Bushfire survivor calls for better emergency planning in the suburbs
In short:
When a bushfire unexpectedly reached the front door of Kay Douglas's suburban Perth home, she was not prepared.
After living through that, she now has a bushfire action plan and keeps emergency bags stocked ready to grab and go.
What's next:
With a hot summer predicted, and several emergency fires already causing destruction across Australia, authorities say simple planning can save lives.
Kay Douglas never expected a bushfire to reach the front door of her home on a regular suburban street in Perth's northern suburbs.
On the day it did, she was unprepared. Now she keeps go-bags by the door — and urges others to be ready too.
A bushfire narrowly missed Kay Douglas's family home in Tapping in Perth's northern suburbs. (ABC News: Aran Hart)
It was a windy 40-degree November day when a fire whipped up around a swamp, jumped a four-lane road and closed in on her family's home in Tapping.
"The fires were close, but we certainly didn't think that they'd come so quickly," Kay said.
"[The street] was filling up with smoke more and more and there were so many cars evacuating, the street was full."
Kay Douglas and her husband Mark nearly lost their home to a bushfire in 2023. (ABC News: Aran Hart)
Kay, her husband Mark and their daughter's family, including Kay's two grandchildren, were told to evacuate.
"We took money, I took pyjamas, a change of clothes for the next day, but very little else," Kay said.
They didn't think to pack Mark's medication, some important documents, or any photos.
A warning map from the November 2023 Mariginiup fire that threatened suburban Perth.
Have a plan
Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) Superintendent, Clinton Kuchel, was the incident controller for that fire.
He's seen a lot of people evacuate in a rush over the years, lots flustered and wasting time loading boxes and boxes of stuff into their cars.
Clinton Kuchel says people need to determine which items are essential. (ABC News: Briana Shepherd)
"You need to be really clear minded and understand what it is you need in that moment and get yourself to safety,"he said.
"Think about it, have a plan, implement your plan that keeps everyone safe and allows firefighters to focus on fighting the fire."
Supt Kuchel said there were simple ways to prepare for a potential emergency.
Superintendent Clint Kuchel urges people to plan ahead for emergency incidents. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)
"The biggest thing people can do now to be prepared is to download the EmergencyWA app," he said.
"If it's a cyclone, storm, flood, tsunami or bushfire — the planning is the same."
He said people can upload their family bushfire plan in the app as well as set watch zones around places important to them so they can be alerted for emergencies in those areas.
Kay packing her emergency kit. (ABC News: Aran Hart)
"Your bushfire plan should identify all the important things you might need if you have to relocate for two or three days," Supt Kuchel said.
"You need to identify what's important to you — what are you going to do with your pets? Identify what you might need whether it's medications, whether it's multiple ways to get out if you're in a fire."
What should you pack?
DFES recommends having a couple of bags packed and ready by the front door, one for you and one for each child.
Kay now keeps important documents in a 'go' bag. (ABC News: Aran Hart)
They suggest the following things should be on your checklist, or packed and ready to go:
- Medication or prescriptions, spectacles and any jewellery or things that are important to you
- Important documents, masks to limit smoke inhalation, a battery-operated radio, phone chargers or power banks and spare batteries
- A small toiletry bag and first aid kit, snacks, water, baby wipes, a torch, nappies, pet food, toilet paper and a change of clothes.
Some of the items Kay Douglas has packed in case there is a fire. (ABC News: Aran Hart)
"It makes it less scary if the kids have got what they need in their bag, they're not rushing back in the house to get their favourite teddy," Supt Kuchel said.
Lucky escape
Kay now has all of these things packed, including bags for her grandchildren in case they are with her, should it happen again.
Her family were lucky that year.
After they evacuated to a friend's house, they watched their security cameras as embers sparked spot fires closer and closer to their front door.
Doorbell security cam footage showed embers sparking spot fires near Kay Douglas's door. (Supplied)
They watched on as fighters sprayed retardant at the front of their house, and then as their gazebo went up in flames.
But their house sustained just minor damage.
Kay Douglas's backyard was destroyed by a fire in 2023. (Supplied)
"Don't be complacent, because it'll bite you. We don't know what's going to happen again,"Kay said.
"We have a whistle near the door now, which is brilliant because you can use it to alert the firies, or call the children to you."
She also said a sleeping bag could be useful, pen and paper to write down important things over the next few days, games to distract the kids and all their precious photos are now on an easy-to-pack thumb drive.
Charred bushland pictured in the wake of the Mariginiup fire. (Supplied)
She even has a sign ready to tape by the front door to let firefighters know they've evacuated the house.
'Our plan is to leave'
"Be ready, don't be like me," Kay said.
"I know now what to do, I have my to do list and I have my bag packed and ready to go."
And what is Supt Kuchel's plan?
Superintendent Clint Kuchel says their family's plan is to leave if a bushfire threatens them. (ABC News: Keana Naughton)
"I've got a family of five with a dog and a chicken — our plan is to leave, to not be here," he said.
"My family all have the EmergencyWA app, we've set up the watch zones.
"We know where the important things are in the house to grab, stick in the car and go."
Neither plan to take any chances if bushfire comes near their homes this summer.
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