Here is the story of an Australian family who survived bushfire in a fire bunker on Black Saturday. Bevan Gobbett with his wife and six year daughter from Clonbinane survived the fire on Black Saturday by hiding in a fire bunker. The fire bunker was an old shipping container which he received along with the house and property at the time of purchase.Mr. Bevan Gobbett modified it with respirators, fire extinguishers and water.

On the day of bush fire he was priming water pumps when his wife recognized roaring fire in the sky. It was heading towards their house. When he ran to the backside a second fire has been coming from that side. With no alternative to escape out he ran into the bunker along with his wife and daughter. They stayed until midnight because it was too hot to come out.

There is strong debate on the working and safety of fire bunkers. Some people argue that fire bunkers can not help human life during extreme fire. Others support it pointing the survival of many people during bush fires. According to Keith Crews, professor, structural engineering, University of Technology, Sydney, fire bunkers could be built in houses and communities in the bush fire prone areas. Underground bunkers would be ideal to protect the lives of many people.”You would need something that is essentially underground because of the insulating quality of earth”. He said. In developing a technique to build a fire bunker, it is better to add features that make concrete bomb shelters, but at the same time the bunkers need not to be too deep because earth act as a natural insulator. The fire bunkers can be made with concrete or timbers or a combination of both. The burning properties of timber make it a good insulator too.