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Bushfire Preparedness

Treetops has a well-developed policy and procedure for responding to a bushfire or bushfire threat. Parents need to be aware of the following aspects of that policy:

  1. If a Watch and Act is issued by DFES, all children will remain in the classrooms, with windows and doors closed. School bags will be taken inside classrooms. Student roll call will be performed. Admin will ensure that all staff are aware of the situation. If appropriate, the Deputy Principal (or representative) will be despatched to the Incident Support Group.

If it is deemed necessary, students and staff may be required to shelter in place. The Principal will give instructions to evacuate all classrooms to the Safe Refuge Area. This refuge has access to water and toilet facilities. This facility is the safest place for our students and staff in the event of a bushfire in the area. In consultation with the Shire of Mundaring Bushfire team, this has been defined as LA3 and 4 in the High School.

Teachers will escort students to this safe refuge. If possible, class lists, including absentees, will be printed from SEQTA by Admin staff and distributed to class teachers for Roll Call. School Administration staff to carry out special duties as per the “Emergency Plan”. Medical kits, including student medication, will be organised by the Admin staff.

  1. In the unlikely, but serious event, that a fire is approaching our school and we do not have time to evacuate safely, the whole school will move to the designated safe refuge in LA3/4.

The School will liaise with the Police or Bushfire Control (DFES) regarding the location and direction of a fire and/or will monitor the Emergency WA website or ABC Radio 720 for updated details.

During an extreme emergency event, please do not attempt to come to the school to collect your child unless you have been asked to do so by the school. The less traffic there is to get in the way of emergency services, the safer your children will be. Experience tells us that conditions on the roads may be worse than at the school and roads may be closed by Police or DFES.

  1. Off-site evacuation, if required, will be co-ordinated with the DFES Incident Management Group. Children and staff will be taken to a safer location to be collected from there. Parent contacts (as listed in SEQTA) will be notified by special SMS message. The location of the evacuation area will be available from the DFES or via ABC Radio 720.
  1. If a future Catastrophic Fire Weather Warning is declared, we will pre-emptively CLOSE the school. Prior to the day of closure, we will announce closure via email and on our Facebook page, where possible. Announcements will also be made in the media. School Closure signs will be posted at all entrances to the school. Children must not attend school. In case parents miss the warning – should conditions permit, two staff members will be at school on the day of closure from 8:30am until 9:30am.

Please rest assured that the safety of your children is our first priority. We have regular emergency drills with students. In terms 1 and 4, our drills focus on a fire emergency scenario.

What can you do?

  • Check your mobile and Treetops Facebook page for communications from the school
  • Stay tuned to ABC 720am local radio
  • Access the Emergency WA website on https://www.emergency.wa.gov.au
  • Parents should NOT phone the school as phone lines must be open for communication with the relevant authorities.