Two new community fire refuges in Victoria have been declared ready to use more than four years after the devastating Black Saturday bushfires.
Emergency Services Minister Kim Wells on Saturday said two last resort bushfire survival shelters built at primary schools in Ferny Creek, in Melbourne's south east, and Millwarra, in Melbourne's outer east, would be a valuable option during the fire season.
The establishment of community fire refuges was one of 67 recommendations of the Bushfires Royal Commission into the 2009 Black Saturday fires, which killed 173 people.
A July progress report on the implementation of the Bushfires Royal Commission said it was a significant concern that no new refuges had been made available since the 2009 bushfires.
Mr Well on Saturday said there was no precedent for the types of structures that had been built and each element had to be investigated and developed from scratch.
"This has been a challenge but we got the process right," Mr Well said.
The refuges each have a remote opening system and are in direct contact with the State Control Centre in Melbourne.
They come equipped with heat shields, standby power generators and fire protection systems.
Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley said the community fire refuges would be activated only when fire is threatening a community.
They are built to withstand the passage of a bushfire under Ash Wednesday conditions.
But Mr Wells said when an area is under bushfire threat, leaving early was always the safest option.
"The community fire refuges are a last resort bushfire survival option and should not be considered a substitute for a practised personal survival plan," Mr Wells said.
Victoria now has three registered community fire refuges, including an old gold mining tunnel at Woods Point, northeast of Melbourne, where people took shelter during the Black Friday fires in 1939.
