Communities must work together, and work with fire agencies to prepare for the fire season.

Community planning and prevention are the first lines of defence against the fire threat.

Join a Community Fireguard group or attend a Fire Ready meeting with your family and neighbours.

Community Fireguard is a CFA fire-safety program that helps people work together to plan for the threat of fire and to manage their own fire risk.

Participants walk their street and surrounding areas with a fire expert to help build a personal, household or workplace fire plan.

The Community Fireguard program covers:

• fire behaviour

• personal survival

• house survival, and

• fire protection equipment

Additional Community Fireguard groups and Fire Ready meetings will be in place across Victoria for this fire season.

Fire Ready meetings are community meetings for people living in high fire risk areas.

Attending these community meetings will help you:

• gain advice and information about bushfire behaviour

• identify and reduce your fire risk

• prepare your property, and

• build your plan of action

What you learn and the actions you take may save lives.

For more information visit www.cfa.vic.gov.au