Community Safety Messaging for Catastrophic Bushfires: Lessons Learnt from Black Saturday Bushfires, Victoria 2009
October 27, 2016, by Community Engagement Technical Group | v1.0 This guideline is intended to provide fire authorities around Australia with evidence-based advice about the key messages that could be conveyed to communities about bushfire survival. It captures the key findings of the Victoria Police report into the Black Saturday fire fatalities.
Our guideline
This guideline supports fire agencies developing community messaging about bushfire readiness. For any bushfire, it is recommended that people leave areas threatened by bushfire early. However, if they make the decision to stay, following this guideline may increase their safety and chances of survival.
This guideline does not encompass all the messages that fire agencies need to communicate in relation to bushfire safety; it addresses only community safety messaging for catastrophic bushfires as identified through the lessons learnt from the Black Saturday fires.
This guideline assumes a level of knowledge of bushfire science and safety. It should be read in conjunction with AFAC’s Bushfires and Community Safety position (version 5.0, 9 November, 2012).