“I fear we may have underestimated the force of these fires. And overestimated our own capacity top deal with them.” Darren Chester – MP for Gippsland, Vic

 

Staying with your house during a bushfire is assumed by all Australian bushfire services to be the safest way to handle the flames.

But what if the fire is so large and the winds so strong that radiant heat creates an inescapable 'hurricane of fire'. Also, the speed of the fire's progress means any information residents can get arrives too late to be useful.

The issue recalls the troubling tale of Sam Gents, a Kinglake resident who appeared on Sunrise searching for his family who stayed behind at his house.

By all accounts, the Victorian bushfires are resetting the rules on how threatened residents should act.

Escape methods obsolete

A mother of three who stayed with home her in one of the last major bushfires, the one to hit the Blue Mountains in 2005, has been deeply affected by what happened in Kinglake.

She tells Sunrise all the rules seem to have now changed.

"In the past, we always thought it was a good idea that if you wanted to save your house, you stay with the house."

Watching this week's deadly firestorm in Victoria has now clouded her thinking.

"In these extreme fires, it just doesn't seem to work. It's as if there's noting you can do" 

 

The two sides of the debate

- 1. Stay and fight

CFA, the Country Fire Authority, was established in Victoria after the Ash Wednesday fires. Their material currently states that "If you want to stay and defend your property you will need to do some preparation well in advance and develop your own bushfire plan."

But it may not be easy. "To defend your home may take many hours of strenuous activity. Are you physically and emotionally able to do it?"

There are warnings to be prepared with the right protection but also suggestions to stay that now seem like folly.

"Radiant heat cannot penetrate through solid objects, but will pass through glass. That means your best protection is a well-prepared house."

"Remember, if you flee from your house, you lose its protection against radiant heat."

"Other structures such as brick walls can offer protection. Taking shelter in pools, dams and water tanks is not a safe option. The air above the water will be dangerous to breathe, and may be deadly when inhaled."

	quote
	"In the past, we always thought it was a good idea that if you wanted to save your house, you stay with the house." Mother of three, bushfire survivor

Sunrise has heard reports from survivors that they survived by diving into dams but others who lost family members doing the same thing. One resident told Sunrise this morning that the fire hit a street of Flowerdale, "like a bomb just dropped in the middle of it. Not a single thing standing." (Watch video)

 

2. Flee the fire

Fleeing your house as soon as you feel it is threatened is one way to avoid being hit with the full ferocity of a blaze.

Politicians and fire officials are, so far, standing by their the "leave early or stay and fight" policy. Victorian Premier John Brumby told ABC1's Lateline that the "has served the state very, very well for the past 20 years."

It is now clear from the lives lost in cars while fleeing that the decision to leave early is as important as making the decision to leave.

Yet, with this knowledge in mind, Blue Mountains resident Paul Arundel stayed with in his home to fight the fire. While his house was spared, embers later took the homes of three of his neighbours in Cross Street, Warrimoo.

He can now see the homeowners of Victoria faced a situation much, much more ferocious as he wrote in a letter to the school where he is principal.

"To stay and fight like we did was [for them] virtually a decision to die, yet for most there was little warning to flee! Clearly last Saturday was a cataclysmic event beyond any human control."

"At the time, they rated our fire a 94 out of 100. The Canberra fire of 2003 was off the scale - a 200 - and that's what the fire looks like last week."

While some in his street fled the 2005 fires, Paul speaks of his very real desire to stay with the house. In Paul's experience, sticking around to put out spotfires gave his house a much better chance of making it.

"Everything I've ever read says that for Ash Wednesday, virtually all houses that burnt didn't go in the firefront, they went up after the event due to falling embers."

"So if people didn't stay around to put out ember, they lost their house. And in the house next to mine that's exactly what happened."

Would you stay or go if faced with a fire? Tell us below...

 -------------------

>> Read Part 2: Could Safety Pods have saved lives? "They could potentially be bought using materials sold at your local Bunnings!"