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    Leave Early. And if you can't...?
    Leave Early. And if you can't...?
    Leave Early. And if you can't...?
    Ebook99 pages57 minutes

    Leave Early. And if you can't...?

    By Bruce Dudon

    ()

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    About this ebook

    This book is a highly practical and well-informed guide to being in every way prepared for the possibility of bushfire.

    Victoria has been scarred by fire many times. We know that education, education, education, is the key to living in, surviving, and being able to enjoy life in a fire-prone landscape.

    The best message is always to l

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPB Publishing
    Release dateMay 1, 2024
    ISBN9780645892352
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      Book preview

      Leave Early. And if you can't...? - Bruce Dudon

      Title: Leave Early. And if you can’t...?

      Author: Bruce Dudon

      ISBN 978-0-6458923-2-1

      E-ISBN 978-0-6458923-5-2

      ©2023 Bruce Dudon

      The moral right of the author is asserted.

      PB Publishing

      Gisborne Victoria

      www.pbpublishing.com.au

      Printed in Australia

      Acknowledgements

      Support helps, sometimes in unexpected ways, often simply inspiring ideas, and while some of those mentioned will deny all knowledge or have forgotten me and what I have been trying to do, I will still make mention of them because of their advice and encouragement.

      Dave Allen CFA, Pip Butler editor, Karen Curnow, Virginia Trioli, Rosie Greenfield, Professor John Handmer RMIT, Roger Jones former Director of AEMI, Heather Knight, Ian Large, Professor Jim McLennan La Trobe University, Lawry Mahon Victoria University, Lewis Yarlupurka O’Brien a Kaurna Elder of Adelaide Plains and Honorary Fellow of the University of South Australia, Professor Tarquam McKenna Victoria University, Dr Jill Sanguinetti Victoria University and Jahne Hope-Williams.

      Preface

      ...in 1770 when Lieutenant James Cook, HMS Endeavour, saw something remarkable along Australia’s east coast: the trees had ‘No underwood.’ On 1 May he ‘made excursion into the country which he found diversified woods, lawns and marshes; the woods are free from underwood of every kind and trees are at such a distance from one another that the whole country or at least a great part of it might be cultivated without being obliged to cut down a single tree.¹

      If we love our country, we must be prepared to learn how it works. The 1939 Streeton Royal Commission stated the need to educate us on how to prepare for fire, flood, and other disasters.

      Bushfire depends on fuel, heat, wind and ignition. That, along with the land and its form—hilly, mountainous, or dry desert country, will assist or inhibit the way fire moves. The 2009 Black Saturday fires in the Whittlesea district travelled ridge-top to ridge-top at such a rate as to be unstoppable.

      This work is based on the Central district of Victoria. However, it will be similar in the way fire suppression is carried out in other areas. Living in the northwest of Victoria for example, will present different conditions to those in Gippsland. The details relating to your district are available from your local fire service.

      1 Gammage, B.; 2011, The Biggest Estate on Earth, p5

      Contents

      1 Introduction

      2 Stay or go – Things to think about

      3 We are staying

      4 And now...

      5 Taking care...

      6 Children

      7 Mental issues

      8 The disabled

      9 What is fire?

      10 Is it possible to stop fire?

      11 Warnings

      12 A late change of mind...

      13 Equipment

      14 Preparation

      15 Clothing

      16 A concrete shelter?

      17 Burning off, pets, holidays etc

      18 The First Australians

      19 At the end of the day

      Checklist

      Fire plan

      20 Recollections

      21 Comments

      Bibliography and books worth reading

      Dedication

      To all emergency workers, particularly the volunteers, who help protect our communities while risking the loss of their own properties. Also to the people of the first nations who chatted with me from time to time and helped with my work.

      1

      Introduction

      Do we need another tragedy, another ‘Black Saturday’?

      Bushfire is part of Australia, particularly in South-Eastern Australia. Major fires have devastated lives and now, we are encouraged to ‘Leave Early’. In 2003 the Auditor General, J.W. Cameron, wrote in the foreword to Fire Prevention and Preparedness: Individual members of our community have some of the most important responsibilities for wildfire prevention and preparedness. Victoria’s professional and volunteer firefighters deliver outstanding service, but ultimately the responsibility for protecting our own lives and property from wildfire lies with each of us as individuals.²

      After 25-plus years as a volunteer member of CFA and having seen the outcomes of bushfire, I think we must heed the words of the Auditor General and take some responsibility for ourselves. I attended several meetings of the Royal Commission regarding the 2009 fires and this work has been put together to help the community understand why fire can be good, bad, and ugly. A Chinese proverb says, ‘Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand.’

      ‘Leave Early’ is the cry every fire season. Why should you leave early?

      To build a better understanding of bushfire and how we might be able to manage it from an individual standpoint, we need to ask: What is fire? How is it made? What is the cause? How can we stop it? When do we leave? Where can I go if in danger or uncertain of what might be? What should I do and when should I do it? How can I do it? Who can help me? And, if fire doesn’t happen, what then? Many questions, with many answers.

      Wherever you choose to live, you need to know how to manage in times of danger.

      Christopher Zinn

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