Accommodation

If you are staying in an area where there are lots of trees, scrub or dry grass, regardless of whether it is a bed and breakfast, holiday house, motel or caravan park you will need to think about the bushfire risk.

When you arrive at your accommodation, ask the owner, manager or agent to share their bushfire plan with you, so that you know local risk, access routes and identified safer places.

Do not get caught outside if fire threatens.
Do not leave at the last minute.
Leaving when the fire has arrived is extremely dangerous.

If you have not left the night before or early in the morning, leave as soon as you are alerted to fire activity in the area but only if it is clearly safe to do so.

If a fire threatens the area where you are staying, be prepared to seek shelter as the fire passes. Do not try to leave at the last minute.

If you do get caught in a bushfire:

• seek shelter from radiant heat in a previously identified safer location, close to you (e.g. a wellprepared house or building or a Neighbourhood Safer Place – place of last resort)
• wear long sleeves and long pants (made of natural fibres) and sturdy shoes

If sheltering in a building:

• shut doors and windows
• drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration
• wet towels and wool blankets, and place around window and door edges to keep smoke out
• fill containers with water to extinguish small fires that might start in the building
• watch what is happening outside
• as soon as flames pass and it is safe to do so, move out of the building and into an already burnt area

If there is a fire burning at a distance, you may feel confident that you can leave the area well before the fire threatens and road travel becomes dangerous. You must ensure that you can reach a safe place, such as a town centre, well before the fire reaches that area. Driving during a bushfire is extremely dangerous. Always u-turn to safety if you can.

Neighbourhood Safer Places
Neighbourhood Safer Places are shelter places of last resort (NSP-PLR) when all else fails. Not all towns will have one. They do not guarantee safety but are a place of last resort if you have nowhere else to go. Look for signs that designate an area or building as a NSP-PLR. turn to safety if you can.