HEPBURN Shire residents want answers from the state government on whether one of the state's most fire-prone areas will have a "place of last resort" before the upcoming bushfire season.Neighbourhood safer places and refuges provide a sanctuary from the life threatening effects of a bushfire. They have been identified in Creswick, Daylesford and Trentham, but not Hepburn Springs.Hepburn Shire Municipality Emergency Management Planning committee chair Bill McClenaghan said Hepburn Springs did not have a place of last resort because the effects of a bushfire would be too dangerous.He called for a refuge."Priority one is some sort of refuge. Hepburn Springs stands out because it's a fire-prone town. It does not have a neighbourhood safer place. A refuge is required," Mr McClenaghan said.He said other places that needed a refuge were Drummond, Coomoora and Wheatsheaf.The issue was among others raised at a bushfire community meeting in Daylesford on Saturday, where residents were given the opportunity to highlight problems or endorse recommendations from the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission.Mr McClenaghan said of the 52 Victorian towns identified at risk of a bushfire last year, four were in the shire. They are Creswick, Daylesford, Hepburn Springs and Trentham.The shire's most recent bushfire was on February 23, 2009, two weeks after the Black Saturday bushfires, where 2658 hectares were burnt at Muskvale."The local government role is very clear. We have to design sustainable neighbourhood safer places. We have to have a municipal management plan. We have to respond to all emergencies, not just fire," Mr McClenaghan said."There are still a lot of unanswered questions. We are waiting for a government response - what are they going to do? We have an expectation that the community will be listened to."More than 50 people at the two-hour meeting at the Daylesford Inn discussed refuges, forced evacuations, powerlines, acquisition of property, fuel reduction and local government response.The meetings will be used to assist the state government develop its final response to the recommendations of the Bushfires Royal Commission.