No Plan Dan: Dressed to Kill

We are very pleased to introduce you to No Plan Dan! A series that utilises story telling to help share our bush fire safety messages. Thanks to those who have been involved in the development of No Plan Dan and his fellow characters , and worked so closely with the Community Engagement team to help bring this series to life.  Episodes of No Plan Dan will appear in the Building Community Resilience Blog over the next month, with Dan, his family and his neighbours expected to make appearances in other Community Engagement resources soon... So let the story begin!

We see him regularly on the telly, sometimes on his roof or between his home and an advancing fire, dribbling hose in hand, steadying himself to fight off radiant heat and a storm of embers. He’s clad in little more than stubbies, thongs and his singlet. Good old No Plan Dan is dressed for comfort with no thought for personal safety. It’s hot and dry, as total fire ban days tend to be, so he is padding around the house in as little as possible.

No Plan Dan 'defending' his home. Can you pick out Prepared Pete?

Even once he knows there is a fire coming, No Plan Dan doesn’t think about what he’s wearing. He sees firemen running around at the end of the street in full-length yellow gear, with gloves, boots, masks and stuff, but it must be as hot as Hades inside all that gear. So No Plan Dan sticks with his traditional dress. As he runs around doing a few last-minute things, No Plan Dan notices his neighbour, Prepared Pete, is dressed in jeans, boots, long-sleeve shirt and floppy hat. He even has a pair of goggles on!

No Plan Dan is alerted to the fire’s approach by a wave of embers raining down, getting inside his singlet, in his hair and even between his feet and the soles of his thongs. The sensation is something like being bitten by a dozen really large ants all at once, but No Plan Dan tries to ignore the burning marks on his skin as he uses the last of the water from his garden hose to wet himself down. He sees the sky is darkening and, for the first time, notices the noise and strong winds. Prepared Pete yells something out, but No Plan Dan can’t hear him and just waves an arm in acknowledgement.

No Plan Dan is feeling the embers and heat!

Wondering where all the rest of the fire trucks are, No Plan Dan heads into the back yard armed with a bottle of water and an old hessian bag, pounding desperately at flames as half a dozen patches of his lawn catch alight. As the flames flare and surge between his feet, the hairs on his legs vanish in a stinging instant. More embers start to hail down, kinda like rain in one of those heavy summer storms, getting in everywhere – even burning holes through his favourite singlet!

Suddenly No Plan Dan feels as though someone opened the door of a blast furnace nearby, as his skin senses megawatts of radiant heat from the fire front. His arms and legs feel like they’re inside an oven and, as he sucks down large gulps of air, No Plan Dan notices that his throat is burning too. He can hardly see because of the smoke, which is making his eyes water like crazy, and that’s not helped when he feels a sharp pain in his right eye as a large spark finds its new home.



Do you think No Plan Dan is coping?


Feeling faint, No Plan Dan tries to get back to the house, but is unsure of which direction to go. There is so much smoke he can hardly see his own hand in front of his face, even with his good eye. The whole world is orange and red, an almighty noise assaults his ears, it’s hot – oh so hot – and he can’t breathe. Now he’s not in front of a furnace, he’s inside it.

What will happen to No Plan Dan? What could have been different? Who do you think will have managed the best, No Plan Dan or his neighbour Prepared Pete?

Another adventure with No Plan Dan will be featured next week!