Three years ago, after days of oppressive heat, Victoria braced itself for extreme fire danger. On Saturday 7 February, 2009, the state’s worst nightmare was realised.

The bushfires that weekend were the most devastating in the nation’s history, claiming 173 lives and destroying over 2000 homes. With the third anniversary of Black Saturday upon us, protection from wild fires is foremost in the minds of those living in rural communities.

Dan Drougas farms livestock on 150 acres in South Gippsland. He witnessed the fires that broke out in February 2009 which came within two kilometres of his property. It’s not something easy to forget.

“That day, around midday, I saw a fireball coming down from the mountain. There was this plume of smoke and then suddenly within five minutes it turned into a fireball that came up above the trees.

“The sky just went black. Two kilometres for a fire is nothing. We’d brought all our animals close to the house, the sheep in the paddock next door. As the light dropped, you could see the sheep shaking.” Dan says their decision to defend their property from the fire was made early.

“We were getting live embers dropping all over the farm. In some places the grass lit, and it was moving faster than a car travelling at 100kms an hour. My wife and I were just working on adrenalin.

“We either had to stay where we were, or go into Yarram township, but it was probably more dangerous to go into town, because all the roadway into town was ablaze all the way into Yarram.” By watering the house and beating out flames lit by swirling embers, Dan and his wife were able to pull through unscathed.

“It was just the luck of the draw. The fire could have gone the other way. It went towards Yarram rather than come our way.” As always, Dan began preparing his land for this fire season well before summer arrived. Though he’s cut 60 acres of grass in an effort to deny any fire the fuel it needs, he’s still unsure how secure he will be, if there’s a repeat of Black Saturday. “Our land is all pasture, with grass being usually about a metre and a half high, that’s all vulnerable. Farms around us have done the same, but we’re still concerned. There’s still a lot of grass around compared to what there was three years ago.”

Jim Koutsoubos has been a Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteer for two years, working with the Springvale fire brigade. As a warehouse supervisor, Jim has an understanding employer. He’s on call 24/7. With the CFA receiving call-outs to 300 incidents a week from car accidents to house fires, bushfires account for thankfully only a small proportion of those events. But when summer comes, thousands of volunteers like Jim Koutsoubos are on the frontline of wild fires that quickly become disaster zones. One of the state’s many unsung heroes, Jim says his motivation as a CSA volunteer comes from a love of helping his community.

Before the CSA, Jim was a volunteer for 15 years with the SES. He also witnessed Black Saturday, assisting CFA crews at Kinglake – one of the most affected towns where 42 people lost their lives. The CFA’s message says Jim, is above all, for anyone living or holidaying at a location with a fire risk, to take the fire planning process seriously. “You need to prepare your property properly, check gutters have been cleared, sprinklers checked, trees and grass cut back, all that stuff.” Creating a proper bushfire survival plan says Jim, is the one crucial device that can improve your chances of remaining safe when a bushfire threatens.

“As part of your plan, you need to make a decision as to, at what point you would leave your property, and what will be the trigger for leaving,” says Jim, “and you also need to have clearly worked out where your exit route is. If you decide to defend and fight the fire, you have to ensure that you have the proper equipment beforehand, even down to small things like a torch and a radio.”

Already in Victoria temperatures have soared to 43 degrees, and when the climate conspires once more, a repeat of the conditions that created Black Saturday is always possible. The evidence shows that without a bushfire survival plan, rushed decisions taken at the last moment, can be the last steps you ever take.

For help in preparing your plan go to www.cfa.vic.gov.au Victorian Bushfire Information line 1800 240 667.