A small group of volunteers has met to develop fire emergency response guidelines for the village. The advice for all people in the village and surrounding areas is that you need to take personal responsibility for your own safety and leave early if you do not intend to stay and defend your home. There may not be help available from emergency services and our road access may be cut off and the power/communications networks may fail very quickly.
Everyone should develop a written plan and have a grab box ready with emergency supplies and important paperwork and mementos. If you plan to stay and defend your home, you need to have suitable equipment and clothing. One of our volunteers plans to stay and defend his property, so he has purchased some suitable clothing. He is dressed in fire resistant clothing, leather gloves, a hat, goggles to go over his glasses and a P95 mask. He also has a pair of leather boots. If a fire is approaching, you do not have to have all this gear, but it is very important to avoid wearing synthetics and to cover as much of the body as possible with non-flammable, heat resistant clothing.
