“It’s an interesting idea and certainly one worth exploring. “Said Wendy Shirley, executive director, CFS Volunteer Association.”It’s early days yet in this whole new fire danger rating system and it certainly would stand to reason that there are people up in the hills who would have nowhere else to go, If they don’t have any friends or relatives in Adelaide that they can go to on such a day, this proposal might be the solution for them,” she said.

“Community Fireguard is not a group discussion on fighting fires – it’s about planning what to do in the event of a bushfire. It is also a great way to get to know your neighbours and find out what their plans are”, says John Henshaw, CFA facilitator for community fireguard. The duty of facilitators is to encourage and educate the public on fire preparation and survival through joint meeting.

“Our direction to the campers in those parks, like the Grampians, Little Desert, Wyperfeld, is leave tonight, and at least leave tomorrow morning and go to a cool and safe place for your family and sit the day out,” Department of Sustainability and Environment chief fire officer Ewan Waller said. He discouraged bushwalking and travelling in the bush. Grampians National Park, Lake Hindmarsh Reserve and the Little Desert National Park are closed till the conditions become favorable.

“We want everyone to understand that you do not wait around for a fire and then get on the road. Being on the road during a fire is the most dangerous place to be. “Said CFA chief officer, Russell Rees.

”Since August, there’s been a very noticeable attitude in communities just to simply leave,” said Rob Rogers, an assistant commissioner with the NSW Rural Fire Service.

”We could end up with quite a high property loss,” he said. And if most residents fled there would be fewer people to douse embers left by the main fire front, increasing the potential for fresh blazes, Mr. Rogers said.

The fire warning system in Australia has changed slightly after the Black Saturday fires with the new fire danger ratings and also with the introduction of the new Emergency Alert, a new telephone based fire warning system that alert people through land phones and mobile phones At this stage people plan to go to the Neighbourhood safer places even though the authorities insist it as a last resort when other means to escape and defend fail. As such the authorities are planning to review the system.

“The dust is being caused by winds shifting eastwards during the day and is making fire spotting difficult. There is no major bushfire activity at present so it’s just dust or dirt in the air, not smoke or ash from a fire. People can be confused by dust and smoke, and this can make identification on major incidents difficult. The dust which is prevalent across the State at present should dissipate later in the day, but the CFS is stressing the need for residents to take particular care in being alert as early detection of bushfires outbreaks is vital,” said Mr. Mark Thomason Co ordinator,Country Fire Services(CFS).

Mr. Thompson requests the residents across the state to be vigilant and alert and to scan the horizon for any tell tale sign of a bushfire.

Similarly telecommunication issues in south east of Australia have also caused broadcasting problems to the media agencies.

The authorities therefore urge the people to simply walk around the houses and to look the horizon for any sign of bushfire to alert themselves or to report to the fire services.

A resident was taken for hospital after he burnt severely while two fire fighters were treated for smoke inhalation. Another firefighter was taken to hospital for heat stroke. The farmers reported the deaths of many livestock and many others lost their home and business.

The fire was controlled on Wednesday late afternoon by the efforts of four water bombing helicopters and hundreds of fire fighters. State Premier Colin Barnett declared a natural disaster, freeing up emergency funds for those in need.

The fire started in Ninga Ninga has burnt 1500 hectares of grassland. Three farms were under severe threat here but favourable weather conditions helped the crews to bring the fire under control. The eight districts in South Australia were under catastrophic fire threat on the day the fire started in Ninga Ninga and Port Lincoln. There were seven water bombing aircrafts including an Ericcson sky crane helipcoptor, about 140 CFA fire fighters and 35 fire fighters from other agencies to control the fire in Port Lincoln.

• Going to safer places is only an option when other means to escape early has failed.
• Travelling to a safer place especially distant ones may be dangerous because of the traffic block, congestion, heavy smoke, accidents, fallen trees and general panic situation.
• The availability of emergency services can not be always guaranteed in a safer place.
• There is no provision for accommodating pets.
• No amenities like foods, drinks, toilets, may be there in a neighbourhood safer place.

‘It is a system that will get a message out to people quickly and efficiently in life-threatening situations.’ said Premier John Brumby.

At present it can send messages to landlines and mobile phones within an identified area. That means it can not send messages to visitor’s mobile phones. The system can send 300 text messages per second and 1000 voice messages per minute. The warning will be issued only during life threatening situations at the command of a bushfire incident controller. The triple zero emergency number will be still available for calling police, fire service and ambulance. The Emergency alert system is operated by Telstra Corporation Limited.