engaging communities - 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission

2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission—Interim Report
2 ENGAGING COMMUNITIES
2.57
Roadblocks represented the most frequently mentioned grievance for the majority of communities. People
expressed anger and frustration about emergency service personnel denied access to fire-affected areas.
Family and friends who were separated from loved ones experienced severe distress. Residents who fled
their homes spoke of the stress of being unable to return to care for livestock and protect their homes from
spot fires and ember attacks. Others who had stayed spoke of being ‘cut off’ and reluctant to leave their
properties for fear of being denied return access.
The comment of Mr John Williams of Yarra Glen is representative of one raised many times at the
consultations:
I think there certainly needs to be a measure of common sense, a measure of compassion in these
roadblocks. 30
2.58
Many people felt that roadblock protocols and regulations were too prohibitive and lacked understanding of
some of the fundamental needs of locals to access fresh food, medical assistance, and feed and veterinary
care for their livestock. Others argued that roadblocks should be staffed by people with local, up-to-date
information, who had discretionary powers to vary regulations and protocols, as the emergency required.
Mr D Brown made similar comments:
Neither of the policemen [on a roadblock] were prepared to say what they were doing this for, why they
were doing this, what they had been instructed. 31
2.59
Community participants in Kinglake, Bendigo, Marysville, Yarra Glen, Flowerdale and Strathewen spoke
of the perils of evacuating and of not knowing the location of evacuation centres or fire refuges. These
comments were often accompanied by requests for coordinated evacuation plans for people who cannot
self-evacuate — in particular elderly people, those without cars and people with a disability. The early
evacuation of elderly residents from a Marysville aged care facility was viewed as a good example of a
well-executed plan.
Uncertainty about the location of fire refuges is reflected in the comment of Mr O’Halloran:
I think it [the Yarra Valley Recreation Reserve] would probably be just one [a fire refuge] that locals know
about. I have never been aware of it being an official place. 32
2.60
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Some people questioned the existence of local council emergency management plans and argued that
more was needed to educate residents about such plans. They argued that central fire refuges should be
well known and well signposted, both for locals and for tourists visiting the area, and that a coordinated
‘notification’ approach was needed for residents who had chosen to evacuate. It was suggested that
fire-resistant signs such as ‘we have left’, posted in a prominent area close to the entrance of properties,
would assist emergency workers in checking the safety of residents and properties.
A number of the communities spoke of roads that changed names multiple times and of the lack of
accurate, up-to-date maps that indicated the types of road. Added to this was the failure of many maps
to indicate access areas, trails and firebreaks in parks and forests. This was perceived as a significant
impediment for fire units and emergency service personnel deployed from outside the local area. A recurring
suggestion was that volunteers with sound local knowledge should accompany outside units deployed to
the area; alternatively, they should play a greater role in local operational communications.
Mr Walter similarly stated:
Through the smoke up Knafl Road we saw the red and blue flashing lights of what was obviously a CFA
unit. I ran up to the front gate. They stopped and I was ever so glad to see them. It turned out, on talking
to the fire captain, that they were a New South Wales unit that was lost.
96
… [the fire captain’s] exact words to me were the first casualty in this crisis has been communication,
that they had no map and that they had no briefing, and they didn’t know what to expect. So I actually
climbed into the command vehicle with him at that point knowing that my wife and Josh were still at the
home and showed them where they were trying to go ... 33