More hope for refuges

By Tania Martin
CALLS for community fire refuges in the Dandenongs could soon be answered following the release of the Bushfires Royal Commission’s final recommendations.
The Dandenong Ranges Community Bushfire Group (DRCBG) has been campaigning for better last resort options for visitors and residents for more than 18 months.
Under the guise of Neighbourhood Safer Places (NSPs), the group called for the Olinda Community Place to be named as a refuge.
But it failed to meet the CFA and Shire of Yarra Ranges selection criteria.
The commissioners’ report said it was vital that more options were available for people in high-risk areas, like the Dandenongs.
It also outlines concerns over the terminology used for NSPs, saying they should have been named simply, bushfire shelters.
The report recommends a comprehensive approach to shelter options be undertaken.
This would include developing standards for community refuges as a priority and designating areas for the shelters in high fire risk areas.
Yarra Ranges councillor Samantha Dunn agreed the naming of the NSPs had caused a lot of confusion and welcomed any changes that would fix the problem.
She said it was ‘abundantly’ clear there needed to be somewhere for people to go if caught in the hills in the middle of a bushfire.
But she said the State Government needed to be clear on what constitutes a shelter or a refuge. “We need that level of guidance,” Cr Dunn said.
Cr Dunn said there also needed to be a lot of education to make people understand they were not there as the first option but the last resort.
“We need to make sure these are last-ditch emergency efforts on residents’ fire plan,” she said.
Cr Dunn said if allocating a community refuge means working on part of an existing public building like the Olinda Community House, it was worth doing.
“Ultimately, it’s about protecting life,” she said. “We also hope the State Government would come to the party on this and it’s not just another impost on the local government purse.”
DRCBG’s Mel Gajdek hopes all levels of government will throw their support behind the need to designate community refuges.
She said it was vital for high fire- risk areas, especially those that had no NSPs designated.
Currently, there are only three NSPs designated in the hills in Gembrook, Monbulk and Mount Evelyn.
“Significant State and Commonwealth funding is absolutely essential to see this recommendation implemented,” Ms Gajdek said. “There are no excuses now. People’s lives need to be put before dollars.”
Ms Gajdek said the Olinda Community House and Ferny Creek Recreational Reserve were just two locations that would be options for refuges for the upcoming fire season.