Staying alive : lessons learnt from a study of civilian deaths in the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires.

Reprinted from Fire Management Quarterly; no. 2; p.1-17

This study investigates the circumstances surrounding civilian deaths during the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, in order to assist the development of strategies to minimise the future loss of life. The study identified three categories of victims through which to address the deficiencies in the way the victims responded to the fire threat. They are: victims who recognised the real threat to their safety with enough time to save their lives, but chose an ineffective survival strategy; victims who did not recognise the real threat to their safety in time to implement an effective survival strategy; and victims who were physically incapable of implementing an effective survival strategy. Community groups who have taken responsibility for their own bushfire safety have become the focus of the Country Fire Authority's (CFA) bushfire safety program. Given the deficiencies in these victims' survival strategies, this study concludes that there is scope for reducing the number of deaths through bushfires by establishing and supporting these community groups