Kat,
Many thanks for the offer but it will be at least a couple of weeks before the smoke clears (literally and metaphorically) and we have a good picture of how the folk community has been affected. So far it's only a few people we have information about and there may be others who've not been in any position to communicate, especially in some of the areas remote from Melbourne. For example, there used to be a thriving folk scene in St Andrews and the Smith's Gully/Panton Hills areas but I lost contact with them when I moved to the Oz New England, 17 hours' drive north of there.

how do you keep safe in a bush fire
Jordan, that is a rather loaded question at the moment and even before the latest events would require a fair amount of reading and some training; many in Oz aren't really aware although there are efforts at trying to help them become aware.

Keeping an eye open for what's happening around you and how weather patterns affect fires is always a good move, as is removing oneself from the scene completely. Even clever and prepared people got caught out in this latest event, mostly (I suspect) by the effect of the cold front.

Before it arrived, the High Pressure cell in the Tasman kept directing hot airflow (at high speed) over Victoria from the northwest. This pushed the fires along towards the southeast, where the fire front may not have been particularly wide but the northern and southern flanks became quite extended. When a cold front arrives (in the Southern Hemisphere), the wind backs almost 90 degrees and blows (often at high speed) from the southwest. Suddenly, a 20km long northern flank of a fire becomes a 20km long fire front. This can happen in as little as 2 or 3 minutes and may well be the major reason why so many got caught; it is a firefighter's nightmare and training attempts to avoid it.

The very worst place to be is uphill and downwind of any wildfire. Even a relatively gentle wind will cause the flames to lean downwind, increasing their preheating effect; the higher the flames, the more intense it becomes. The MacArthur meter calculates fire behaviour with the assumption that the ground is flat; for every ten degrees of slope the fire's speed doubles. The more fuel there is available (especially fuel as fine as 6mm diameter cross-section) the more intense the fire. Grass fires move with amazing speed but the flame front may pass in only seconds; scrub and forest fires can move almost as fast but will usually have greater depth so protection is required for longer.

Radiant heat is the big killer so, if you can protect yourself from it you've improved whatever your situation. Dugouts, of the sort recommended to be located in bush areas by the Royal Commission after the 1939 fires can be ideal but most were in disrepair by the time the 1962 fires ripped through the Dandenongs near the current conflagrations. Some over last weekend saved themselves by crawling into culverts under the road but even large wheel ruts and boulders have been used. There is a famous photo in Joan Webster's post-1983 book (repeated I think in Paul Collins' post-2003 equivalent) of a bloke who survived the 1939 fires by standing up under a woollen blanket that he repeatedly doused with water from a bucket he kept with him.

If caught while driving, the best place is often (but not always) in the car. It should be as far away from fuel (vegetation) as possible (an area already burned out is ideal) and the windows must be kept shut and personnel must be as low in the car as possible and covered with woollen blankets. This will frequently keep you safe until the flame front has passed and then you get out. Everything not covered will burn flesh so open doors etc with gloves on. This is drummed into all rural firefighters as a response to overrun and I assure you it works unless there is too much fuel too close to the vehicle; in those circumstances plastics inside the vehicle may vapourise and may even flash over leading to superheated toxic fumes that are themselves burning.

Natural fibres are de rigeur. Cotton drill, long sleeves and trousers, woollen socks, leather footwear and gloves, broadbrimmed hat (Akubras are made of felted rabbit hair) are routine for me and I keep a couple of woollen blankets in the back of the car, along with leather gloves under the driver's seat. Polyester, thinsulate and such artificial fibres may be more fashionable and even effective in the cold but heat can turn them into a passable version of napalm that melts into the skin.

And that's just the personal protection bit. Most states run a Community Fireguard program that is designed to help the nonfirefighters understand how to prepare and protect themselves and it is vital that people who live or work in the urban-rural interface get involved. One aspect is a proper plan and an understanding of when to stay and when to go; many of those who were killed had done things properly but, I suspect, were overwhelmed by the sheer scale of what was happening and decided to go but left that decision until it was too late.

The sound of a major fire can cause you to lose all control, emotionally and of your sphincters; until you've experienced it you don't know how you will deal with it. My first firefighting event was when I was young and we were overrun; all the others were older and knew what to do and we all survived. I've spent much of my life training others how to become effective in emergency situations, including firefighting and I've been up close and personal with some major events. But, even with all that, I can't be sure that I would have been any better at coping in a house by myself than any of those who tried and died.

So, how do you keep safe in a bushfire?
Prepare yourself, learn and train, practise until you are supremely effective and can be surprised by almost nothing. And then hope that luck is with you.

Cheers, Rowan