Chapter 4 - Warnings - 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission

2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission—Interim Report
4 WARNINGS
Timely and accurate warnings may save lives. It is this possibility that has motivated the Commission’s lengthy
examination of bushfire warnings issued in February 2009 and of what constitutes effective warnings. This chapter
first considers definitional matters relating to warnings and the bushfire information and education that has been
available in Victoria. It moves to an overview of the recommendations on warnings from recent inquiries, before
considering what constitutes good warnings. The chapter then considers the warnings and information issued
in Victoria prior to and on 7 February and the way in which the community received and understood this material.
Finally, triggers and signals, sirens, and a telephony-based emergency warning system are considered.
BUSHFIRE INFORMATION, WARNINGS AND TRIGGERS
4.1
4.2
4.3
There is a significant difference between the provision of general information about bushfires and specific
warnings to alert the public of a particular threat. Ongoing information provided to the community about
bushfires prepares the community and educates them on the appropriate steps to take if a warning is
issued. In contrast, a bushfire warning is specific advice about an imminent event. Such a warning should
propel the community into action in response to a specific threat — ideally, armed with the information and
education that has prepared them to respond.
The evidence before the Commission has demonstrated that the community depends on (and has come to
expect) detailed and high-quality information prior to, during and after bushfires. In addition, the community
is entitled to expect to receive timely and accurate bushfire warnings whenever possible, based on the
intelligence available to the control agencies (further discussion in Chapter 10). Though they are distinct
concepts, the successful provision of information and warnings are inextricably linked.
In relation to the provision of information about bushfires, the Emergency Services Commissioner, Mr Bruce
Esplin, made the following comments when asked about the best time for the effective provision of bushfire
information:
In my judgment … it is in the years, the months and the weeks and even the days before the fire season in
this case even starts. This is when the good work is done. That is where people … can do their planning
away from the immediate threat of fire and come to a considered decision about what is the best plan for
them as individuals, as a family ...
I think it is very easy to see a campaign as being something that has effect in one year, but in my judgment,
and certainly in my experience, campaigns such as this have a cumulative effect over time and what you do
in any one year, it is not a very high chance that it will have a profound effect or a profound risk reduction,
it is the impact over time that will make the difference. 1
4.4
4.5
The success of specific bushfire warnings partly depends on the standard of the information and education
provided to the community prior to its issue. In some instances, specific bushfire warnings — and use of
‘triggers’ such as the Standard Emergency Warning Signal (SEWS) and sirens — will be less effective in the
absence of high quality information and education campaigns that increase a community’s preparedness
to meet the threat and its understanding of how to respond to a warning.
It is also clear that on receipt of bushfire warnings, people often seek further information and advice.
For example, after receiving a specific bushfire warning, people often want or need further information from
sources like 774 ABC Radio, agency websites or the Victorian Bushfire Information Line (VBIL). It emerged
during the hearings that on 7 February people were sometimes unable to access the information they
needed to respond to the warnings they had received. In other cases, it was clear that in the absence of
timely warnings, the public turned to other sources of information for assistance. This placed pressure on
the agencies providing that information, and was a source of great frustration and stress for those seeking,
but unable to obtain, information and advice. Victoria’s information and warning systems operated under
great stress on 7 February. The systems broke down in a number of respects. The question of information
is addressed in more detail in Chapter 5.
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