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general perception by fire services personnel, community represen-
tatives and household surveys that views about bushfire risk were
quite varied in the area. Consequently, a ‘one size fits all’ approach
to community information activities may not be appropriate.
Management plans were seen as important by both fire services and
the community, but everyone recognized that they were not effec-
tively implemented.
Wildfire/bushfire-prone housing at Tamborine Mountain, Australia
Image: Alison Cottrell
Stormwatchers 2008: an interactive children’s game for cyclone education
Although individual householders felt themselves to
be the people most responsible for personal and house-
hold safety in the event of a fire, expectations change
when one occurs. There were also clear differences of
expectations in terms of delivery of information to the
public. Interestingly, although the fire services perceived
public opposition to controlled burns, the survey and
community meetings indicated that people supported
controlled burns but had concerns that these should not
get out of control and should be timed appropriately.
Householders not prepared
– In all three locations,
bushfire preparations were undertaken by less than half
the householders surveyed. In addition, even where
preparations had been undertaken they were very inad-
equate. Householders were not certain of what they
needed to do or how much it would cost them to under-
take preparations. In all three locations approximately
half the respondents would rely on the fire service to
respond to bushfire. This is highly problematic given
that there can never be enough rural fire fighters.
Implications
– A major issue for fire services is how
to gain attention when other issues take priority for
the community. There is also a need to approach
preparedness issues in a variety of ways. At Tamborine
Mountain, there appeared to be a substantial section
of the community that was not at all prepared.
Conversely, a substantial group of people believed they
Image: Centre for Disaster Studies