Death in the Dandenongs

Many people have asked that if it safest to STAY, why did three people die at their house in the 1997 Dandenongs fires ?

Leave or Stay

Bushfires are potentially hazardous. Planning to survive bushfires involves choosing options which expose people to the lowest risk possible in a hazardous situation. Deciding whether to leave or stay is one such decision.

What Happened

Three people died sheltering in a "cellar" at their house in the Dandenongs. The Coroner investigated the circumstances surrounding their deaths in great detail. It seems that at least two of the victims had always planned to GO in the event of a fire. However, on the day of the fire they were unable to leave as planned due to unexpected circumstances. It seems that they did not have a backup plan to defend their house, and when the fire arrived, they sheltered in a space under their house. This proved to be a poor choice because when the house ignited, they were unable to escape from the place where they had sheltered, and effectively died in a house fire. From their chosen shelter, they could not have been aware of the passage of the fire, or how it was affecting their house, so they were not in a position to extinguish small ignition sources. The house became fully engulfed in fire, trapping them where they were sheltering from the bushfire.

The Need for Active Defence

To STAY means to remain aware of what the fire is doing, to extinguish all small fires around the house as they start from embers, and in the event that the house does ignite, to leave the house only after the deadly effects of radiant heat associated with the fire front has passed. There is no doubt that the safest option in a bushfire is to plan to STAY and ACTIVELY DEFEND the house. The decision to stay means coping with the fear and uncertainty of living through the experience of bushfire. However the choice of late evacuation, or sheltering without awareness of what is happening in the fire is a far more hazardous option.