Extreme weather conditions are not a matter of “if” but “when” in Queensland. Over the last two years, Queensland has suffered unprecedented bushfires. This has served as a solemn reminder for Queenslanders to be as prepared as possible as the 2020-21 bushfire season approaches. We’ve rounded up the bushfire basics you need to know this summer.
Understand Your Risk
The first step you need to take to prepare for a potential bushfire threat is understanding your risk. Undertaking a thorough risk assessment helps to reduce the impact of bushfires on your wellbeing, home, family, finances and business.
Across Queensland, levels of risk can vary. Depending on where you are located, you need to make yourself aware of the potential risks. Additionally, your personal circumstances influence your level of risk. Whether you are a business owner, pet owner, parent, teacher, elderly, injured or if you are disabled, this will affect your personal risk assessment.
Be Prepared
Once you understand your risk, it’s time to get prepared. To keep your home safe, get started on your maintenance as soon as possible. This is important for many Queensland homes, considering fire embers have the potential to spread many kilometres from the original location of a large bushfire, which may lead to the break out of smaller spot fires. Keeping your gardens maintained and addressing any damage to your home due to age or incident is therefore an important step as the bushfire season approaches.
Check Your Insurance
To ensure you’re covered, you’ll need to check your insurance. To make sure you are insured for bushfires, undertake an inventory checklist. Knowing the value of your contents will inform what coverage you need, to ensure you aren’t left out of pocket if they’re damaged in a fire. Also, if you’ve recently renovated your home, it’s a good idea to have it checked by a professional valuer. If you’re unsure whether or not you’re covered, you should have a chat with your insurer, making sure you ask them the right questions.
Make a Plan
Next, you need to make a plan. This involves devising both a “leaving” plan and a “staying” plan that considers all the important factors. Head here for an excellent tool to devise your bushfire survival plan.
Know Your Resources
There are so many resources available to keep you, your family and your belongings safe this coming bushfire season.
It’s important to keep an eye on current bushfires. When assessing the current bushfires near you, keep in mind the potential for bushfires to rapidly spread. During a disaster, staying on top of Queensland Government disaster and emergency alerts and reporting fallen power lines to appropriate services is paramount.
Fire Control Units
Austates are experienced in making fire control units that can be customised to meet your unique requirements. Whether you need a fire control unit for personal emergency stand-by use, regular hazard reduction maintenance or small-town volunteer bushfire response, we can create the right product for you. At Austates, we can manufacture everything from small units for trailers to large, truck-mounted units. Contact us if you have any questions, we’d be happy to have a chat.
Ensuring you are prepared for the upcoming bushfire season is fundamental to protecting your family, property or business. No matter your circumstances, following these bushfire basics will help ensure your safety and wellbeing this summer.