Following advocacy after the 2019 Cooroibah and Peregian bushfires and resulting review, QFES have recently updated their Information and Warning System effective from 1 September 2021
Warning action statements have also been streamlined. The warning levels and corresponding action statements are as follows:
| Warning level | Action statement |
| Emergency Warning | Seek shelter immediately – or –
Leave immediately |
| Watch and Act | Prepare to leave – or –
Monitor conditions (for de-escalating incidents only) |
| Advice | Stay informed – or –
Avoid smoke |
In addition, there have also been key action statement changes as follows:
- Previous action statement changes have been streamlined to reduce confusion and duplication.
- If smoke is considered a significant threat to an area and community members need to take protective action an ‘Avoid smoke Advice warning can be issued. Unofficial warnings (known as ‘smoke alerts’ and ‘notifications’) will no longer be used
- ‘Monitor conditions Watch & Act’ has been added as a de-escalating warning when it is safe for people to return to their property following an evacuation
You can find the full review Queensland Bushfires Review 2019-20 at https://www.igem.qld.gov.au/queensland-bushfires-review-2019-20
Current warnings will now be published directly to the new QFES website at www.qfes.qld.gov.au/Current-Incidents
For more information, please visit https://www.qfes.qld.gov.au/prepare/bushfire/tune-in-to-warnings
Australian Warning System: Know the Signs Campaign : click here to read more