Chapter 4 - Warnings - 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission

Warnings
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4.213 The CFA’s opposition to the use of sirens is recorded in the report. In this context, the report noted
that statewide CFA messaging does not always suit local issues: ‘It does not consider people such as
recreational bushwalkers who may not have any warning about an approaching bushfire and those residents
(children and older people) who are not aware of safety procedures or who are not able to leave their homes
on days of total fire ban’. 275
4.214 It appears that the tension referred to above, which may exist between the statewide bushfire preparedness
policy and local interest in early warning systems that suit a particular community, continues to plague the
development of local solutions. One of the lessons from February 2009 is that greater weight ought to be
given to communities’ desires to fashion warning systems appropriate to their location and their needs.
4.215
Mr Esplin described the Ferny Creek siren in the following way:
They are a unique community in the sense of, firstly, their preparedness for fire; secondly in their accepting
that they have chosen to live in a place in the State that is particularly beautiful most of the time but
particularly high risk in a very small percentage of time. They accepted that risk and understood that
they had a responsibility to take steps themselves to protect themselves and their community. They were
prepared to take on responsibility for the siren which they have done and maintained to this time. 276
4.216 The community in Ferny Creek use their siren as a ‘contribution to promoting appropriate bushfire survival
behaviour’. It is not promoted as a trigger to evacuate, but rather it prompts residents to ‘access further
sources of information’ 277 and to activate defensive actions.
4.217 The progress of the Ferny Creek fire alert siren was further considered in a subsequent evaluation report:
Community Alerting For Bushfire — A Local Solution For a Local Need: The Ferny Creek Fire Alert Siren
Follow-up Evaluation 2002 conducted by the OESC. 278 The follow-up evaluation confirmed that the fire alert
siren is now ‘an established element within bushfire preparedness planning and response. The fire alert siren
is one link in a chain of communication being used and accessed by community residents’. 279
4.218 The evaluation noted that a belief remains in the emergency management sector that sirens encourage
residents to unsafely leave their homes if a bushfire threatens. The evaluation has in fact shown that, with
appropriate community education and communication ‘the role of the alert siren can be incorporated into
appropriate and safe planning and decision making’. 280
4.219 This example provides robust evidence that a siren can be part of a successful program for bushfire
preparedness and that, if properly understood and implemented, a protocol for the use of a siren does not
undermine statewide policies such as ‘stay or go’, which is further discussed in Chapter 7. The success of
the project is the result of considerable effort and goodwill on the part of the community, the local CFA and
the OESC.
THE USE OF SIRENS IN Boolarra
4.220 The Commission heard evidence from Mr Lou Sigmund on the use of a CFA siren in the town of Boolarra
on 30 January 2009, when the town was impacted by the Delburn fires. This evidence provides a vivid
example of how a siren might be used in a particular community and its capacity to save lives.
4.221 Mr Sigmund, who lives in Boolarra, has been a CFA Group Officer responsible for eight brigades in the
Morwell Group. He has been a volunteer fire fighter for the CFA since 1998. He has fire-fighting qualifications
and fought in a number of major fires. He was Operations Officer for the Ashfords Road fire (part of the
Delburn fires) between 28 and 30 January 2009. 281
4.222 Mr Sigmund gave a detailed account of his efforts while fighting the fires near Boolarra and about his role
in deciding to sound the siren. 282 The idea of sounding the siren came about at a community meeting on
30 January 2009, at which Mr Sigmund had expressed his strong view (contrary to advice from a CFA
representative) that the town was in imminent danger of being overrun by the fire. 283 Mr Sigmund then
told the meeting that once the ember attacks started ‘we will set the sirens’. 284
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