Swanpool CFA from June 2023

05/12/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1HAiQinY3v/

🔥 Did You Know … A Wind Change Can Turn "We’re Safe" into "We’re Dead" in an Instant? 🔥

We've already posted in-depth about planning, preparation, radiant heat, sheltering inside, and many, many other subjects. We try hard to lay out the realities of living in one of the most bushfire-prone places on this big round ball we call home.

But this time, we are talking about how a Wind Change can change everything in an instant—and how you could be left fighting for your life in the blink of an eye.

During a large bushfire that seems to be off in the distance or not directly impacting them yet, many people think they can 'wait and see'. They see the main fire front heading in a different direction and think, "It’s moving past us, we are okay," or "The fire is not heading our way, we’re fine."

They are wrong.

This implies they have time.

You don’t.

Not only should you have heeded our repeated messages and warnings and LEFT EARLY, but in Extreme or Catastrophic conditions, when a wind change hits, if you are in the wrong place, an unstoppable firestorm is now instantly bearing down on you like a freight train on steroids.

You are now in the path of a high-energy, life-taking firestorm.

Your survival now comes down to a roll of the dice.

Do you feel THAT lucky?

This specific scenario—a wind change on an already large, intense fire—is the nightmare that keeps experienced firefighters awake at night.

Here is the brutal reality of what happens when your luck runs out and how the trap snaps shut.

🛑 THE PHYSICS OF DEATH: Flank Becomes Front

Imagine a fire that is long and skinny, running with the wind. The "head" or main front is narrow, maybe 1km wide, but the "flank" (the side) might be 5km, 10km or more long.

When the wind changes direction (often 90 degrees during a cool change), that massive 10km long side of the fire instantly becomes a 10km wide front of the fire.

In a heartbeat, a situation you thought was passing you by becomes a monster firestorm. And it is now heading right for you. The intensity doesn't just double; it multiplies.

This is what takes a predicable (somewhat), "behaving" fire and turns it into a large, fast-moving, unstoppable monster. A monster that moves with speed, with one aim: to feed itself more fuel. It will even make its own weather. It has an appetite for anything in its path.

If this situation occurs in the worst of the worst conditions, nothing in its path stands a chance.

⚠️ WHAT IT FEELS LIKE (The Reality Check)

If you are still there when this happens during Extreme or Catastrophic conditions, this is what you will face:

💨 The Speed: That "slow" fire you were watching suddenly accelerates to speeds faster than a human can run—and often faster than you can drive on a smoke-choked road.

🔥 The Heat: You won't just feel "hot." The radiant heat is unsurvivable in the open. At these levels, radiant heat will blister your skin and scorch your airways from hundreds of metres away—long before the flames actually touch you. It is hot enough to melt the tires on your car and shatter your windows.

🌑 The Darkness: Day turns to absolute night. The smoke becomes so thick you literally cannot see the bonnet of your car. You will become disoriented on roads you have driven for 20 years. You will crash.

☄️ The Ember Storm: It isn't just one or two sparks. It is a blizzard of millions of burning embers flying sideways like bullets. They don't just land; they are driven into every crack and crevice of your home, your shed, and your vehicle. Spot fires will start all around you, and simply, you will be overwhelmed by radiant heat, smoke, noise and fire.

❌ THE HARDEST TRUTH

If you are caught in this transition on a bad day, a fire truck cannot save you.

🚫 Firefighters cannot drive into these conditions.
🚫 Aircraft cannot fly in high winds and zero visibility.
🚫 000 cannot talk you through it.

Basically, when this happens, our crew's safety takes precedence over everything. We pull our crews back and get them to safety and out of the path of the fire.

Exactly what you should have done by not being there.

If the wind changes and you are in the path of this new fire front, the laws of physics dictate that survival is unlikely. History tells us this many, many times.

You are on your own, in the dark, terrified, and facing conditions that kill. You will feel terror like you have never felt before.

Sadly, if caught out like this, again history tells us, right there in black and white, that you will likely die a horrible, painful death.

✅ THE ONLY SOLUTION

Please, as we say over and over and over again, the only guaranteed way to survive is not to be there. It is Leaving Early.

It is your call.

Are you willing to roll the dice and put your life on the line?

Because that is exactly what "waiting and seeing" is doing.

Don't bet or gamble your life.

Don't become a statistic likely mentioned on this page.

Just Leave Early. Please?

04/12/2025

Another must read post from District 12.
https://www.facebook.com/share/1Km1wRgSkZ/

🔥 Did you know… What Really Happens If You Shelter in a House During a Fire on an Extreme or Catastrophic Day? 🔥

(Blunt. Honest. No sugar-coating — because your life matters.)

When we say in Extreme or Catastrophic conditions, Leaving Early is the ONLY guaranteed way to survive, we don’t say it for effect, we don’t say it for drama — we say it because of history, because of science, and because decades of experience tell us exactly what happens inside a house when a firestorm arrives. We say this because we care, and we simply want you to survive.

Staying and defending, waiting to see, or however you end up sheltering in a house during fire on an Extreme or Catastrophic day, it's not a place you want to be and is likely a place you may never leave.

Here’s the truth about sheltering in place in Extreme or Catastrophic conditions, your survival will come down to pure luck.

Not bravery. Not a hose. Not a sprinkler system. Not a “good plan.”

Luck.

And luck is not a plan.

Let’s break it down 👇

🏚️ What to Expect When a Firestorm Hits a House:

On Extreme or Catastrophic fire weather days, bushfires behave in ways most people have never witnessed:

🔥 Radiant heat outside can kill in seconds — long before flames touch the building.

🔥 The building will normally catch fire from ember attack — the most common way houses ignite in a bushfire — even when the main fire is still kilometres away. Embers get into gutters, any gap in the structure, under the floor, into roof spaces, and ignite anything flammable they land on.

🔥 Homes can ignite from the inside. Radiant heat passes through glass, igniting curtains, furniture, and carpet or causing windows to shatter, letting the heat in — without a flame ever touching the house.

🔥 The Shelter Trap: Because embers can arrive long before the fire front, your house could be fully engulfed or destroyed before the main fire even arrives. This leaves you exposed outside with zero protection just as the lethal radiant heat and fire front hits.

🔥 The "Hidden" Fire: Embers can enter your roof cavity through gaps you didn't even know existed. Many houses burn down because a fire starts in the roof while the residents are sheltering in the rooms below, completely unaware.

🔥 Windows often crack or shatter under the heat load, allowing embers and even more intense heat to pour inside just as the fire front arrives. Pumps die, water pressure drops and you are left with no defense.

🔥 Smoke becomes thick, black, and choking — you will not be able to see or breathe properly.

🌪️ The house shakes and roars as the firestorm hits — survivors describe it as a jet engine or freight train overhead.

A house is not a bunker. A house is fuel.

🚨 The Speed of the Threat:

We have mentioned a lot lately how people can die within 20 minutes of a fire starting in these conditions.

We won’t be specific, but here is a reality check:

In one tragic case, a fire started kilometres away. By the time a couple saw the smoke and fire coming, they didn’t have time to defend. They took shelter inside.

Within 15 to 20 minutes of the fire’s ignition, the building was on the ground.

The house didn't just catch fire; driven by the wind and the intensity of the flames, the structure failed and collapsed on top of them almost immediately.

They never came out.

⚠️ What Happens to YOU Inside:

This is the part people don’t want to imagine — but must:

🌡️ Air becomes superheated — one or two breaths can scorch your airways.
📉 Oxygen drops rapidly — consciousness can fade quickly.
☠️ Toxic smoke fills rooms — even without flames, the smoke alone can kill.
💥 Flashover can occur inside — everything in the room ignites almost instantly.
🏚️ Structural failure can trap or crush anyone sheltering (as described above).

You cannot “wait this out.”

This is not a storm.

This is a lethal, high-energy event tearing through your home.

🧭 If You Are Caught Out and Have NO CHOICE But to Shelter:

These steps do not make it safe — they only slightly increase your odds:

🏠 Shelter in a room with at least two ways out, ideally on the lee side (the side furthest from the fire) and with a view of the outside so you know when the front has passed.
🚪 Shut all doors between you and the approaching fire.
🧣 Stay low — air may be marginally cooler and clearer.
👕 Wear cotton or wool clothing — synthetics melt.
🚫 Do NOT go outside while the fire front is passing. Radiant heat kills fast.
😮‍💨 Cover your mouth and nose with a damp cloth — it may buy seconds.
🌑 Expect darkness — smoke blocks daylight.
🧯 Patrol inside if safe: Check for embers or spot fires in other rooms and extinguish what you can, but do not expose yourself to radiant heat outside.
⏳ It’s not just about the fire front. Ember attack can start long before the main fire arrives. You could lose your house early, leaving you with no shelter at all just as the main fire front hits.

⚠️ CRITICAL NOTE: If your house catches fire and becomes untenable, you must get out. Move onto already burnt ground or a cleared area if possible.

Even with all this, the outcome is unpredictable.

🎲 The Reality: It Will Be a Roll of the Dice

In the worst of the worst conditions, it is literally a roll of the dice whether you live or die.

In all honesty — as a fire service that has fought these fires for decades — there is no truly “safe” sheltering option inside a house in these sorts of conditions.

No matter how prepared, no matter how well setup.

There is no real "safe" option.

Not for residents. Not for firefighters. Not for anyone.

🏃‍♂️🔥 And This Is Why We Say It Over, and Over, and Over:

In Extreme or Catastrophic conditions, Leaving Early is the ONLY guaranteed way not to die.

Not sometimes. Not “if you’re prepared.” Always.

When Extreme or Catastrophic fire danger is forecast for your area:

👉 Leave early. Before a fire even starts.
👉 Go somewhere safer and stay there.
👉 Return only when conditions ease.

Your home can be rebuilt. You cannot.

Stay safe. Plan early. Leave early. Every time. 🔥🧡

🚨 ADMIN NOTE: WE’RE TIME TRAVELLING 🚨 We won’t be online much tomorrow. So, because we’re generous like that, we are giving you tomorrow’s post, today. Read it. Absorb it. Share it.

03/12/2025

Confronting to read, but life saving to know. Thanks District 12 for your excellent posts.
https://www.facebook.com/share/1KYsZd4WF3/

🔥 Did You Know… About Radiant Heat and kW/m? 🔥
(Also a quick reality check about what fire and radiant heat really does to the human body.)

We're on a bit of a roll around here laying it all out as best we can, and fair warning: this is a loooooong post again! But let's put the white lab coats on and do us some maths and physics learnings. (Nerd Mode: Engaged 🤓).

Most people think flames are what kill in a bushfire.

They think they have time until the fire physically touches them.

The truth is far more confronting: Radiant heat is the biggest killer. And you don’t need to be very close to the flames. You can be a hundred metres—or more—away from the main fire and still receive a lethal "dose" in the worst of the worst conditions.

🔥 What is Radiant Heat vs. kW/m?
Radiant Heat is the invisible heat energy that travels through the air. It’s not the hot air or smoke (which usually rises); it’s the pure heat waves coming off the flames. It travels in straight lines—exactly like the sun—and it heats up any solid object it hits. That includes trees, houses, and you.

kW/m (Kilowatts per metre) is how we in the fire services measure the intensity of the fire front. Think of it as the "horsepower" of the fire.

The connection is simple: The higher the kW/m, the more powerful the fire, the further the Radiant Heat will travel, and the more lethal it will be.

Think of it like the sun. You don't need to touch the sun to get burnt; you just need to be exposed to it. If you are close enough to see the flames clearly, you are in the danger zone. The rule is simple: If you can see the fire front, the radiant heat can reach you. It travels in straight lines, and it moves at the speed of light.

🔥 Let’s Start Small: Your Average Campfire:
A typical Aussie campfire sits somewhere around 50–100 kW/m. Even from that, you often need to take a step back because:

🔥 Your face gets too hot.
🔥 Your skin starts feeling like it’s burning.
🔥 You instinctively shield yourself or move away.

That’s your body reacting to radiant heat from something you can easily walk around.

🔥 Now Scale That Up:
Imagine a bushfire on a day of Extreme or Catastrophic danger—generating thousands to over a hundred thousand kW/m.

At these levels, the physics of the human body simply fail.

Here is what happens to YOU:
⚠️ It cooks you from the inside. Your body’s cooling system (sweating) evaporates instantly. Your core temperature spikes, causing rapid heat stroke and cardiac arrest before the flames even reach you.
⚠️ It destroys your skin. Radiant heat causes full-thickness burns in seconds. At this intensity, it destroys nerve endings immediately—meaning you might not even feel the burn until it is too late.
⚠️ It can scorch your airway. One or two breaths of any super-heated air or smoke will burn your lungs and cause your throat to swell shut, suffocating you.
⚠️ You will likely die a horrible, painful death.

Here is what happens to EVERYTHING ELSE:
⚠️ Everything ignites. If not on fire already from ember attack, trees, sheds, cars, and anything combustible will likely instantly explode into flames.
⚠️ Engines starve. The intense heat expands the air making it thin, while thick smoke displaces it. This—combined with embers clogging air filters—causes pumps and cars to cough, splutter, and die right when you need them.
⚠️ Metal melts. Aluminum melts at 660°C; bushfires can exceed 1000°C.
⚠️ Homes ignite from the inside. Radiant heat passes through glass, igniting curtains, furniture and anything else it can find without a flame ever touching the house. Your windows will likely crack or shatter as well, letting embers and even more intense heat to enter as the fire front arrives.

☠️ The Fatal Mistake:
"I'll Run Inside When It Gets Too Bad" Radiant heat is why people caught in open areas during a firestorm often collapse before the flame front even arrives. Many people plan to retreat to the house "when the fire gets here." They usually don't make it. Radiant heat incapacitates you in your own yard, metres from your home, because it overwhelms the human body long before the flames do.

🔥 The Numbers That Still Shock Firefighters:
As we said a few times lately, on Extreme and Catastrophic fire days, even our 38mm attack lines and high-flow branches that can pump out hundreds of litres of water a minute cannot and will not stop a wind-driven firestorm.

👉 The physics and the mathematics simply don’t allow it.

For reference:
📊 3,000–4,000 kW/m: A fire front becomes virtually impossible to fight with trucks and hoses. We are forced to retreat.
📊 108,000 kW/m: Approximate intensity recorded on Ash Wednesday.
📊 130,000 kW/m: Peak intensity estimated on Black Saturday.

Read that again.

We can't fight at 4,000. Black Saturday was 130,000.

At 130,000 kW/m, it is mathematically impossible for any firefighting equipment on Earth to stop, control, or stand in front of the fire. The level of radiant heat generated is unsurvivable in the open. It is nearly 40 times the limit of human suppression capability.

Radiant heat travels ahead of the fire. Radiant heat kills before the flames arrive. Radiant heat doesn’t care how brave you are, or how many hoses or sprinklers you have in these conditions.

This is why the safest, simplest, smartest, and ONLY guaranteed survival decision on Extreme or Catastrophic days like we are describing here is exactly what we keep saying whilst banging our heads against the wall: 👉 Leave early. Long before a fire even starts.

Because if you wait, you aren't facing a 50kW/m campfire you can simply step away from. You could be facing a 130,000kW/m wall of life taking energy, a tsunami of heat powerful enough to melt metal and take a life in seconds, all before the actual fire even gets there.

Phew. Hope that helps educate a few people out there. Knowledge helps you make the decisions that may save your life.

Stay safe. After all, that's all we want for you reading this and our communities.

02/12/2025

https://www.facebook.com/reel/2077475649740145/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

13/11/2025

🔥 Did You Know … Who Does What When It Comes to Fire Prevention? 🔥

When it comes to preventing fires across Victoria, it’s not just one organisation doing the work — it’s a coordinated effort between Councils, CFA, DEECA (including Forest Fire Management Victoria – FFMV), EMV, and a range of other public authorities and land managers. Each has specific legal responsibilities depending on where the land is and who manages it. Here’s a quick breakdown of who does what 👇

🏛️ Councils:

Councils have a statutory responsibility for fire prevention and risk management on land and roads under their care.
✨ Each council must appoint a Municipal Fire Prevention Officer (MFPO) who can:
• Inspect properties for fire hazards.
• Issue Fire Prevention Notices requiring landowners or occupiers to remove risks.
• Organise works (at the owner’s expense) if the notice isn’t complied with.
🔥 Councils can issue permits to burn during the Fire Danger Period — but not on Total Fire Ban days.
🚓 Victoria Police can take enforcement action for illegal burning during restricted periods.

🚒 CFA:

CFA provides policy, planning, leadership, training, and best practice advice to support municipal fire prevention.
🌡️ Declares Fire Danger Periods for each municipality based on weather and vegetation conditions.
🚫 Can declare Total Fire Ban Days when fire risk warrants it.
🧾 Issues permits to burn under certain conditions and may also issue permits for specific purposes on Total Fire Ban days.
⚖️ Arbitrates appeals against Fire Prevention Notices issued by councils.
👥 CFA is also represented on Municipal Emergency Management Committees and sub-committees for fire management and prevention.

🌳 Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) – including Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV):

DEECA and FFMV are responsible for fire prevention and management in State forests, National Parks, and protected public lands.
🌲 Some adjoining private lands (within 1.5 km) are classed as fire protected areas, and the lighting of fires there during restricted periods is managed by DEECA.
🔥 The Prohibited Period for State forests and parks applies all year round — and DEECA (FFMV) is the only authority that can issue burning permits in these areas.
📜 DEECA/FFMV may also issue Total Fire Ban permits for fire protected areas when required.
👷‍♂️ FFMV crews also undertake planned burning, fuel reduction, and firebreak maintenance to reduce bushfire risk and protect communities and the environment.

🏢 Emergency Management Victoria (EMV / VicEmergency):

EMV leads the statewide coordination of emergency management — before, during and after emergencies.
🧭 Works with CFA, FFMV, FRV, VICSES, and other agencies to ensure a unified approach to bushfire preparedness, planning, and recovery.
📊 Oversees state-level emergency planning and ensures that Victoria’s emergency management arrangements are consistent, coordinated, and community-focused.
💬 EMV also supports the delivery of key public information and warnings during significant fire events.

⚡ Power Companies:

⚙️ Responsible for fire prevention and vegetation management around powerlines.
📄 Must prepare Bushfire Mitigation Plans and meet strict clearance distances as set out in the Electricity Safety Act and Regulations.
✅ These plans are overseen by Energy Safe Victoria to ensure compliance and safety.

🚆 Railways:

🚉 VicTrack, V/Line, and private rail operators share responsibility for maintaining railway corridors and managing fire risk.
🛠️ These organisations are defined as public authorities under the CFA Act and must take all practical steps to prevent and minimise the spread of fire along their lines and reserves.

💧 Water Corporations:

💦 Water Corporations (under the Water Act 1989) are also public authorities and are responsible for fire prevention and management on their land.
🌿 Many water catchment areas are located in National Parks or State forests, where DEECA and Parks Victoria lead fire prevention and suppression efforts through FFMV & Parks Vic crews and programs.

🛣️ Roads Authorities:

🛻 VicRoads and Regional Roads Victoria manage fire risk along freeways, highways, and major roads.
🚜 Councils are responsible for local and municipal roads.
🌲 DEECA/FFMV oversees roads within National Parks and State forests.
🛣️ Private roads are the responsibility of the owner.

🏡 Owners and Occupiers:

🧹 All property owners and occupiers must ensure their land is kept free from fire hazards that could endanger lives or property.
🚨 If a Fire Prevention Notice is ignored, councils may undertake the works, issue fines, or prosecute, with all costs billed to the landowner.

⚠️ You should be aware that in particular areas there may be variations to this general overview.
Always check with your local council or CFA District Office to confirm local arrangements.

👉 In short: Everyone has a role to play — from councils, CFA, DEECA (FFMV) and EMV to landowners, utilities, and public authorities. Working together helps reduce risk and keep our communities safer this fire season. 💪🔥

💬 A link to more information can be found in the comments.

06/11/2025

If we can't access your property or water, we can't help you.https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/access00:00 Introduction00:11 Visible Property Number00:22 Driveway c...

01/11/2025

Yes, this is scary. But it is important to see how bushfires can behave. Prepare your plan now (including when to leave, where you can go and how you can get there), and prepare your property. For advice, join the Bushfire Safety Essentials event tomorrow from 8.30am at the Lima South CFA station.

01/11/2025

31/10/2025

Do you live in the Swanpool- Lima South area? Don't miss this important event tomorrow over a free egg and bacon breakfast.

29/10/2025

🚁🔥 Did You Know … About Pre-Determined Dispatch (PDD) of Aircraft? 🔥🚁

During the fire season, every second counts — especially when it comes to aerial firefighting. That’s where Pre-Determined Dispatch (PDD) comes in, dispatching aircraft at the same time as ground crews.

📌 What is PDD?
PDD is a system that allows helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to be pre-assigned to locations based on forecast fire risk and conditions. On days of higher risk, the whole state is covered by PDD, ensuring aircraft are ready wherever they might be needed.

PDD enables the rapid deployment of aerial firefighting assets to high-risk areas on days of high fire danger. This means that on those days, aircraft are pre-assigned to specific response areas and are paged to incidents at the same time as fire trucks, enabling immediate initial attack on fires to help keep them small.

🚨 Where it came from:
PDD was developed under the Enhanced Aircraft Request and Dispatch System Project, initiated as part of the response to the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission (VBRC) Recommendation 20.
That recommendation called for “a system that enables the dispatch of aircraft to fires in high-risk areas without requiring a request from an Incident Controller or the State Duty Officer.”

⏱ How it works:
When weather and fire danger reach certain levels, aircraft are dispatched at the same time as fire trucks and ground crews — if available and not already committed to another fire. In some areas, they may even arrive before trucks, as access can be challenging in remote or rugged terrain.

🔗 Working with EMV & FFMV:
PDD operates in conjunction with EMV/VicEmergency, Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV) and other emergency partners, ensuring aircraft are strategically deployed where they’re needed most to support crews on the ground.

🚒 Why it matters:
🔥 Fires can spread rapidly — sometimes in minutes.
🚁 PDD ensures aircraft are already in position, ready to respond.
⏱️ It reduces response times, giving firefighters critical aerial support faster — helping keep fires small.

Next time you see a helicopter in the sky during fire season, remember — it might just be part of a carefully planned PDD mission, helping protect lives, property, and the environment.

📸 Image courtesy of FFMV. The photo shows the Super Puma helicopter — Helitak 349 (one of the night-capable aircraft) — drawing water from an FFMV “dip tank”.

29/10/2025

21/10/2025

With the high winds forecast for tomorrow, 22nd October 2025, Swanpool CFA urges everyone to ensure that any burn offs conducted on your property over the past few days, are fully extinguished, reducing the risk of reignition.
Stay informed about emergencies by installing the VicEmergency app on your Smart phone.