RSCH.016.001.1136 - 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission

RSCH.016.001.1173
Bushfires 33
during the 1994 bushfire event:
During the period that the fires hit Como / Jannali and evacuations were under way, there
appeared to be many residents confused about what to do. There was insufficient time
to ascertain whether people had properly prepared homes or otherwise. All persons were
told and or assisted to leave their homes.
Some 92 buildings were destroyed, many of which were at least one block back from the
interface area. Evidence indicates that many of these homes caught fire hours after the
main fire front passed, or were only subjected to ember attack.
Many of the homes on the interface had bushland growing up to the backs of their
property with no fire protection.
Experiences in the 1994 fires indicate that in considering evacuation procedures fire
controllers need to be aware of the relative degree of risk to which homes and their
occupants are exposed. In particular attention needs to be given to those situations where
residences directly abut bushland. If evacuation has been exercised as an option, then as
soon as danger has diminished sufficiently to permit evacuees to return to their houses,
such action should be facilitated to enable residents to monitor and deal with persistent
ember attack. 85
The Rural Fire Service notes that you must evacuate if directed to do so by the police. And
herein lies the conundrum – if a resident is well prepared for bushfire, and staying in a well
prepared house is the best means of protecting it in a bushfire, criticisms have arisen that the
police may still force the prepared resident to evacuate. Part of the difficulty is that during
an emergency evacuation, police do not have the time (or necessarily the knowledge) to
determine who is ‘bushfire prepared’. This is where ‘a community fireguard program’ can
be of assistance. Possibly, those members of the community who have taken the effort to
train themselves and prepare their houses for bushfires threats, as part of a community
fireguard program, could be registered with the local police and not be forced to leave their
properties as part of an emergency evacuation. 86
6.0 A SUMMARY OF THE BUSHFIRE EVENTS OF THE 2001-2002
BUSHFIRE SEASON
The 2001 – 2002 bushfire season began early in NSW, with hot weather in late October
2001 being responsible for bushfires across the State flaring up. By 2 November 2001 the
fire threat has eased across NSW with milder weather conditions allowing firefighters to
contain the majority of bushfires. With more than 50 significant bushfires being managed,
only 15 of these remained listed as "going" or "being controlled". 87 However, the worst of
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86
87
Report of the Coordinating Committee on the Findings of the NSW Bushfire Inquiry, May
1996, at 77.
NSW Rural Fire Service, Planning for Bushfire Protection. A Guide for Councils, Planners,
Fire Authorities, Developers and Home Owners. December 2001, at 38.
See the Rural Fire Service Website: http://www.bushfire.nsw.gov.au/main.htm