Yesterday, an independent review into the 2019-20 South Australian Bushfire Season was released. Conducted by Former Commissioner for the AFP, Mick Keelty, the review seeks to analyse our state’s response to the latest bushfire season and assess how we can improve in the future. From reading the report it is clear there is a lot of work for councils to do in improving our response to bushfires.
*the Pyrocumulos Cloud on 3 January 2020 during the KI bushfires
Keelty assess a few common issues that affected the quality of our response, including, but not limited to:
● Extreme weather conditions that meant no level of hazard reduction could have prevented the fires.
● Previous review recommendations had not been properly implemented.
● State emergency planning arrangements are only as useful if the people involved fulfil the roles outlined in the Emergency Management Act.
The review also called for Preparedness investment, some measure which we as a council can implement. These include:
● Increasing access to public information regarding preventable fires and high-risk activities, as well as how to safely evacuate and what to bring to safer places and places of last resort.
● Modernising vehicle fleets,as well as equipping them with Burnover Protection Systems (BOPS).
● Ensuring Incident Management Teams are able to work in appropriate facilities.
● Ensuring that emergency service agencies have a working communication system where they can share information
● Increase intelligence surrounding infrastructure and assets, especially in regards to asset protection and post-fire damages assessments.
Keelty also offered a list of recommendations, some of which we can implement at a council level. These include:
● Reducing the lack of Bushfire Prevention Officers in councils;
● The change to BMAPs over council action plans has in some cases reduced the quality of the information available;
● Increase monitoring of bushfire risks within council areas and to increase compliance with hazard reduction notices.
● Risk Mapping tools havn’t been updated since 1980s, Brisbane Council has a floor awareness map that I understand is updated in real time same as Tasmania’s “risk ready tool”;
● In most locations, outside of the Local Government iResponda programme, there are limited preplanned agreements covering access to plant and equipment such as bulldozers to clear fire breaks. It would be beneficial for the CFS to have clear agreements (including pre-agreed pricing) with local councils, utilities, landowners and contractors establishing equipment standards and procedures to use such equipment.
● The welfare of victims impacted by the bushfires should also be considered by appropriate organisations. Under Section 7(d) of the Local Government Act 1999, council functions include providing for the welfare, wellbeing and interests of individuals and groups within its community.
● Section 7(f) of the Local Government Act 1999 places Hazard management and mitigation of those Hazards within the purview of council.
● Implementing previous review recommendations as well as developing Bushfire Management Area Plans and increasing community understanding of fire risks.
● Ensure risk assessment tools align with international risk management standards.
● Increase local community understanding in how they can improve hazard reduction on private land and increase council awareness on how to minimise risk of public land e.g: management of native vegetation and fuel management.
● Develop procedures for both the CFS and local governments to utilise heavy plant and machinery before and during the bushfire season. These measures can include placing this machinery on stand-by or deployment of days of severe, extreme, or catastrophic fire weather days.
● Coordinate information relevant to the public, including warnings, evacuation plans, and when and where to find safer places, places of last resort, and relief and recovery centres. A single source of information containing all of the above information as well as the location and direction of the fires should also be available during bushfire seasons.
● Collect and collate data and research regarding the impact of bushfires on the local community, including the impact of firefighters, property, residents, and flora and fauna (both native and domestic). This information will then be used to assess appropriate welfare and support requirements.
In the near future, I will be making suggestions to the council on how we can improve our bushfire preparedness as well as making suggestions on how to best keep the public informed. Council need to consider and implement the recommendations in the report.
The recommendations most relevant to council are:
Recommendation 1 Implement previous review recommendations for bushfire management including those relating to the 2009 amendments to the Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005, State Bushfire Coordination Committee operation, State Bushfire Management Plan, as well as urgent completion of Codes of Practice for fuel hazard reduction on all land tenures, and redevelopment of Bushfire Management Area Plans accompanied by effective community engagement to build an understanding of risk.
Recommendation 4 Invest in upgrading and integrating ICT platforms to eliminate manual data transfers, and ensure IT and radio communication interoperability across the agencies, together with a dedicated focus on the development of a coordinated risk intelligence capability to provide all stakeholders with a common operating picture and rapid damage assessments.
Recommendation 5 Clarify and streamline processes and educate the community about their roles and responsibilities in managing native vegetation to improve hazard reduction on both public and private land. Provide additional resources to manage fuel in a shorter off fire season and develop a risk reduction target linked to prioritised objectives.
Recommendation 8 Engage with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) once or twice a year to understand the capabilities that could potentially be deployed. Educate IMTs about how to deploy ADF assistance effectively and develop a streamlined ‘call out’ procedure. [in my view councils should have a similar procedure]
Recommendation 11 Develop and practice procedures for the CFS, DEW and local governments to access and deploy heavy plant and machinery for fuel reduction operations both before and during bushfires.
Recommendation 13 Better coordinate public information and warnings including evacuation plans and provide a single source of information about, the location and direction of fires, how and when to use Safer Places, Places of Last Resort, relief and recovery centres and directed evacuations.
Recommendation 15 Collate data and research the impact of bushfires upon communities, firefighters and animals (both native and domestic) to identify appropriate medium and long-term welfare and support requirements.
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