When threatened by bushfire, residents of fire prone areas in Australia can choose between defending their property or evacuating, preferably well ahead of the fire. Australian fire agencies urge residents to decide how they will respond to the threat of bushfires ahead of time, and be well prepared for this response. Many residents, however, lack a specific (i.e., defend vs. evacuate) response plan: They intend to defend their property until it is too dangerous, wait for more info before deciding what to do, or wait for authorities to tell them what to do. Research on the Black Saturday fires in 2009 has shown that most fatalities occurred in these ‘less specific’ groups. The present study investigated how residents’ anticipated fire response is related to their levels of preparedness for the specific actions of defending versus evacuating and how residents with less specific response plans differ from the more specific ones in terms of general psychological preparedness and preparing their properties to reduce the risk of their house burning down. The study also investigated whether these differences in anticipated fire responses and preparedness are related to previous fire experience, gender, age, and general motives such as ‘saving the house’ or ‘ensuring safety of pets and/or livestock’. To do so, we collected data on the above in a longitudinal field study amongst residents of fire prone areas in multiple communities across WA. Amongst other things, findings showed the need to target those with a less specific response plan, as they were less prepared for both defense and evacuation than those with a more specific response plan. We discuss how these findings can be used to design more strategically targeted communications to those who are at highest risk of being under-prepared in case of a fire threat.