Emergency Planning Advice Service (EPAS)

Findings from the 2009 Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission, New South Wales Bushfire Inquiry and October 2019 Inspector-General for Emergency Management (IGEM) report have all made recommendations on preparing vulnerable people for bushfire. It was clear to CFA from the 2009 Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission that a cohort of community members, known collectively in that document as 'vulnerable people', were over represented in mortality figures. 44% of people who died in Black Saturday were considered vulnerable. Additionally, the report on Preventable Residential Fire Fatalities in Australia July 2003 to June 2017 showed that 62% of people who died in house fires over that period were living with a disability.

The Review of Emergency Management for High Risk Victorian Communities (IGEM, October 2019) states on page 32 that “The focus on community resilience building for high-risk communities is tempered by an acknowledgement that some individuals and groups will require targeted support and assistance”. IGEM notes that a “resilience focus, while very positive and appropriate at a whole-of-community level, can divert attention away from the most marginalised groups. Community resilience rightfully remains a strong focus for the sector, however, protecting the most high-risk individuals and communities is an important requirement of policy, legislation and practice based on an individual’s human rights. Strategies to address the needs of these high-risk communities remains a priority”.

In September 2019 CFA began a three-year project (until June 2022) called the Preparing Vulnerable People (PVP) project. One of the two objectives of this initial project was to improve targeted service delivery to people at higher risk. People at highest risk include people who:

• Have a significant or permanent disability
• Are older and frail and may live alone.
• And who require support to remain living independently at home.

EPAS is a very targeted service for those in the community experiencing multiple factors of vulnerability putting them at much higher risk in a fire or other emergency.  It covers all aspects of fire safety (bushfire and house fire) and Red Cross can offer support with other hazards.

At the first meeting of the PVP State-wide Reference Group in November 2019, Kate Siebert, the then State Manager for Emergency Services at Red Cross, asked to partner with CFA on the development and delivery of this service.  What followed was a co-development between the agencies of the Emergency Planning Advice Service throughout 2020 and 2021 (see EPAS Program Logic).

The service is co-delivered between CFA and Red Cross members alongside local government. One CFA and one Red Cross member visit the resident.  They are trained to use a person-centred conversation and follow a capability approach (known as the Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness approach) to improve fire and emergency planning with the resident.  This occurs over two consecutive home visits.

In 2021, three trial sites (at a municipal level) were chosen for the delivery of the service. The first EPAS training sessions were co-delivered by CFA and Red Cross in early 2021 and evaluated in late 2021. The first evaluation, conducted by the University of Sydney, showed that the EPAS training was giving CFA and Red Cross members the skills to deliver the service.  One of the key skills for the delivery is the Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness (P-CEP) approach and framework.

The initial EPAS trials were significantly hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic.  It resulted in a lower number of participants and suspension of the service during the multiple lockdown periods in Victoria.  Both Bass Coast Shire and City of Greater Bendigo halted the service.  As a result, the EPAS trial was extended throughout 2022 in the last remaining location, Yarra Ranges Council.  A case study evaluation from the Yarra Ranges EPAS trial (by the University of Sydney) was received in January 2023.  This evaluation has highlighted what works well and what needs to be improved in the service.

Given the restrictions of EPAS delivery throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a larger trial of the service began in 2023. Grant funding secured from Emergency Management Victoria (EMV) in partnership with Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS), Disability Advocacy Resource Unit (DARU), University of Sydney, Red Cross and CFA will support this larger trial until Feb 2024 in City of Greater Bendigo, Mount Alexander Shire, Mitchell Shire, Casey Council, Wellington Shire, and the partnership area of Surf Coast Shire and Colac Otway Shire.

Some of the recommendations from the Yarra Ranges evaluation will be implemented in the latest trial phase of the service.   However, there is a need for ongoing collaboration between CFA and Red Cross, as well as other organisations including Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) and Victorian Council of Churches Emergencies Ministry (VCCEM) to support EPAS delivery.

EPAS is in a testing and development phase throughout 2023.