turn air conditioner on full, set to recirculate.
Crouch below window level, cover with a pure wool blanket.

Cars are capable of withstanding severe burn-over conditions.

(Source: CFA training package)

Leave motor running?

Peak Warming Man said:

Rule 303 said:

buffy said:

This is interesting. I remember the fires on the Geelong Road at Lara in 1969. People died when they tried to run. I think after that was when the stuff came out about having water and a blanket in your car and if you absolutely had to, stay in the car and shelter under the blanket.

Specific advise for cars:

Pull off the road, into a clear area.
Wind all windows up, unlock doors.
Turn headlights and Hazard lights on.
Turn air conditioner on full, set to recirculate.
Crouch below window level, cover with a pure wool blanket.

Cars are capable of withstanding severe burn-over conditions.

(Source: CFA training package)

Leave motor running?

Affirmative.