Welcome to living at Mt Wilson & Mt Irvine! Most people choose to live here for lifestyle reasons – they love the peace and quiet, the charm of the villages and their well-maintained gardens and the beauty and fascination of the flora and fauna of the surrounding bush. There are opportunities to pursue hobbies such as gardening, entertaining or bushwalking or just having a break from the buzz of work and city life.

In time you will realise that there are some lifestyle changes that you weren't expecting but are necessary for dealing with those particular challenges of living in the upper Blue Mountains such as leeches, wombats and power outages. The biggest lifestyle change from living in the city comes with the awareness that you now live in one of the most bushfire prone areas in the world and that it is your responsibility to take action to protect yourself, your loved ones and your property.

To best understand the impact that fire could have on your property you can look at the pdf Bush Fire Survival map (3.58 MB)  under Community Protection Plans on this website. This shows, on a day of catastrophic fire conditions, whether your house will be impacted by direct flame, radiation heat or embers. In these conditions nowhere in Mt Wilson is guaranteed to be safe. It is hoped that maps for Mt Irvine will be available in 2014.

To assist you to best prepare for and survive a bushfire emergency, the brigade has developed a plan for all residents to follow. We call it the '7 Habits of Highly Effective Bushfire Survival Planning'. The use of the word 'habit' is quite deliberate as this plan now needs to become a regular part of your life in the Mounts. The 7 habits are:

  1. Write  a Bushfire Survival Plan
  2. Prepare Your Property
  3. Know the History of Fire at Mt Wilson & Mt Irvine
  4. Understand Fire Behaviour
  5. Recognise Fire Danger Days
  6. Act When Fire Threatens
  7. Review & Rehearse Your Plan Before the Bushfire Season

Please take time to read through each habit and, most important of all, act on these recommendations to give yourself, your family and your property the best chance of surviving a bushfire.

The NSW Rural Fire Service website is a great source of information on all aspects of dealing with bushfires and provides the latest information on any incidents. If you would like to learn more about bushfire behaviour and strategies for dealing with such emergencies you could do no better than Join the Brigade. Your contribution to the safety of our community will be rewarding and greatly appreciated.