Chapter 4 - Warnings - 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission

Warnings
4.233 Sirens are one of a number of options that might be deployed in some areas to ensure the community is
alerted to the need to be ready to receive warnings, search out further information, take defensive actions
or prepare to implement a protocol for a local refuge.
RECOMMENDATION 4.7
The Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner and the CFA develop guidelines for the use of sirens
in communities that decide to use a siren as part of their response to bushfires.
A TELEPHONY-BASED EMERGENCY WARNING SYSTEM
4.234 The evidence before the Commission establishes that the principal modes of warning the community about
the threat of fire on 7 February were broadcasts on ABC Radio and messages displayed on the CFA and
DSE websites.
4.235 However, the evidence also shows that members of the community often sought out more than one source
of information. Sources such as the VBIL, commercial media, CFA scanners, Twitter sites, phone calls and text
messages from friends or family were also important sources of information and warnings. Others formed their
own views based on their own observations of events as they unfolded.
4.236 Employing multiple modes to disseminate warnings is desirable to ensure the widest possible audience is
reached and to guard against the risk of failure of any one mode. Technology in particular has a role to play
but should not be solely relied upon.
4.237 This section considers the new technology, in particular a telephony-based warning system, that is available
to disseminate warnings.
TRIALlING A nATIONAL EMERGENCY WARNING SYSTEM
4.238 In 2005, the OESC — in partnership with Telstra, ABC Radio, DSE, Victoria’s emergency services, the Shires
of Yarra Ranges and Northern Grampians and the communities of Mt Evelyn, Stawell and Halls Gap — ran
a successful trial of an opt-in landline telephony-based community warning system known as CIWS: see the
report Community Information and Warning System — The Report of the Trial and Evaluation Office of the
Emergency Services Commissioner Report 2006. 302 The report stated that:
The purpose of a public warning system is to help minimise the impact or perceive threat of emergencies
on affected communities by providing timely and accurate information to assist people and organisations
to make decisions about their own safety. 303
4.239 At the time of the trial there were restrictions on Telstra’s use of the Integrated Public Number Database
(IPND). The IPND is an industry-wide database of all listed and unlisted public telephone numbers. It was
established in 1998 and is managed by Telstra under the terms of its carrier licence condition. As a result,
it was necessary to seek participating residents’ permission to use their telephone numbers and property
addresses to develop the CIWS trial database. 304 The report indicated that the CIWS Trial and Evaluation
was informed by key national and international research.
4.240
The report concluded:
The evaluation findings strongly demonstrated that the majority of the participating residents understood
the link between receiving the telephone message and immediately accessing ABC Radio as the secondary
information source. There was also a strong response to continue using the telephone to access other
sources of information (such as a telephone hotline). 305
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