Shelter model at show

LIFE support engineer Peter Weare will have a model of the Anderson Bomb Shelter on display at the Berwick Show next weekend.
Peter, who lives in Berwick, is one of many people suggesting underground bunkers should be installed on properties in fire-prone areas, but has taken the idea a step further by calling on his wartime experience in London as a child.
He will show how the Anderson shelter is built and used and explain its effectiveness.
The Gazette will feature, in a future edition, Mr Weare’s plans to lobby for homes in fire-prone areas to be fitted with fire bunkers.
This is a must, but it was put to me during discussion last week that a high percentage of home owners did not insure their properties so why would they build a fire shelter?
Because of this a good start would be to introduce regulations to make the shelters mandatory in all new homes.
Since Ash Wednesday I have been writing stories sourced from the Country Fire Authority about keeping properties fire safe and making decisions in fire safety planning about whether residents should stay or leave their homes.
This hasn’t worked because very few people bother, even if they read the CFA publicity, which for the most part is based on commonsense.
Then there is the occasional wildfire that sends off fireballs and embers so fierce that any person in the open will die.
So protecting property is the lesser part of the equation.
Saving human lives, especially those of children and elderly people, who generally have little say and can contribute little to what is going on should be the absolute priority.
If this can be done by providing a safe haven for less than $1000 offering access within two or three minutes as Mr Weare claims, then the bunkers should be mandatory and come under government regulations with laws about their upkeep.