Chapter 4 - Warnings - 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission

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2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission—Interim Report 4 WARNINGS 4.60 In describing the way in which people generally respond to warnings, the paper suggested that this is a process and not a single step. People generally follow a certain thought process before deciding to respond, starting with receiving a message, believing its credibility, confirming it, personalising it, determining what action is required and ending with determining whether the action is feasible. 68 4.61 Professor Handmer agreed that the advice in Choosing Your Words is sound. 69 Ms Jillian Edwards, Manager Strategy and Knowledge, AFAC, said that it was ‘a very good piece of work that provides a lot of insight into some of the language that could be used to elicit certain reactions from people’. 70 Mr Pearce, now Director General of Emergency Management Australia, agreed it was provided to agencies to guide them in best practice. 71 Mr Rhodes accepted that CFA messages could benefit from some of the paper’s suggestions. 72 4.62 Choosing Your Words provides excellent practical guidance as to the best method of drafting and constructing a clear and useful bushfire warning. There is general support among the parties for the proposition that the content of bushfire warnings should be based on the principles set out in Choosing Your Words. 73 The State indicated in its submissions that it would, before the next fire season, refine fire messages based upon the Choosing Your Words publication. 74 The Common Alerting Protocol IN BUSHFIRE WARNINGS 4.63 There is evidence before the Commission concerning the development of a protocol and standard digital format for expressing the content of warnings, known as CAP. 4.64 4.65 4.66 CAP was designed in the United States by emergency managers and technology experts and ultimately adopted there in April 2004 by the Organisation for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS). Use of CAP is mandated in the United States. 75 It is now being introduced in other countries including Italy, Canada, Indonesia and Japan. 76 The use of CAP permits a consistent warning message to be disseminated simultaneously over different media (for example, internet, SMS, landlines, email). 77 Once adopted, CAP can be incorporated into any number of technology applications. 78 It has been described as a ‘write it once’ tool. As Ms Edwards explained, CAP is two things: It is a simple but general template for the consistent construction of messages, using standard classifications and terminology. It stipulates a digital format for making the constructed message readable by any machine. 79 128 4.67 4.68 The benefits of the adoption of CAP have been described as including: ■■ efficiency and minimisation of confusion during emergencies ■■ reduction of costs and operational complexity by eliminating the need for multiple custom software interfaces to the many warning sources and dissemination systems involved in all hazards warning ■■ facilitation of movement towards coordinated warning messages over multiple delivery systems ■■ distribution of authoritative alert messages to those who need them in a timely and effective way, ultimately reducing damage and loss of life ■■ capability of conversion to and from the ‘native’ formats to all kinds of sensor and alerting technologies, forming a basis for technology independent of national and international alerts and warnings. 80 In April 2008, AFAC formally adopted the position that its member agencies will use the OASIS Common Alerting Protocol, V1.1, or its derivative, as the standard alerting protocol for handling the essential content of alert warning messages. 81 In its 2009 draft paper 4.69 A National Systems Approach to Community Warnings, AFAC suggested that a ‘standards based, all media, all hazards public warning strategic framework makes for a more effective solution and more efficient use of resources’. 82 The paper went on to note that the OASIS CAP provides a suitable basis for messaging format, with some adjustments for Australian content and terminology. 83
Warnings 4.70 The introduction of CAP would assist in simplifying bushfire warnings in Victoria, and would contribute to what should ultimately be a nationally uniform approach. The written submissions of AFAC endorsed the adoption of CAP. 84 The State undertook in its written submissions to adopt CAP in the next fire season. 85 RECOMMENDATION 4.1 The State ensure that bushfire warnings issued in Victoria: ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ are founded on the principle of maximising the potential to save human lives; embody the principles encapsulated in Recommendation 8.5 of the Council of Australian Governments report the National Inquiry on Bushfire Mitigation and Management (2004); embody the principles endorsed in the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council Draft Discussion Paper, A National Systems Approach to Community Warning (May 2009); and incorporate the use of the Common Alerting Protocol, as adapted for the Australian context. BUSHFIRE WARNINGS: THE SYSTEM IN VICTORIA ON 7 FEBRUARY 4.71 Before examining the evidence on bushfire warnings issued on 7 February it is important to understand the system for disseminating bushfire warnings in Victoria in effect on that day. The procedure set out in the Emergency Management Manual 4.72 The Emergency Management Manual Victoria (the Manual) states that: Warnings should be used under specific circumstances where community action is necessary to protect lives, property or the environment. Upon the request of a control agency to issue a warning, it is the responsibility of the emergency response co-ordinator to ensure that it is issued both to agencies and the potentially affected community. The content and format of the warning must be simple, arresting, brief, suited to the needs of the affected community and be worded in accordance with advice from the control agency … Warning methods could include loud hailers, telephones, door knocks, radio or television announcements or local community networks. For emergencies of major community significance, the warning should be authorised by an emergency response co-ordinator in consultation with the control agency. 86 4.73 4.74 While some of this text cannot be faulted — such as the first sentence — other parts of it are outdated and confusing, such as the statement about loud hailers and door knocks. The text does not refer to websites, yet there is clear evidence that many in the community rely on the fire agencies’ websites to obtain bushfire warnings. When referring to the issuing of warnings, the two apparently simple statements about who issues warnings in different circumstances mask the considerable complexity about who is responsible for issuing warnings in Victoria during fires (Chapter 9). Finally, the evidence before the Commission demonstrates that many bushfire warnings issued on 7 February were not simple and suited to the needs of the affected community. The particular shortcomings evident in relation to the content of the CFA’s awareness, alert and urgent threat messages are discussed in more detail below, and summarised at paragraphs 4.163–4.164. The degree to which current policies and protocols on warnings are, in many respects, divorced from the reality of what occurred on 7 February is troubling. If the Manual is to be useful to emergency services it should contain information that reflects current best practice. 129
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Chapter 4 - Warnings - 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission

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