Objetivos de área

Sense of community emerged from the interview data as a key driver of preparedness, with direct and indirect (for example through first influencing the formation of an intention to prepare) influence on interviewees’ preparatory behaviours.

So yeah, I’m probably better prepared than anyone I know up there in my immediate vicinity, however, since I’ve got my tank in, two other neighbours have also put tanks in.

For many of the interviewees, the social cohesion that comes with strong sense of community enables people to share the anxiety that comes with the threat (or even potential threat) of bushfire.

I’d probably, I don’t know, it’s tricky one, but I’d probably go because, well I live by myself and so I don’t think I necessarily, because my parents are old, unless there’s other people around me, I don’t think I’d really want to necessarily do it on my own. If there was more than one person helping me, then I would probably stay, but I don’t know whether I’d want to do it on my own.

Interviewees worry less when there are people in their community they know they will be able to share their concern with.

…but the fact that there was actually another human being on site made like about 90% difference to me. In fact if I had just one more person there I’d feel, I would have no qualms at all, I would stay and defend and know my preparations would work.

…you know everybody worries about [bushfires], they want to pretend they don’t , but they do… [and so you discuss sort of the equipment you could buy, or what you could do. Yeah [the community] is pretty good.

In effect, where there is strong sense of community, fear, worry and responsibility are shared among the community members, and the burdens presented by each become easier to bear. Also, while the fear of bushfires remains, having an active bushfire-prepared community enables that fear to be managed.

Well, I think with the fear I have also become more knowledgeable, so I guess if it did happen it would be horrendous, I’ve got some skills to cope with it, which I think is better than a fire coming one day and just not having a clue… So I guess I’m more confident even though I think… yeah it’s going to be awful and frightening and stuff, [but] at least you can be more prepared.

Most importantly, people generally follow the lead of others and ideas about preparation diffuse through communities where there is a strong sense of community. For most of the interviewees, when asked about cues that influence their bushfire preparation, seeing, talking to, or being directed by others who prepare is extremely important and useful.

…and so we do have a bit of a group in the street. One of the other guys is trying to organise a bushfire awareness, a bit of a plan to help one another, and know when people are away. …and I guess just good information on what happens in a bushfire, like what the fire service strategies are in dealing with situations… if they could get some community meeting or something where they said, well if there’s a fire in your area you know this is where it’s likely to come from, this is what we would most likely do, all that sort of stuff.

...if there was more than one person helping me, then I would probably stay, but I don’t know whether I’d want to [defend the house] on my own.

…[we get most information] from our neighbours. I live in Bracken Lane and… everyone in the street is really into fire awareness and we’ve got a telephone tree if there’s a fire, and we’ve had a few meetings over the summer talking about how to be prepared and that sort of stuff.

I think my activities maybe heightened their awareness. You see I act as a buffer between [the neighbours] and the Skyline Reserve, so they were delighted that I took the precautions that I did because I think it made them feel a bit safer.

We live in a pretty active community and word of mouth is probably the best way to find out about [preparing].

We had a couple of neighbourhood meetings about a different matter, but it was actually brought up, that maybe we should get some kind of plan about how we would support each other [in a fire].

The quality of this information seems to vary though. People who receive preparation advice from their direct neighbours have more locally relevant information than those who receive advice from family or friends who live in other areas. Non-local information seems to generate misperceptions about the nature of local bushfires and this can influence the extent and effectiveness of preparations. In localities where sense of community is lower, this latter type of information is generally what community members must rely on.

“…yeah you discuss the sort of equipment you could buy, or what you could do, it’s pretty good. But by the same token, I think people worry a lot more unless you’ve got a lot of money, you’ve got a constant water supply, or a really good sprinkler system that you can operate in any sort of weather.

Would [the neighbours] be there to help? …it depends – you defend your own [property] first. “[Would you ask your neighbours to prepare so that your place was safer?] I think I would only talk to them if I felt that it was very, very dry, or there were dead trees [on their property]… I probably should feel that I could approach them more generally. I guess I never really stopped to consider it.

“…and I mean in those sorts of circumstances people are doing their best to defend their own properties, so there’s not going to be much in the way of help around.

Long-term residents who have experienced bushfire in their neighbourhoods showed a greater interest in forming cooperative relationships with their fellow community members.

We used to have a community fire guard, and that really helped us respond as a community – it takes the panic out of the bushfire season because most people are ready.

…there’s not a great change-over of people here, like most of the people have lived here for 20 to 25 years… They [were] very welcoming and really, as a street, very proactive [in preparing] and community oriented…

There’s strong community mindedness in our street to help with preparing, and that’s come from the experience that the people here have had.

These respondents often recognised the benefit of collective action in fighting bushfires, and the value of solving such problems as bushfire preparedness as a group rather than as individual households. Interviewees with little experience of bushfire, but living in communities where there was considerable effort placed on community preparedness were more likely to have positive outcome expectancy (though for the more experienced residents’ positive outcome expectancy drove their sense of community through responsibility to their neighbours, and recognition in the value of preparation), higher self-efficacy because they knew they could rely on the neighbours to help defend against a bushfire (and a higher corresponding level of social responsibility), greater ability to perceive risk from bushfires, stronger critical awareness, and more trust in the stay and defend message from fire authorities.

…if it wasn’t for [the community] I don’t think we would have been nearly as proactive, like we probably wouldn’t have done anything about [preparing]… But I mean I think we’d certainly give [defending the house] a go, and we’re certainly ready with the pumps and we know what we’d do…

I’m responsible for my preparedness and for the safety of my neighbours too, so I make sure I’m well-prepared. I don’t think many people have the same attitude to preparing as me…

…I know people up the road a few blocks who would be in less danger [during a fire] because they’re not quite on the edge of the [bush] like we are, so they’re a few friends that I think I could call on to come and help.

Not preparing for bushfire is bad for the individual and the whole community.

…I think for me [being able to defend the house] would depend on whether the next-door neighbours are home, because I think when things get really, when you’re up against it, you need someone with you. I think on your own you don’t know when you’ve got to the point when

it’s dangerous and I mean this staying in the house while [the fire] roars overhead, it’s got me a bit shaky…

…certainly discussions, and talking to neighbours over the fence. The people across the road organised a talk by the fire department last year. They [are] cues to rush out and [prepare]. I talk to my neighbour. He was there when they had a fire 10 years ago, so we’ve talked about that and clearing and stuff…

It was basically a few guys in the street [who] are really enthusiastic about [preparing] and you know, are ready to impart knowledge and have a look at our pumps and all that stuff.”

...well, we’d already done most of the things on the [Prepare to Survive DVD], it just reaffirmed we had the right idea… because we’d had those meetings… I mean, I wouldn’t say we knew it all, but we were already pretty aware of the main things.

Sense of community also builds risk perception, and ensures skills transfer between members of the community.

[referring to previous residence] I think the biggest factor there was, well I just wasn’t so aware of

[the threat of bushfire] there because we were closer to the city we felt safer, and it’s south facing, so I guess I thought that was reassuring. But yeah… [referring to current residence] it’s only our street, and there’s not a great change-over of people here, most of the people have been here for 20 to 25 years. They were very welcoming and as a street, very proactive and community oriented I guess.

Individuals with negative outcome expectancy were less likely to show interest in cooperating with or talking to the other people in their communities with regard to bushfire preparation, suggesting that once this attitude is formed, it is hard to overcome.

I think now that I’ve got to the age that I have, I mean I’m in my 60s, I think I would at first sign [of fire], I think I’d be gone… simply because if there was a gang of neighbours here who said they would all look after themselves, but it doesn’t happen in this day and age… we don’t even know our neighbours’ names. We put ourselves out to try and speak to them, but people don’t speak anymore. Even on the street here, people turn the other way.

Sense of community and collective preparedness corresponded inversely to turnover of residents and was lower in recently established communities.

[Do you prepare?] No not really, I just block up the gutters and that if a fire comes…I mean I

don’t think we have to worry about it that much… I think people around me do their own thing. a lot of existing residents moved away after the fires of 1967, and there hasn’t really been any big fires here since then, so I think we’ve lost a lot of that direct knowledge of what it was like and what to do.

It’s a pretty new suburb and you can tell that not much [preparing] is done there – untidy backyards = new arrivals, and that means there’s increased risk from bushfire.

In these communities, high turnover, or recency of settlement prevents the community from developing collective knowledge about bushfires or the value of preparing. Because sense of community is such an important driver of bushfire preparedness, in these communities some alternative mechanism must be employed to build a corporate body of bushfire preparedness knowledge. Interviewees make it clear that fire authorities should take a role in the development of collective preparedness ideas in these kinds of communities.

...and I guess [being given] good information on what happens in a bushfire, like what sort of fire service strategies are in dealing with situations – even if they could do that at a local level, if they could have some community meeting or something where they said. ‘If there’s a fire in your area this is where it’s likely to come from, this is what we would most likely do’, all that sort of stuff. …advertising in the paper, or TV, I mean everything, because not everyone gets the paper everyday, and if anyone’s like me, I don’t get to sit down and watch the news everyday. I think it’s something that should be brought to people’s attention a little more regularly through the media, just because it’s not on people’s minds, they won’t be thinking about it. You know, I don’t think about bushfires.

Interviewees suggest that fire authority representatives could help by being more active during the winter, or simply being more available to discuss preparedness issues.

Well, actually seeing fire-men out and about doing controlled burning, sort of not in the peak bushfire season but it makes me, it’s a memory jogger for – do I have the right stuff in a time when it’s not high risk, so you do those preparations.

Between having children and school and working, you know, shift work, it’s not something that you think about. You haven’t got time to think about it! …maybe [visiting people more] is something [the fire brigade] should do. I’ve never in my life seen anything about bushfires until we got that DVD, and you know we sat down and watched that because we’d never had any information about [bushfire].

This does pose other problems however, and several interviewees suggested that the advice received from local volunteer fire-fighters was contrary to the messages from the professional services, and issues of agency trust are discussed further in sections 4.3.10 and 6.2.6. Sense of community, and the interaction it facilitates between people (who have strong bonds to the other members) in the community context also builds collective self-efficacy. While it’s clear that people like to follow leaders when it comes to finding out about and undertaking good bushfire preparations, it’s also clear that having a good sense of community fosters positive beliefs about the value of staying to defend the property, and ultimately builds the collective efficacy of that community. This is especially true for older individuals, people with disabilities, and people living alone.

I’m on my own don’t forget, and I’m a woman of close to 60, and I’ve now developed an ankle and foot injury… I think the thing for me is just being [at home] on my own… If in fact I had just one more person there, I’d feel, I’d have no qualms at all, I would stay and defend and know my preparations would work.

I guess our only factor that might change is the day… I’ve got a baby, so if I was home alone I might be a bit more, well it would depend on him really, if someone could come and get him, or whether I would feel like I could [defend the house] with him alone.

If there was more than one person helping me then I would probably stay [and defend], but I don’t know whether I’d like to do it on my own.

If these members of the community know that they can obtain accurate information about preparing from their neighbours, or rely on help from trusted others when bushfire threatens, then they don’t have to rely on their own capabilities solely, and this instils confidence and reduces their fear of bushfire as an unknown quantity.

I got caught up in a bushfire 26 years ago and I thought my time was up. It frightened the life out of me. And when I moved up here that was always in the back of my mind, and the fact that I’m retired, I’ve got time, and [preparing for bushfires] just makes sense to me.

Familiarity with bushfire, and how to mitigate its effects, seems to reduce the level of anxiety people feel towards this hazard. Ryan and Wamsley (2008) showed that increased knowledge and familiarity with prescribed burning methodologies and activity could reduce residents’ concerns about issues associated with fire.