Women take bushfire preparation into their own hands

For Gemma Woodmore, a flurry of phone calls and messages from worried friends during a bushfire in Western Australia's Midwest highlighted the need for more disaster education for women.The coastal town of Dongara, 350 kilometres north of Perth, is prone to bushfires, with multiple Emergency Warning level blazes in recent years.Ms Woodmore said she had helped several friends evacuate.She said some were single, while others had partners who worked away or were out fighting the blaze."The girls ended up calling me going, 'I don't know what to do,'" Ms Woodmore said.It led the beautician to spearhead plans for a comprehensive fire preparation day specifically for women titled "her safety, her plan". Lives and homes were threatened in the Dongara area in March. (ABC News: Chris Lewis)Ms Woodmore said firefighting spaces were frequently male-dominated and women could feel intimated to join, therefore missing out on crucial advice."Women just lack the knowledge most men know because they [men] go to the fire meetings and they're told, 'OK, you need to do this,'" she said."Women aren't really told that."Ms Woodmore has since joined the volunteer fire brigade."Sometimes going into a male-dominated field can be a bit scary but they've welcomed me with open arms, so it's just been amazing."The workshop in Dongara was aimed at empowering women during emergencies. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Chloe Henville)Lessons hit homeIrwin local Freya Smyth, who attended the workshop, said she had a wake-up call in 2024 when a blaze came just 300 metres from her house.Ms Smyth was with her family interstate when she received a call from a friend watching the property and her horses.A fire came dangerously close to Freya Smyth's home in 2024. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Chloe Henville)"We didn't really have an action plan," she said."It was quite harrowing."Ms Smyth said the friend was "quite experienced" and moved the horses to safety, but the situation showed she was vulnerable.She said she joined the workshop to gain practical skills and knowledge to help her family in the future."Coming into this summer, I will be teaching my kids how to evacuate, where to meet, what they should do if they get cut off in the house … that sort of thing," Ms Smyth said.Filling knowledge gapsLocal community emergency services manager Mick Antony helped coordinate and run the event."We've tried to make it a safe environment," he said.Mick Antony says he tried to make it a safe space for women. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Chloe Henville)Mr Antony said most people had the bare bones of an emergency plan but missed the finer details that become crucial when under pressure."We have over 900 fires a year in people's homes and people don't think about this," he said."We have muster points at work but we don't have a muster point at home."Mr Antony said the workshop was wide-ranging, from home preparedness and evacuation plans, to practical training on how and when to use a fire extinguisher.Gemma Woodmore demonstrates how to use a fire blanket. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Chloe Henville)He said other local governments were looking at hosting similar events.Mr Antony said the knowledge also translated to a variety of emergencies."If we had a cyclone, a flood, very bad storms, things like this need to be done," he said.Key takeawaysMr Antony's core advice was simple: form a solid plan, with multiple back-ups, before it was too late."Think about an escape route out of your area, how to get yourself to a safe place," he said.He explained how to pack an emergency kit, including a reminder to bring some form of identification if you evacuate."I was part of the Wooroloo fires [in 2021] and a lot of people left home, because the fire was so intense and so fast, without having ID," Mr Antony said."So prepare your ID maybe digitally and store it somewhere."Mr Antony said the Emergency WA app was the "one source of truth" during a fire.A handful of women volunteer with the Dongara brigade. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Chloe Henville)