Information response

Issue 112 july 2013



DEFEND OR EVACUATE? WHY
RESIDENTS DELAY THIS DECISION
                                                                                                            CONTEXT
                                                                                                            To assist community members in preparing
                                                                                                            for a bushfire, fire agencies need to
                                                                                                            understand:
                                                                                                               1. Why many community members delay
                                                                                                                  their decision to defend or evacuate
                                                                                                                  until the day of a fire.
                                                                                                               2. What can be done to assist community
                                                                                                                  members plan for fires more
                                                                                                                  decisively, and therefore prepare more
                                                                                                                  effectively.
                                                                                                            This research investigated what factors led
                                                                                                            people to delay deciding on their fire response
                                                                                                            before a fire occurred. Following collection
                                                                                                            of this data, a workshop with community
                                                                                                            engagement leaders from fire agencies
                                                                                                            investigated two issues:
                                                                                                               1. How can this research inform strategies
                                                                                                                  that aim to overcome the problems
                                                                                                                  associated with decision delay?
                                                                                                               2. What are the most important barriers
                                                                                                                  that agencies may face in trying to
  This study shows that residents need triggers to take different actions under a variety of conditions.         implement such strategies?
SUMMARY                                                                                                     BACKGROUND
This Fire Note outlines research investigating why many residents of bushfire prone areas                   Australian residents of bushfire-prone areas
delay their decision to defend or evacuate in response to a bushfire until the day of a                     have a choice between either defending
fire. The research examined several plausible reasons for such a delay stemming from                        their property or evacuating, preferably well
decision avoidance research. This Fire Note discusses the research findings, as well as the                 before the fire reaches their area. To increase
opportunities and obstacles to overcoming the problems associated with decision delay.                      successful execution of these two possible
                                                                                                            bushfire responses, fire agencies encourage
Research showed that a lack of difference in the attractiveness between the options of
                                                                                                            residents of bushfire-prone areas to determine
defending a house or evacuating was the only significant predictor of householders’
                                                                                                            ahead of time what they will do in case of a
decision delay. Therefore, of the options investigated, this selection difficulty was the
                                                                                                            fire, and properly prepare for this intended
only valid explanation for householders’ delaying their decision in response to a fire.
                                                                                                            response. However, when given the choice
A solution to this involves appropriate triggers and subsequent actions to take under a
                                                                                                            between defending or evacuating, many
variety of conditions.
                                                                                                            people delay making this decision (i.e. wait
ABOUT THIS PROJECT                                                                                          and see; Whittaker et al., 2010).
This Fire Note is an update on the Information Processing Under Stress: Community Reactions                 This delay is problematic for several reasons.
project, conducted under the Bushfire CRC theme Communicating Risk.                                         First, previous studies have shown that
AUTHORS                                                                                                     people who delay this decision tend to be less
                                                                                                            prepared for both defending and evacuating,
Dr Ilona (Illy) McNeill, Dr Patrick Dunlop and Mr Huw Flatau, School of Psychology,
                                                                                                            compared with people who intend to respond
University of Western Australia, Professor Timothy Skinner, Charles Darwin University,
                                                                                                            with one of the two more concrete actions
and Professor David Morrison, Murdoch University. For more information contact
                                                                                                            (Dunlop et al., 2012). The decision delay
[email protected] increases risk to a person or household

© Bushfire CRC Ltd 2013                                                                                                                                       1