Why is preparing for bushfire important?

    Bushfires have the capacity to strike without warning and provided with the right environmental conditions, can quickly exceed firefighting resources.

    Do not wait for a knock on the door from Emergency services! You and your household must know what to do and when to act in a fire emergency. For this reason, it is imperative that each household/and individual are informed of bushfire preparedness, awareness and have a survival plan. This is crucial to protect life, livelihood, property and community.


    Why do I have to prepare my property?

    It is important that individuals do not assume that the City will be wholly responsible for hazard preparedness and mitigation for each home? Our homes and our families are our personal responsibility to prepare keep safe in emergency situations.

    Each one of us must take personal responsibility for our property and the safety of our family. It is critically important to understand that fire authorities will be working hard to stop the fire front and therefore may not be able to protect individual homes during a bushfire. To protect your home this fire season, you must prepare your property, a little work each month of the year will also help to prepare and protect it from other natural hazards such as storms.

    It is very important for each of us to have a bushfire survival plan, understand that we are at risk, accept our personal responsibility to prepare and protect our homes and family, stay informed, and be self-reliant. This is critical to ensure self-protection during bushfires and to support the protective services provided by local and career fire services.

    Where can I get information in an emergency

    Emergency WA is the State's official website for community warnings and other emergency management information for bushfires, storms, cyclones, floods, and much more.https://www.emergency.wa.gov.au/

    Who is the lead hazard management agency for fire?

    The Department of Fire and Emergency Services, or DFES, is the lead hazard management agency for fire and emergency services.  

    What is Fire Chat?

    Five Minute Fire Chat is a new, simple bushfire planning and preparation tool that has been developed to help individuals and families to easily form their survival plan. It consists of the 5 minute Fire Chat, and is supported by a Bushfire Preparation Toolkit, which are two simple steps to help residents to plan, prepare and survive a bushfire event. This has been created by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services.

    What is a Firebreak

    A firebreak is a 3-metre-wide, bare mineral earth, cleared strip/track. A firebreak must not have any combustible materials present and must have a height clearance of 4 metres minimum. A firebreak is used for firefighting techniques and access for fire appliances in the event of an emergency incident. These breaks must be in a continuous, trafficable form meaning a large vehicle can drive continuously and safe in one direction within the perimeter of the property and end up where they started.