Summer Safety Checklists – Pools, Storms, Bushfires

Summer Safety

Summer in Australia is here once again. School is out for the kids and we are all working ourselves into a frenzy to get all our projects over the line before we wind down to a long break filled with Christmas drinks, New Year parties and summer barbeques.

But with summer comes storms, bushfires and increased risk in the water. Every year we all hold our collective breath in hope that we get through the season without too much damage to our property and ourselves.

With safety being our number one priority here at Hire Rite Temporary Fence, we’ve put together a comprehensive summer safety checklist with all the most relevant information to help get you through the summer safe and sound.

Summer Safety – Storm Safety

Storm season can be wildly unpredictable as we all know, and storms can cause significant amounts of damage in alarmingly short amounts of time. Yet, despite our awareness of how bad storms can be, new NRMA and the NSW SES research indicates that most residents across NSW are complacent when it comes to storms.

The best way to plan for storm season is to plan ahead as much as possible. This means preparing your home and family well before a storm hits. The NSW SES outlines these key topics to help you prepare for storm season:

  1. Know your risk
  2. Plan with your family what you will do in the event of a storm
  3. Prepare your home
  4. Prepare an emergency kit
  5. Be aware of storm activity
  6. Look out for each other

While it can take a bit of time to prepare for something that may never eventuate, you will definitely be thankful you did prepare if and when a storm occurs.

Follow the checklists below to help you and your family prepare for storm season:

Prepare Your Home for Storm Season

  • Carry out repair work to the exterior of your home – broken roof material, blocked gutters, loose of worn building material
  • Cut back on the garden – Remove loose branches, trim overhanging trees, trim back hedges
  • Secure loose items – Outdoor furniture, kid’s toys, any rubbish or excess building material.
  • Check your insurance policy is current and covers you for storm damage.

Prepare Your Emergency Kit for Storm Season

In a waterproof container gather the following items:

  • Torch
  • Portable radio
  • Spare batteries for both torch and radio
  • First aid kit
  • Candles
  • Waterproof matches
  • Important paperwork, including insurance policies
  • Emergency contact numbers
  • Waterproof bags to hold last-minute valuables and medication

Last-minute supplies

  • Medication
  • Baby and toddler supplies
  • Food and water
  • Appropriate clothing and footwear

It’s also not a bad idea to stock extra food and water over the storm season and regularly check your emergency kit to check all items are still in usable condition and have not passed their expiration dates.

In the Event of a Storm

  • Park cars undercover away from trees and power lines
  • Secure furniture, toys and other loose items around your home
  • Move indoors as quickly as you can taking children and pets with you
  • Place your emergency kit in an easy to access location
  • Check on your neighbours to see if they are safe
  • Unplug electronic devices and equipment
  • Keep up-to-date with local weather warnings.
  • Leave as early as possible if you are at risk of flash flooding (never drive through floodwater)

Storm Warning Information

Local Area Notifications – The SES provides notifications and advice to NSW residents in line with their local area. Simply head HERE and enter your suburb to get up-to-date information and advice about potentially dangerous weather in your area.

Bom.gov.au – Track storms as they develop to help you manage your risk.

Summer Safety – Bushfire Safety

As if it’s not enough that we have storm season to contend with, but bushfire season also occurs at the same time. We have already posted an bushfire safety plan here, but with the bushfire season already impacting parts of NSW this year, particularly the Hunter region, the thought another recap here would be worthwhile.

The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) has an extensive array of checklists and guides to help you, your family and your home get through a bushfire safe and sound.

While preparing your home for a bushfire follows a lot of the recommendations for preparing for a storm, the safest course of action for your family, if faced with bushfires in your area is to leave as early as possible.

The RSF has these resources available to help you through bushfire season:

  1. Bushfire survival plan
  2. Know your risks
  3. Prepare your home
  4. Prepare yourself and your family

Remember, being prepared before the season starts, tidying up your home and creating an action plan with your family will serve you well should you ever be faced with a bushfire. Check out our bushfire safety checklists below to help you prepare.

Prepare Your Home for Bushfire Season

  • Carry out repair work to the exterior of your home – Seal and repair any holes in your roof or eaves that make allow fire embers to enter your home.
  • Clean your gutters – Remove leaves and debris.
  • Cut back plants and shrubs – Remove loose branches, trim overhanging trees, trim back hedges and other plants that are near your home.
  • Mow your lawn – Keep the lawn around your home low to help create a fire break.
  • Remove any loose or excess items around your home that can burn – wood, mats, outdoor furniture etc.
  • Invest in a good quality heavy duty hose that is long enough to extend the entire perimeter of your home.
  • Check your insurance policy is current and covers you for fire damage.

Prepare Your Emergency Kit for Bushfire Season

In a waterproof container that is easy to take with you when you leave, gather the following items:

  • Torch
  • Portable radio
  • Spare batteries for both torch and radio
  • First aid kit
  • Important paperwork, including insurance policies
  • Emergency contact numbers
  • Waterproof bags to hold last-minute valuables and medication

Last-minute supplies

    • Medication
    • Baby and toddler supplies
    • Food and water
    • Appropriate clothing and footwear

Don’t forget to regularly check your emergency kit to check all items are still in usable condition and have not passed their expiration dates.

In the Event of a Bushfire

  • The best course of action is to leave as early as possible
  • Remove animals and livestock away from any fire danger
  • Remove flammable and loose items away from your home
  • Turn of any gas supplies at the mains or bottle
  • Block gutters and drains with sand socks and fill gutters with water
  • Place a large, clear sign near your letterbox informing firefighters if you have a water source available – Pool, water tanks or dam.
  • Keep up-to-date with local bushfire warnings and information.

Bushfire Warning Information

Fires Near Me – Check this page regularly to monitor any fires that are located near you and the alert level the NSW Rural Fire Service has in place for those fires.

Major Fire Updates – Closely monitor any major fire updates the NSW Rural Fire Service issues here.

Summer Safety – Water Safety

Summer here in Australia means water… and lots of it. Many of us own backyard swimming pools or spend much of our downtime at the beach or favourite water source. But with water comes risk. Every year there are a number of drownings all across NSW that could be prevented. Backyard swimming pools pose the greatest risk… Especially to children who are less aware of the dangers.

To reduce the risks or drowning or injury from water, the NSW government has some relevant resources to keep you safe this summer while in the water.

  1. Beach safety
  2. Inland water safety
  3. Pool safety
  4. Boating safety

And remember, prevention and awareness go a long way to preventing drownings. If your pool fencing is not compliant it must be bought up to code as a matter of urgency or have temporary pool fencing installed (just give us a call, we can be out there asap!).

Teaching all water users how to swim, undertaking a first and course and allocating a designated ‘water watcher’ also makes a significant difference in the prevention of drowning.

Emergency Hot Tips

No matter what situation you are faced with, it’s always best to follow these tips to stay on top of the situation:

  1. Stay calm
  2. Do a quick assessment of the situation to check for danger and remove yourself and others from danger.
  3. Administer first aid if and as required
  4. Call for help (see below for emergency contact numbers)
  5. Communicate clearly to all involved

Emergency Numbers and Websites

Keep these numbers in a handy location for easy access should you need to call for help at short notice. It may also be wise to place an extra copy in your emergency kits and your car as well.

 

Fire / Police / Ambulance  – 000

State Emergency Services – 132 500

NSW Police (non-emergency) – 131 444

NSW Rural Fire Service: 1800 679 737

 

Don’t forget to add your insurance provider to the list and the numbers of family members who do not live with you but are your emergency contacts.

Also add Hire Rite Temporary Fence to your list. Should you be faced with damage to your property from storm or fires, or your pool fencing is in need of repair, our guys will be out in a flash to secure your site with temporary fencing until the clean-up and repairs can get underway.

Summer is all about having fun, but summer safety must also be paramount.

Stay safe this summer!

Hire Rite Temporary Fence – Newcastle: (02) 4956 9060 | Central Coast: (02) 4311 9133 | Sydney: (02) 8332 1640 | Wollongong: (02) 4225 0176

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