Bushfire Protection - Be Prepared

Hills Shire residents are encouraged to prepare for bushfire season and to take all necessary precautions in the event of a natural disaster.

Take the 'Four Weeks to Fire Ready' Challenge

As bushfire season approaches, it’s more important than ever to understand your risks and take proactive steps to protect your home and loved ones. That’s why we’ve partnered with the NSW Rural Fire Service to bring you the Four Weeks to Fire Ready Challenge – a simple and practical way to get prepared, one week at a time.

By joining the challenge, you’ll get a weekly guide packed with clear, easy-to-follow tips to help you prepare for bushfire season. Each weekly edition breaks down a different aspect of readiness, making it straightforward, stress-free, and achievable. Here’s what’s coming up:

• Week 1 (29 September - 5 October 2025): Discuss what to do if a bushfire threatens your home
• Week 2 (6 - 12 October 2025): Prepare your home and get it ready for bushfire season
• Week 3 (13 - 19 October 2025): Know the bushfire alert levels
• Week 4 (20 - 26 October 2025): Stay up-to-date with all bushfire information

These steps will fuel your confidence and equip you with the tools needed to stay safe this fire season.

By completing the challenge, you’ll have:

• Created a personalised Bush Fire Survival Plan
• Learned how to maintain a defensible space around your home
• Gain a clear understanding of Fire Danger Ratings

Don’t let your safety plans go up in smoke – sign up for the Four Weeks to Fire Ready challenge today and take the first step toward a safer, more prepared community.

Sign Up for the Challenge Here

Click here to find out more about how you can Get Ready

More Information on How to Protect Your Home

Please consider your fire plan to keep you and your family safe. Know your risk this bushfire season and prepare well ahead.

Here are some basic maintenance tips to prepare your property (as listed on the NSW Rural Fire Service website)

• Clean your gutters of leaves and twigs
• Install metal gutter guards
• Repair damaged or missing tiles on the roof
• Install fine metal mesh screens on windows and doors
• Fit seals around doors and windows to eliminate gaps
• Enclose the areas under the house
• Repair or cover gaps in external walls
• Attach a fire sprinkler system to gutters
• Keep lawns short and gardens well maintained
• Cut back trees and shrubs overhanging buildings (see Council’s ‘Trees’ webpage for more information on tree management and vegetation clearing)
• Clean up fallen leaves, twigs and debris around the property
• Have hoses long enough to reach around your house
• If you have a pool, tank or dam, put a Static Water Supply (SWS) sign on your property entrance, so firefighters know where they can get water
• Check and maintain adequate levels of home and contents insurance. Ensure it is up to date.

For more information how to prepare your property for bushfire and grass fires and how to complete a Bushfire Survival Plan visit the NSW Rural Fire Service website.

For more information on protection during a Bushfire Emergency, please see Neighbourhood Safer Places.

Get Ready

The Get Ready NSW campaign is designed to help thousands of households across NSW take the guesswork out of planning for natural disasters including bushfires, storms, and floods.

Residents can also download the Get Prepared app to create a personalised emergency plan allowing you to:

• Establish a quick and easy network of support with your three key contacts
• Review the risks relevant to where you live
• Create checklists of actions to make an emergency plan - save the emergency plan as a PDF to be printed and shared with others
• Ensure your mobile phone and portable battery packs are charged and ready
• Create a digital back up of valuable information on a USB or on the Cloud
• Be prepared with alternative communications (such as a radio) and power options.

Download the 'Get Prepared app here.

More Apps Providing Warnings and Emergency Information

Download these four apps for weather warnings, hazard notifications and help from emergency services.

Hazards Near Me

Set up a watch zone to receive notifications on changing conditions

Get Emergency Updates on Hazards Near Me NSW App

Emergency Plus

The 'What 3 Words' feature shares your precise location with emergency services

Download for iOS

Download for Android

Live Traffic NSW

Plan ahead and see what hazards are impacting your journey on the NSW road network.

Download for IOS

Download for Android

BOM (Bureau of Meteorology) Weather

Check the weather forecasts and warnings.

Download for IOS

Download for Android

  

How to Protect Your Business

Bushfire season can affect your business even if you are not in a fire zone, for example with road closures and electricity outages.

The Small Business Commissioner has prepared four Get Ready for Disaster Guides to help prepare your business.

If you can’t answer these questions, then check out the Disaster Guides for help

• Do your staff know what to do in an emergency?
• Would you know who to contact and where to get help and information?
• What would happen to your data in an emergency?
• Do you have a plan for how you would move stock and equipment?

 

Access the Get Ready for Disaster Guides Here

 

For bush fire preparedness

There is practical information and help at the NSW Rural Fire Service website. While this is targeted to residential homeowners, the planning and preparedness techniques apply to business as well in rural areas.  Details to be found here: Bush fire survival plan - NSW Rural Fire Service

 

For knowledge of local emergencies

The NSW Government has launched a new app where you can view emergency warnings and advice for fires, floods and tsunamis in NSW.  The details on this can be found here: Hazards Near Me app | NSW Government

 

Your Local RFS

The Rural Fire Service (RFS) is a highly trained group of men and women who provide assistance during many emergency situations, including bushfires.

The primary responsibility for the safety of property and lives lies with you. Visit the RFS website for more information.

 

Support from The Hills Shire Council 

Council’s Local Emergency Management Committee is responsible for the preparation of plans in relation to the prevention of, preparation for, response to, and recovery from emergencies in The Hills Shire Local Government Area.

During periods of disaster Council provides guidance and information to our community on our website, via our Emergency Management Page and social media. During the subsequent recovery Council provides support to recovery centres, coordinates social services and links residents to recovery funding grant information.