A program of identifying safe places for communities to gather during bushfires is being rolled out across the State in readiness for the coming bushfire season. Neighbourhood Safer Places, or NSPs, were currently being identified as refuges of last resort.
Minister for Emergency Services, Neil Roberts said the establishment of NSPs was one of the recommendations from the interim findings of the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission.
Community refuges identified
“The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) requires NSP locations to meet strict selection criteria,” Mr Roberts said.
“This means not every community will have a suitable location or the need for a location.”
The Minister said the QFRS would reassess the suitability and accessibility of nominated sites on an annual basis, prior to the start of each bushfire season.
Details of NSPs were being progressively uploaded to the Rural Fire Service website, categorised into Local Council areas.
“The website also displays any local fire bans put in place by the Local Council area,” he said.
“It’s important to note that residents in bushfire prone areas should also be preparing a bushfire survival plan, and NSPs should only be accessed if their bushfire plan fails.”
The Minister said the key message for the coming bushfire season was ‘Prepare, Act, Survive’, which highlighted that leaving early was always the best option.
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