Checklist items for researchers: Householder preparations for bushfires

This report begins by noting that bushfires constitute a serious natural hazard for many Australian communities, accounting for numerous recent deaths and property losses. Only a modest amount of research into community bushfire safety has been reported so far. It is proposed that the availability of a generic checklist of householder bushfire preparation activities may assist researchers in the future. The development of a 30-item research checklist is described. The bushfire preparations checklist includes items related to staying and defending and to leaving safely. It can be modified readily to meet specific research aims. It is suitable for use in hard-copy, electronic, and on-line formats.