Most locals had no Sampson Flat fire plan
Only a quarter of those affected by the destructive Sampson Flat bushfires in Adelaide’s north east, which destroyed 27 homes, had a written escape plan, a study has found.
Oct 28, 2015, updated Oct 28, 2015
Some of the devastation caused by the Sampson Flat bushfire.
Two thirds of residents effected by the January fires either had no written bushfire plan or if they did have one it was ineffective, the study by Central Queensland University’s Appleton Institute and the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Co-operative Research Centre has found.
This lack of planning exposed residents to the risk of panic if forced to evacuate late or if they did not understand emergency messages.
The bushfire in the Adelaide Hills in January destroyed thousands of hectares of forest and scrub.
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