Many Australians are ill-prepared for bushfire threat
As the nation gears up for another long, hot summer, new research from leading insurer AAMI shows one in five (19 per cent) Australians would not know what to do if a bushfire threatened their home.1
"Despite increasing awareness of climate change and dry conditions across the country, many of us still don't know how to handle bushfires, and are ill-prepared for the threat they pose to our homes and belongings," AAMI Public Affairs Manager Geoff Hughes said.
"The early start to this year's bushfire season should act as a trigger for all Australians to prepare themselves for a potentially dangerous summer, but the reality is that more than one-third (37 per cent) do not have a home fire escape plan in place," he said.
"It is a concern that many Australians don't have a plan whereby all family members would know what to do in the case of a home fire that couldn't be extinguished," Mr Hughes said. "Also worrying is that one-quarter (24 per cent) said they had children aged three to 12, who would not know what to do in a home fire."
"Disturbingly, the research that show more than one in 10 (12 per cent) Australian drivers have been known to throw lit cigarette butts from their car window, and one in 20 (five per cent) has been known to ignore total fire bans," Mr Hughes said.
"That some people are still willing to persist with such dangerous behaviour in a dry, drought-stricken country such as ours is almost impossible to believe," he added.
Bushfire aware, but lacking protection
Almost one in five Australians (17 per cent) acknowledges that they live in a bushfire-prone area, while six in 10 (60 per cent) believe the country's worsening drought and dry weather have made their home a greater fire risk. People who live in SA and ACT were most likely to agree (71 and 69 per cent), followed by Queenslanders and Victorians (64 and 62 per cent).
One in 20 Australians (five per cent) has personally been affected by bushfire, with their home partially or fully burned as a result. Following the Canberra bushfires in 2003, it's not surprising that those living in the ACT are most likely to have had bushfire damage to their home (25 per cent).
Despite recognising the prevalence of bushfires, Mr Hughes said many people were still not taking adequate measures to protect their home. "While people understand the role the drought has played in making their home more prone to fire, almost one-quarter of Australians (22 per cent) do not regularly clean the gutters of their home and one in six (17 per cent) fails to prune back branches and foliage adjacent to their home," he said.
Simple steps add up to a safer home
Mr Hughes said there was more we could all do to help prevent ourselves becoming victims of a home fire - including some simple steps every Australian could take to protect themselves from the threat of bush fire, and house fire, in general.
"These steps include leaving keys in deadlocked doors and windows when the family is at home, to enable people to get out of the house in case of a fire, something one-third of people (28 per cent) fail to do. Also, only one-third of us (31 per cent) own fire extinguishers and even fewer (22 per cent) own fire blankets.
And while 93 per cent of all Australians have a smoke alarm in their home, 10 per cent admit that they don't regularly check to see if it works.
Insurance equals reassurance
While protecting your home from fire is the ideal scenario, people whose homes are damaged by fire should be reassured that their insurance policy will get them back on their feet.
However, Mr Hughes said 29 per cent of people believed they did not have sufficient insurance cover to fully replace their building, while 35 per cent believed they would not be sufficiently insured to fully replace their home's contents, if they were lost to fire.
"Even more worrying is the fact that 15 per cent of Australians have no home or contents insurance whatsoever, and would potentially be out of pocket for hundreds of thousands of dollars, should their home catch fire," he said.
Whatever the reasons for people being underinsured, AAMI customers with home building insurance have no concerns on that count. In August 2006, AAMI became the first major insurer to introduce complete replacement cover as a standard benefit of its home building insurance.
"Unlike traditional home building insurance policies which cover a home up to an agreed amount or 'sum insured', AAMI's policy removes the difficulty of estimating the cost to completely rebuild a home and the potential risk of being underinsured. In the case of a home insured with AAMI being destroyed or damaged by a bushfire, it will be rebuilt whatever the cost."
Tips for protecting against risk of home fire
- Ensure you have an adequate number of suitable smoke alarms installed throughout your home and make sure that you test them regularly.
- Be aware of, and ensure that you comply with, any fire restrictions that may be in place such as total fire bans.
- To check if a fire ban applies call ph 1800 240 667 to obtain up to date information or check online by visiting www.dse.vic.gov.au or www.cfa.vic.gov.au or call your local NSWFB station or rural fire control centre.
- Spend a day in the house and garden cleaning up and removing garden debris and cut back any overhanging branches. If you have woodpiles, ensure that they are covered and away from your home.
- Take a moment to check that garden hoses, smoke alarms and other fire safety equipment are in good working order.
- Inspect chemical (pool chemicals in particular) storage areas and container seals and make sure chemicals are safely locked away. Contact your council to remove any old or leftover chemicals.
- Check electric cords and equipment for damage and ensure power sources are not overloaded.
- Families should ensure they prepare and regularly practice a home fire escape plan. On AAMI's website - located at www.aami.com.au - you and your children can draw your own fire escape plan.
To arrange a media interview, contact:
Geoff Hughes, AAMI Public Affairs Manager, ph 03 8520 1469 or 0413 483 591
Brian O'Neil, Public Relations Exchange, ph 03 9607 4500 or 0411 055 284
1 The 2007 Firescreen Index was conducted for AAMI by Sweeney Research and is an independent telephone and internet survey of 2382 Australian residents in all States and Territories (except WA as AAMI does not operate there).
