Safer precincts (bushfire) | Smoke and Flame (during bushfire) |
Safer Settlements (bushfire) | Standard Emergency Warning Signal |
Sandbags | Status |
Schools | Storms |
Smoke (after bushfire) |
Refer the caller to their local Council who may be able to assist.
The Department for Education and Child Development offer a Hotline - 1800 000 279 which schools and parents are encouraged to ring when they have a question about potential school closures. This line will be staffed by DECD on the day before (up until 7.00 pm) and the day of schools being closed (from 7.00 am); you can also direct the caller to www.crisis.sa.edu.au.
Remind the caller that this is a DECD matter and not a CFS matter and parents should not call the CFS Bushfire Information Hotline about school closures.
Each school has an Emergency Management Policy, which includes provisions for bushfire, floods and severe weather events. Schools have a close liaison with CFS and other emergency services. The school policy should be to keep the children at school until they are advised that the situation has been declared safe by emergency services.
Schools in high bushfire prone areas have identified an area within the school as a safe refuge from Bushfire.
All School Enquiries should be referred to the Department for Education and Child Development Hotline - 1800 000 279 or the school.
If there is a fire or severe weather event in the area the police may stop school buses along with other vehicles. School policy should prevent busses from leaving the school in the event of a bushfire in the area.
Each school has Emergency Management Policy which includes provisions for bushfire. Schools have a close liaison with CFS and other emergency services. The school policy should be to keep the children at school until they are advised that the situation has been declared safe by SA Police or the CFS.
Schools in high bushfire prone areas have identified an area within the school as a safe refuge from Bushfire.
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When Emergency Warning messages are played they will continue to be accompanied by the Standard Emergency Warning Signal.
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During storms and periods of generally wet and windy weather you should take the following precautions:
Weather information can be found on the Bureau of Meteorology website.
Motorists should:
Information on what can be done after a storm.
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Smoke from a bushfire is made up of large particulate matter from burning debris which irritates the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. The finer particles are able to penetrate deep in to the lung tissue and are more harmful. Smoke also contains toxic gases, such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxides.
Bushfire smoke, if present in high enough concentrations, can cause a number of health problems such as;
Smoke particles can also aggravate existing health problems such as Chronic Bronchitis, Emphysema, Asthma and heart conditions. Symptoms can occur several days after exposure so it is important to be vigilant and to continue any previously prescribed treatment.
Signs and symptoms of exposure:
To minimise the effect from exposure to bushfire smoke:
It is especially important for people with Asthma to continue their medication.
If you know you are susceptible to bushfire smoke and it is safe to leave your house, consider:
If you have to be outdoors when bushfire smoke is present consider using a mask designed for fine particles (respiratory mask, which may also be labelled P2 or N95 masks). These are available from some hardware stores.
If you or your family members start to feel ill with the symptoms you should seek medical attention by:
Anyone experiencing difficulty breathing or chest pain should seek urgent medical advice by calling triple zero (000) for an ambulance.
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Only provide the status that is shown on the CFS website - do not provide advice contrary to this, even if you have been advised verbally by a CFS officer.
Any fire expanding in a certain direction or directions. Any incident that is expanding or continuing to require an active or escalated response.
A fire is contained when its spread has been halted, but it may still be burning freely within the perimeter or fire control lines. Other incidents are contained when the spread or growth of the incident has been halted.
The time at which the complete perimeter of a fire is secured and no breakaway is expected. For other incidents, the time at which the incident is secured and there is no possibility of extension or growth of the incident.
This is for non-fire and other incidents. It is the time at which the incident is secured and there is no further need for CFS involvement. Other services (Eg: Police) may still be involved in response or recovery operations.
The stage of fire suppression, prescribed burning or incident response when it is considered that no further suppression or control action or patrols are necessary.
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Check the State Incident Summary for any fires in the area of the caller. If there is information in State Incident Summary that relates to the caller's locality please use this information ONLY to ascertain the status of the fire ("going" or "controlled" etc).
If there is no information in the State Incident Summary that relates to the caller's locality and you are not aware of any response activity in the area advice the caller to hang up and call 000.
Refer to CFS factsheet What to do in the event of a Bushfire
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CFS has developed a hierarchy of places that can offer relative safety from bushfire. They are broken into three categories, and are called Bushfire Safer Settlements, Bushfire Safer Precincts and Last Resort Refuges. It is important that you know what each of these are, where they are, and what risk you may be exposed to if you use one of these options during a bushfire.
Details are on the CFS website.
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Inner Adelaide Metropolitan area | Suitable for use during forecast bad fire weather or during bushfire. |
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Outer suburbs and rural settlements. | Suitable for use during forecast bad fire weather or during bushfire. May be subject to spark and ember attack and smoke. | |
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Ovals, buildings in rural areas. | Not suitable for extended use and may provide only limited protection during bushfire. |
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