By CELA on 7 Jan, 2018

Temperatures have been rocketing past 40C in many parts of Australia since Christmas, and while we are yet to hear ‘the state is a tinderbox’ media cliche, hot dry days are a reminder to review and update your service’s fire management plan for both internal and external fire threats.

CELA writer Cath Fowler compiled this CELA Simple Guide to updating your emergency management plan in 2018, focusing on for bushfire risks, and in her story we give you the best official advice and links for every state and territory in Australia.

Make sure you scroll to the end for some excellent advice to share with your families about emergency conditions, via the South Australian education department.

Regulatory requirements

With summer upon us, we are in for some long hot days and nights. While this is great for days at the beach or in the pool, living in Australia we all know that this time of year comes with the real risk of bushfires in many places and an increased risk of other fires connected to dry, hot conditions.

The National Regulations (97) give instructions to providers about putting emergency plans in place, and Quality Area 2, Children’s Health and Safety, states, adequately supervising and taking reasonable precautions to protect children from harm and any hazards likely to cause injury are important factors in ensuring children’s safety, health and wellbeing.

For any type of fire hazard, bushfire included, an early childhood or OSHC service must have appropriate fire safety equipment installed and maintained – this includes fire extinguishers, fire panels, fire blankets, smoke detectors and emergency exit lights.

children take 10 times longer than adults to evacuate a building. 

Stephen Burton, Engineers Australia’s Society of Fire Safety

Services must also have a current emergency management plan (see note on Regulation (97)) and ensure staff are trained to use the fire safety equipment and fully understand their evacuation procedures in the case of a fire emergency.

Seek specialist advice

The Courier Mail recently reported that outdated building regulations and licensing loopholes could place children at potential risk from fire at high-rise childcare centres, which are popular in CBD locations.  As part of that report, Stephen Burton, deputy chairman of Engineers Australia’s Society of Fire Safety, noted that children take 10 times longer than adults to evacuate a building even with staff ratios of one adult for every four children.

The national regulations for early childhood education and care require providers and educators to comply with all other relevant legislation, so you must also be familiar with any special requirements in your area such as building regulations, traffic restrictions, or emergency media announcements.

If you are co-located with a school or another institution, make sure you are familiar with who the Fire Wardens are (usually staff volunteers) and that the overall evacuation plan takes into account the needs of infants and small children. OSHC services should have their own fire management plans AND should ensure the school’s overall fire management plan covers before and after hours attendance – don’t let them forget you!

You should be able to speak to a qualified adviser from your local government office, fire brigade, or State Emergency Service, if you need to check for requirements specifically affecting your community, and be aware that these may change from year to year.

Bushfire season
Bushfire season

A look around the country – bushfire threats

Victoria

Victoria’s deadly bushfire history leads to some of the most detailed fire management advice we found for education and care services. All early childhood services in Victoria must have emergency and evacuation policies and procedures.

Schools and early childhood services which are at the highest risk of bushfire danger are placed on the Education Department’s Bushfire At-Risk Register (BARR). Inclusion on this register triggers the school or early childhood service to pre-emptively close down on Code Red days declared by their Bureau of Meteorology district.

Check whether your service is listed on the Bushfire At-Risk Register.

All early childhood services listed on the Department’s BARR are required as a condition of their service approval or licence to operate, to submit their current management plan to the Quality Assessment and Regulation Division (QARD) annually by 21 November.

Policy and procedures to effectively manage bushfire emergencies should be developed in consultation with relevant authorities.

These must include:

  • instructions for what must be done in the event of an emergency
  • an emergency and evacuation floor plan on display.

The emergency and evacuation procedures must be documented and rehearsed at least every 3 months that the service is operating by the staff members, volunteers and children present at the service on the day of the rehearsal and the responsible person present at the time (R

egulation 97).

The emergency and evacuation policy and procedures should confirm how emergencies will be managed to reduce the associated risks and maintain children’s safety; this may include identifying circumstances when the decision is made to close the service.

The Country Fire Authority (CFA) publishes Community Information Guides for communities that have been deemed to be facing risk of bushfire. Community Information Guides may help you to identify special needs for your townships and communities at risk of bushfire and can help you to develop the emergency and evacuation policy and procedures.

Business Victoria has also developed a guide to preparing your business for bushfire. A copy of your Bushfire Emergency Plan with any attachments should be given to the local Fire Service to ensure inclusion in pre-incident planning arrangements for bushfire emergencies.

Below is an example of what may occur in the event of a bushfire.

If the emergency services advise you to evacuate your service:

  • keep children inside until ready, with doors and windows closed
  • remain calm and explain what is happening
  • keep emergency services informed
  • proceed to Designated Assembly Area for transportation
  • have designated staff members take control of the situation
  • use your records of attendance and staffing that day to ensure everyone is accounted for
  • take your contact details for children, staff and your external contacts with you
  • after all the occupants have been evacuated, nominated staff can contact the children’s families.
Melbourne, Australia - December 27, 2017: Police officers leave a residential district in Cheltenham after clearing it of people. The area was filled with smoke after a bushfire broke out.
Melbourne, Australia – December 27, 2017: Police officers leave a residential district in Cheltenham after clearing it of people. The area was filled with smoke after a bushfire broke out.

New South Wales

The approved provider of an education and care service must ensure that a written emergency plan for fire and other emergencies (including evacuation procedures) is developed, maintained, implemented and on display. An effective emergency communication plan must also be in place.

Emergency procedures must be practised at least once every 3 months to be prepared for emergencies.

The Rural Fire Service NSW, in their Guide to developing a Bush Fire Emergency Management and Evacuation Plan, provide the following information to help you best prepare for a bushfire threat.

When aware of the bushfire in the local area:

  • consult the NSW RFS website, 1800 NSW RFS, smart phone applications and local firefighting resources for fire situation and updates
  • inform staff and occupants of the fire situation
  • ensure that the person in charge, ie. Chief Warden, has an active mobile phone and is contactable
  • advise the local emergency services that your service is operating, and that with young children in attendance you will need to be advised early if an evacuation is likely
  • make arrangement for transportation (for evacuation).

The NSW RFS website also provides step by step guidance which you can adapt into your fire management plan.

If you do have to evacuate, remember that you won’t be able to return to your service until emergency services declare the area safe. The NSW RFS advice is:

  • no person should re-enter any evacuated building until advised by the emergency service
  • the Fire Warden (or person responsible) to arrange the movement of occupants back to the site and or their separate accommodation
  • all occupants are to be accounted for on their return
  • inform the police/emergency service of the return of persons to the premises.

Similar basic advice is provided by most jurisdictions, so we have summarised the remaining states, providing state-specific links and terminology where changes exist, so you can ensure your management plans are compliant.

Queensland

While floods, storms and cyclones are more common natural disasters than bushfires in the Sunshine State, emergency and evacuation procedures are as required in all states under Regulations 97 and 168 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations.

Your plan must include instructions for what to do in the event of an emergency, including fire or bushfire.

The Approved Provider must undertake a risk assessment to identify any potential emergencies relevant to the service before preparing the emergency and evacuation procedures.  In the event of closure due to a natural disaster, your service can be listed on the Education Department’s website in addition to any advice you give directly to families.

Your emergency and evacuation procedures must be rehearsed every 3 months and must be documented.

Tasmania

Tasmania has developed an Emergency Management Framework for Vulnerable People which includes children in a child care setting.

Children’s services are obligated under the General Fire Regulations 2010 to submit to the Chief Officer of the Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS), for approval, an Evacuation Plan for the evacuation of the building in the case of fire.

TFS has developed Fire Evacuation Plan Guidelines which have been designed to meet TFS approval requirements.

TFS provides guidance on developing a plan and can help you with the plan structure. Generic Emergency Action Guides have also been developed which can assist help any visitors evacuate the building in the event that a fire occurs. Guide 1 and Guide 2 are available on the TFS website.

Bicheno, Australia - January 6, 2013: Police and State Emergency Service at the Road to Coles Bay. Because of the massive bushfires the road is closed. Firefighters try to control the fires. Tasmania. Australia
Bicheno, Tasmania – January 6, 2013: Police and State Emergency Service at the Road to Coles Bay. Because of the massive bushfires the road is closed.

South Australia

A bushfire ‘risk rating’ is applied to early childhood services and preschools in designated bushfire-prone areas, based on their ‘bushfire attack level’ (BAL).

A BAL measures a site’s potential for exposure to ember attack, radiant heat and direct flame in the event of a bushfire emergency. The BAL is calculated by specialist consultants, who analyse information such as the location, surroundings or construction of the site, previous bushfire history and other relevant factors. The four categories are:

  • R1 Extreme/Very high-risk
  • R2 High-risk
  • R3 Medium/Low-risk
  • NR Non-rated.

Services and preschools with a risk rating of R1 and R2 are also required to have a specific bushfire response plan as well as their general emergency management plan. Sites in bushfire-prone areas that are rated R3 or NR are strongly encouraged to have a bushfire response plan, but it is not currently mandatory.

If a bushfire is approaching, the safety of children and other occupants is the highest priority. In these situations, services and preschools will:

  • move occupants to a designated bushfire refuge or other suitable location
  • fill available containers with water
  • close windows, doors and turn off the air conditioning
  • remain inside with students until the main fire front has passed
  • listen to local radio and monitor the CFS website
  • work with the Department of Education and Child Development Security and Emergency Management unit to manage the situation and keep informed about changing conditions.

South Australia provides excellent advice for families if they are separated from their children during a bushfire threat – scroll down to read it.

Western Australia

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services in WA provides Guidelines for preparing a Bushfire Risk Management Plan. Which are used by local government to identify at risk locations including schools and early childhood services.

Services should have their own Emergency and Critical Incident Management Plan (this template has been designed for schools but can be adapted for OSHC and early childhood) which should include your centre’s plans for dealing with bushfires. The safety and wellbeing of children and staff is at all times the main priority and staff are not expected to fight bushfires.

Northern Territory

Services must:

  • conduct a risk assessment to identify potential emergencies that could affect the service and use this to prepare emergency and evacuation procedures
  • prepare an Emergency Management Plan that covers all potential risks, emergency response procedures, contact details for emergency services and service personnel, drills and training schedules
  • have access to reliable communication equipment during emergencies (eg charged mobile phone)
  • display evacuation diagrams and emergency telephone numbers
    rehearse emergency evacuation procedures every three months, on different days and times each quarter

Some key aspects of the Bushfire Policy include

  • educators monitoring fire danger ratings daily during peak fire season
  • trimming trees within 2 metres of building and keeping gutters clean
  • maintaining a ‘safe refuge kit’
  • ensuring outdoor taps are working and have hoses attached and buckets nearby during very high, severe or extreme fire danger ratings
  • ensuring family contacts are current and accessible
  • ensuring children have their asthma medication.

Australian Capital Territory

In addition the meeting national regulations, services should follow advice from the ACT Emergency Services Agency to be bushfire ready.

A spokesperson told us that Canberra’s childcare centres were well-equipped to deal with fires, and to get children to safety quickly and effectively.

Firefighters regularly inspect sites, making sure they are safe, have working fire alarms and have appropriate plans to evacuate kids.

Like most organisations in the area, ACT childcare centres have well-drilled evacuation plans.

A Whiptail Wallaby, macropus parryi, kangaroo with a baby joey in her pouch standing in recently burned out Australian bushland.

Help parents make good decisions in an emergency.

Advice for parents and guardians

It is important that families know and understand how your children’s service or preschool will communicate emergencies and that you have up-to-date contact information. Sometimes this may mean your communication with them will be via SMS or social media channels.

During a bushfire emergency you will be focused on the children, staff and your environment and applying your bushfire or emergency management plan.

One thing you may have to consider is what to do or say to adults who are cut off from your service but desperate to reach their child.

Having the discussion with families of children at your service well ahead of any emergency period is always best.  Reminders to families in your spring newsletter or ahead of summer holidays will be welcomed.

Of all the advice that we reviewed in preparing this Simple Guide, the short and straightforward advice to families below from the South Australian Department of Education and Child Development in SA seemed most helpful.

Advice to families in case a bushfire affects their child’s education and care service

While your instinct as a parent may be to go and collect your child, you should consider a few things first.

Your child will be moved to a bushfire refuge or other safe place where they are accounted for and supervised. You need to seriously consider whether it is safe, or even possible due to road closures, for you to travel through the bushfire affected area to get your child.

Here are some questions that you should consider before making your decision:

  • If you were to remove them from this location, would you have a safer place to go, is the route safe?
  • Is your child safest at the bushfire refuge?
  • What information has the early childhood service provided to you?
  • What instructions did they give?
  • Did they recommend that you collect your child?

While it can be a scary experience being separated from your child in this situation, sometimes they are safest where they currently are.

Meet the author

CELA WRITERS

Bec Lloyd is the founder and managing director of Bec & Call Communication, providing professional writing, editing and strategy services to the school and early childhood education sector since 2014. In 2018 she launched UnYucky mindset and menus for happier family mealtimes. Formerly the communications lead at ACECQA and BOS (now NESA), Bec is a journo and mother of three who produces Amplify for us at Community Early Learning Australia.

About CELA

Community Early Learning Australia is a not for profit organisation with a focus on amplifying the value of early learning for every child across Australia - representing our members and uniting our sector as a force for quality education and care.

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