It is a human quality to think, "Nothing bad will ever happen to me."

But....... do you know where your birth certificate is, and all other important documents? How about the family photos? Any other things you would prefer to save if the worst happened?

Having a fire safety plan for your home and family is something you may never have to use, but if the worst happens, you will be grateful for the rest of your days that you were prepared.

It's important to never assume people know what to do, that in an emergency you and your family can just spontaneously get up from the kitchen table en mass and walk out the door with everything and everyone you need, in a timely and coordinated fashion.

The NSW Rural Fire Service website has absolutely everything you need to be prepared and feel ready.

The first thing might be to have a family chat, whatever that looks like for you, and in an age appropriate manner for families who have children.

Some questions to ask might be:

• Is there anything you might want to put in a fire proof box incase of a fire, or if we had to leave the house quickly?
• If we had to leave in a hurry, who would go and grab what, family pets etc.
• Where would the meeting place be, if it was time to go - at the front door, at a point in the front garden?
• If somehow you were separated and needed to flee, where would the outside of home meeting place be - a family member's home, a shopping centre, the school?
• Do children know phone numbers and addresses of people, just in case? Do they know their own address in case they had to contact emergency services themselves?
• Does everyone know what to do it, God forbid, there was a fire near or in the home? (Stop drop and roll, most easily accessible exits).
• To find where your area's Neighbourhood Safer Space is visit https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/plan-and-prepare/neighbourhood-safer-places

Proper maintenance of your home is always a good ides - clearing debris from the yard and close to your house, lawns short,

If you don't have fire extinguishers, fire blankets, a first aid kit, smoke alarms, new batteries in the smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors in case of heater malfunctions, it might be time to invest in these. If you look online there is a lot of different equipment at various prices, depending on budget.

It's important to be prepared and don't let thins like dangers creep up on you.

This checklist from the RFS is comprehensive, providing step by step guides on how to prepare, whether you are leaving your home or staying https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/plan-and-prepare/bush-fire-survival-plan

It’s not safe to stay with your property under some circumstances; if the fire danger rating is catastrophic, if there is an extreme fire danger rating and your home is not specially designed or constructed for bush fires, your property is not well maintained, you or the people in your home aren’t mentally and physically fit and ready.

Under these circumstances, you should leave early.

Sometimes, the people we rely on in an emergency to help us, such as police fire, ambulance, and SES or other emergency services units, may be at capacity helping others, so the more proactive you are the better your chances.

Stay up to date during the bushfire danger period and when there is local bushfire activity:

Hazards Near Me appExternal link – download the app and set up a watch zone for your home and school

Live Traffic NSWExternal link

local radio, TV, newspaper and your local ABC/emergency broadcasterExternal link

In an emergency call Triple Zero (000).