The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported a serious bushfire in Bathurst in southeastern Australia on Tuesday 9^th December. Because of the high temperature and hot winds a catastrophic fire danger index above 100 was declared in northern areas of New South Wales. Residents near the Bathurst area were evacuated after a bushfire reported in the evening spread quickly to more than 3,000 acres. Two farmers were severely burnt when they tried to protect their property from the fire. “The weather made the fire unpredictable with spot fires often reaching hundreds of feet ahead of fire lines”, said Gillian Kearney a spokeswomen of the Rural Fire Service. In the meantime two firefighting helicopters collided in the mid air due to heavy smoke from the fire but both landed safely.

At present the interim regulations on fire bunkers are in force in the state of Victoria. The regulations made it compulsory the standardization of fire bunkers through approval by building surveyors on satisfying certain conditions. Apart from this, it requires some amenities inside a fire bunker when people use it as a shelter during bushfire. Basically any structure going to be used as a fire shelter should have,

• Safe access to the building.
• Adequate sanitary facilities.
• Provision for looking the external environment.
• Safe egress from the building.
• Provision for identification of such a structure by suitable sign board.

Before installing such a structure, the persons responsible for such installation must specify,

• The maximum number of people that it can accommodate and the duration of maximum stay.
• Actions to which the building may be subjected.
• The possible effect of buildings, vegetation and topography in the vicinity.
• The effect of external fire intensity.
• The prevention of unpleasant experiences within the structure during a fire.

Without proper drainage it is difficult to remove water form a fire bunker especially underground ones. Since most of the fire bunkers are installed into side or slope, special care should be taken not to allow water inside. The base of the bunker may be provided with slotted pipes. To stop ground water and rain water entering into the bunker, a waterproof barrier may be used. A sealable drain hole will allow the water to drain away. However it should not be kept open all the time. If it is kept opened during a fire time smoke and radiant heat may enter inside the bunker. Therefore the sealable drain hole may be kept closed all the time except during a maintenance or cleaning time. This will help to keep away bugs and other creatures entering into the bunker. The drainage can be blocked by brick which is covered by a wet cloth. In any case the opening should not be exposed to radiant heat.