Home > Get Ready Challenge > Stage One > Rediscover Your Area
Grab a hat, lace up your boots — it’s time to check out your patch!
In this first task of the Get Ready Challenge you’re going to create a mental map of your neighbourhood.
Getting to know the place inside and out will help you when it comes to making the big decisions: whether to stay or go, when to leave, and which is your safest escape route.
Like many people, you may plan to leave your home if a bushfire threatens. But ask yourself:
- Where will you go?
- How will you get there?
- What’s your safest route out?
- What factors could put a match to your carefully laid plans?
Mission One: Hazard Spotting
Slip on your honorary firefighter’s helmet and take a walk around your local area. Look at it the way a bush firefighter would.
Natural features and built structures will all affect how fast a fire moves and how easy your place is to defend.
Take a pen and paper or your phone to jot down notes – you will use this info later in the Challenge.
1. Look at the natural features
Where you live will shape how quickly fire approaches and how much warning you’ll get.
- Are you on a ridge or in a valley?
- How far can you see?
- Which direction do the strongest winds usually come from?
- Does bushland come right up to the street? Could you be cut off if fire moves quickly?
- Can you see burn or scorch marks on trees? They might be from a hazard reduction burn or a wildfire – useful info when researching your area’s fire history.
2. Look for hazards in the built environment
- Are there vacant blocks, parks, or empty houses nearby?
- Do homes back onto bushland?
- What are houses made from and how old are they? (Homes built in the last 10 years will have been built to stricter fire standards.)
- What kind of trees are around — eucalyptus, pine, or deciduous? Is the undergrowth thick or open?
- Are neighbouring yards overgrown or well-kept?
- Does your neighbour have a priceless collection of old mattresses or other useful junk piled in the yard?
- Can you spot any fire hydrants? (Look for a yellow cast iron cover, often marked by a yellow arrow painted on the road.) Are they clear and accessible? If not, this is your chance to be a Hydrant Hero!
- How much of the local bush was burnt last season? (We’ll cover the 2019 fires later in the Challenge.)
3. Bonus Points
- If a neighbour spots you on the street with your clipboard and funny hat, invite them along! Teamwork makes the dream work, and the more people who are preparing for bushfire, the safer your neighbourhood will be.
- Take a photo of a hazard (or your clever solution) and share it with us on social media. Or email it to us and we’ll post it on our Facebook page (let us know how to credit you).
Mission complete!
You now have a snapshot of your area. Keep the notes you’ve made – later tasks in the Challenge will get you to refer back to what you’ve found.