When the Fire Front Arrives and Passes

• As the fire-front approaches, go inside the house. Stay calm, you are in control of the situation. After the fire passes, check the roof immediately. Extinguish any sparks or embers. Then check any interior enclosed spaces for hidden burning sparks. If you have a fire, call the Fire Department and then get neighbors to help fight it until the fire units arrive. The water you stored before will come in handy now. For several hours after the fire, recheck for smoke and sparks throughout the house.
  
• In a major conflagration, fire protection agencies will probably not have enough equipment and manpower to be at every home. You cannot depend totally on their help. One of the firefighter's principal responsibilities is to stop the spread of fire from house to house. Therefore, if one home is on fire, firefighters might have to pass it by to save another in the path of the fire. Your careful planning and action during a fire can save your home. Be prepared. Talk with your neighbors to see what resources you have. Ask your fire or forestry personnel for professional advice and assistance.

(Source: Klaus Radtke, Living More Safely in the Chaparral-Urban Interface.)