Bushfires are unpredictable. Each year, we see bushfires that reshape the way we live with fire and teach us lessons on how we can respond as a family to stay safe. Take the recent fires in Los Angeles as an example - an urban fire that tore through entire neighbourhoods. There’s much to learn from those events and how they apply here, but the first takeaway is how quickly it unfolded. It was a Tuesday morning. Most people were at work. The decisions they faced in those moments would have been nothing short of traumatic.
Understanding how we react in these moments and what we can do to prepare can make all the difference. From the physical stress to the mental hurdles of making decisions for our family in the face of unfamiliar and chaotic scenes, awareness of these challenges can give us an advantage. More importantly, it reinforces why having a plan is so critical.
Most of the time, decisions happen automatically without much thought or consequence. But in high-stakes situations, like a bushfire, decision-making can quickly become overwhelming. The stress, uncertainty, and rapidly changing environment can cloud even the simplest choices, making it difficult to act in the best way to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
We make decisions every day, mostly automatic with minimal consequence and occasionally they can be more challenging. In extreme cases, like emergencies, decisions come with risk and in the heat of the moment, not everyone responds the same way – it's the classic fight or flight scenario. The response can vary from person to person, influenced by personality, past experiences, and the nature of the threat. Another response we see is 'freeze,' and in the face of a bushfire emergency, decisions that would typically be routine suddenly become difficult. For example, choosing a driving route from one place to another is usually straightforward. However, in an emergency, the introduction of new sights, sounds, changing conditions, and panic from others can quickly become overwhelming, complicating the process of selecting a safe evacuation route. In some cases, these decisions can be nearly impossible to make, leading to poor decision-making that increases risk. We have examples of people that have lived in an area for 20 years, they know the roads but in the fire they simply couldn’t make the decision to turn left or right out of the driveway.
As a mum, let’s now add into the mix of an emergency that you have kids to think about, friends and family that might need assistance, pets that need wrangling and a never ending list of belongings to find in a hurry. Ask yourself if you think you have the ability to process all this when faced with a life threatening scenario.
Another human behaviour risk we come up against in an emergency is overestimating our ability to cope with a scenario and the emotions that go with it. It's a reason why people drive through floodwaters or through fire areas. "It won't happen to me.” “I know the roads well.” “My car is better than everyone else’s." "It won't be that bad.”
We naturally think it won’t happen to us or if it does happen, it won’t be that bad and we can deal with it. In reality, emergencies are unpredictable and conditions can escalate rapidly. Even the most well-prepared people find themselves vulnerable, and the belief that "it won't be that bad" can quickly expose us to risk that jeopardises our safety and the safety of others.
Stepping away from human behaviour, there's a physiological response we also need to be aware of in a bushfire - heat exhaustion and heat stroke play a huge role in our ability to survive. Even if a fire is a long way away, the high daily temperatures combined with perhaps not drinking enough water or exerting yourself preparing for fire, can start to raise our body temperature, and that starts to do weird things as our internal critical communication lines get disrupted.
We're all familiar with that feeling in ourselves and our kids of being hot and bothered. Irritable, anxious, uncomfortable, restless, and frustrated, to highlight a few. These are the early stages of heat-related illness. It affects our physical well-being, increases the workload on our heart and cognitive functions again become compromised, adding to the complexities of decision-making. While there are several ways to mitigate these risks, having a plan is the most effective way!
An emergency plan removes layers of thinking for us. Plans are put in place in the calmness of your living room on a weeknight with the family gathered around. Then, when we need it most our plan is there, setting some ground rules on what we need to do and the procedures to do them. They tell us who to call, what to pack, what to wear, when to go, when not to go, where to go, how to get there, and importantly, how to prepare ourselves and our properties. This last one is interesting in bushfire planning because we hear it a lot. “We don’t have to plan for us or anything around our place; the first sign of trouble and we’re gone”. It’s a great plan and the guiding message of emergency services is to have a plan and leave early to avoid the risks. However, we also know plans fail, and they fail badly. What if you can’t leave? We always encourage people to set up their property to give it the best chance of surviving a fire, flood, or storm because, in the worst-case scenario, your home could be the important shelter you need to survive.
Your next steps.
Start your plan by visiting the websites of your local emergency agencies that have planning templates you can use, find out information about your local community and how it’s been impacted by emergencies in the past and what you might expect, and if you have kids, talk to their daycare/schools about their emergency plans. You can also visit bushfireresilience.org for their series of webinars covering all things bushfire.
Keep in mind that creating your plan takes time. It’s a commitment that our busy schedules don’t allow for so while you’re developing your plan, there’s a few things you can be doing right now.
· Check the weather forecasts for the next 4 days. Do this each day to keep a step ahead in your planning. It applies to fire, flood and storms and any signs of significant weather should be a cue to take steps to reduce your risk.
· Emergency Apps. In Victoria for example we have the VicEmergency App. Download the app applicable to your area, set up alerts and watch zones if possible. Keep an eye on fire danger ratings or flood and storm warnings but remember, in emergencies phone data and power can be affected so we can’t rely on apps alone. Have other sources like TV and radio, emergency agency websites and social media, and keep battery backup options to charge phones and other equipment you might need.
· Community Unity. We’re big believers in community unity. If you’re doing the above and you think conditions could be a risk, let your local family and friends or vulnerable people in the community know. Communities in high risk areas are better prepared and more resilient to the impacts of an emergency if they’re working together so chat with mates about their plans and any relevant threats.
· Checklists. start with some checklists. A few checklists can help manage your stress and you can have one for the following:
o A list of things to do all summer. Keep the cars fuelled, batteries charged, have an emergency kit in the car
o What to pack the day before a bad fire day forecast
o The procedures for loading the car, the kids, the pets, livestock and important items
o A checklist of where you’re going and the route you’ll take. (See our other post for creating an evacuation route map)
o A checklist of who you will call before you leave and when you’re safe
That’s a few simple steps to add to your daily routine while you work on your emergency plan and if you are presented with an emergency beforehand remember to keep calm, drink plenty of water and don’t drive on the roads until you know for certain it’s safe.
Preparation doesn’t eliminate the risks, but it does give us the best chance of making clear, informed decisions when it matters most. Bushfires are chaotic, and we can't always predict how we’ll react in the moment, but a well-thought-out plan removes some of that uncertainty. It gives us something to fall back when everything else feels overwhelming. So start small. Take those first steps today and build resilience over time by learning about how fires behave in your area and how to protect your house.
