The signs feature a graphic design of four people clustered together and the words “Bush Fire Neighbourhood Safer Place, A Place of Last Resort” printed in white on a green reflective background.

“A Neighbourhood Safer Place is a location where people facing an immediate threat to their personal safety or property can gather and seek shelter from the impact of a fire as a last resort,” said Inspector Jayne Leary, the Community Safety Officer for the Cudgegong District of the RFS, which covers the Mid-Western Region.

“These places can be part of your back-up plan for a time when your primary Bush Fire Survival Plan cannot be implemented or has failed. Because their signs are uniform right across the State, people can recognise them whether they are at home or on the road.

“A Neighbourhood Safer Place is an identified building or space within the community that can provide a higher level of protection radiant heat, smoke and embers during the onset and passage of a bush fire front,” Inspector Leary said.

“They still entail some risk, both in moving to them and while sheltering in them and cannot be considered completely safe. They are a place of last resort to help protect human life in emergencies only.”

All 10 Neighbourhood Safer Places in the Mid-Western region are open spaces: Victoria Park in Mudgee, Ulan Public School grounds in Ulan, Simpkins Park in Kandos, Billy Dunn Oval

in Gulgong, the tennis courts on Gorries Land in Goolma, the RFS Station on Wollar Road in Cooyal, the Lue Road bus stop in Lue, the RFS Station on Queens Pinch Road in Mullamuddy, the Rylstone Showground in Rylstone and open paddocks belonging to Jane and Trevor Ivers at 288 Riverlea Road in Riverlea.

Even before its sign was installed, the Ivers’ property got its first test this past January by playing host to residents of Riverlea Road when a bush fire broke out near the top of the dead- end road that snakes up a mountain valley off Castlereagh Highway near Mudgee.

“Shortly after the Black Saturday fires in 2009, we had (Mullamuddy RFS Brigade Captain) Col Stubbs around to inspect the safety of our property,” said Mr Ivers, whose professional background was in risk management.

“We suggested to him that this might be a safe place if any people were trapped on this road by a fire. That’s how our involvement in this program got started.”

Inspector Leary followed up on the idea put forward by Mr and Mrs Ivers by holding a community fire safety meeting for Riverlea Road residents at their property in September 2009 – an event that was repeated in 2012 and is scheduled to take place this year.

“People started saying after that first meeting that if we had a fire they were going to Jane and Trevor’s place,” Mr Ivers said.

When the RFS formally initiated the Neighbourhood Safer Place program as a result of studies following the tragic Victorian bush fires, the Ivers’ property was investigated and approved as a Neighbourhood Safer Place. 

Its sign is scheduled to be installed shortly.

Inspector Leary said people should keep in mind several limitations of Neighbourhood Safer Places:

n  They do not cater for pets or livestock.

n When using one of these places, do not always expect emergency services to be present.

n Neighbourhood Safer Places do not provide meals, always include amenities or cater for special needs including those of infants, the elderly, the ill or disabled.

n They may not provide shelter from the elements, particularly flying embers.

“Remember to complete your Bush Fire Survival Plan to ensure that you and your family are prepared and know what to do in the event of a bush fire,” Inspector Leary said.

“If there is a suitable Neighbourhood Safety Place near your home, you should note it in yourBush Fire Survival Plan. 

“However, the Neighbourhood Safety Place should only be considered as a place of last resort during a bush fire emergency.

 For a list of Neighbourhood Safer Places across the state and information about how to find similar locations in other states, go to the RFS web site at www.rfs.nsw.gov.au