Why was no one ready? tagged: , , , , , ,

Why was no one ready?

Posted by Claire Connelly in Politics

For once the weather forecasts were actually correct:

“Our weather conditions are as bad as they can get” – said County Fire Authority Chief Officer Russel Rees on the eve of the disaster.

“Hot northerly winds, low humidity, and a southwesterly wind change with no rain… If I said our weather conditions were ‘bloody horrible’, I am underestimating it – I have never seen figures like this.”

The Victorian Government, and the Country Fire Authority communicated emphatically that these bushfires would be the worst national disaster in Victoria’s history.

Rees advised his troops on the eve of the disaster that: “We’re in uncharted territory.”

He gave a prescient summary of the events that would unfold.

So why, was no one prepared for the reality of Victoria’s bushfires?

I understand that the wind can change directions quickly and if that were the case there may not have been any time for warning – but for entire communities to be wiped out, I can’t help but ask – why?

One of the most bewildering aspects of Black Saturday is the disconnect between the prophetic warnings issued by the Victorian and Federal authorities beforehand and the absence of specific information when the fires overwhelmed entire Victorian communities.

A common theme of the most devastated towns is that no one had time to react between seeing smoke or fire on the horizon, and their houses being engulfed by flames.

In some cases, there would be only minutes between the official urgent fire warnings , communicated via the local ABC radio network, and whole towns being wiped out by a barrage of flames making its way down the main street.

I’m sorry but an urgent radio broadcast is an unacceptable last resort and inefficient form of communication.

What if they didn’t have the radio on?

What if they didn’t own a radio?

And even if they did, who knows what the reception would have been like.

In other areas, no warnings were received at all, and only a handful of firefighters remained, offering token resistance to the flames.

Kinglake and St Andrews burned to ground before they were even mentioned in the radio updates as towns classified as being “in danger.”

There has to be a more efficient way of communicating with vulnerable communities.

Leaving it up to individuals to decide whether to stay and fight the flames, or evacuate assumes that they had hours to make the call.

In contrast, fires in the Bunyip state forest (east of Melbourne) was the area of most concern for the CFA (ahead of Black Saturday) and those fires had been raging since last week – yet those bushfires have yet to officially claim a life.

Whose decision was it to abandon a town to the “random hand of mother nature“?

Surviving residents of the Marysville, Buxton and Narbathong bushfires told The Australian that no one believed they had a chance of escaping any earlier than they did.

Every survivor repeated the same thing:

- That the fire was upon them in minutes
- There was no time to implement fire plans.
- The only option was to flee.

Residents of Kinglake and Kinglake West said they were completely unprepared.

In these instances there were no fire warnings on the radio or on the CFA website.

Residents didn’t even hear sirens before the blaze engulfed the towns.

“No one knew they were going to be facing a fire,” said resident Barry Cahill.

“We didn’t get a report that we were going to get embers, let alone a firestorm.”

Another survivor said one of their worst concerns was to do with the lack of firefighters in the towns:

“We didn’t hear a siren or see a fire-truck,” he said.

CFA members reported that one tanker had been sent to fight another fire elsewhere, that they simply didn’t have time to get back to Kinglake before fire blocked off access to the town.

CFA volunteer Kelly Johnston was one of just three people who stayed behind to protect the Kinglake CFA station, where hundreds of people sought refuge; she was accompanied by the secretary of the brigade, and the handyman.

“The worst thing was there was no trucks up here,” she said, tearfully.

“And everyone was in here with their animals, we even had a woman with her eight-week-old premature baby in her car.”

Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland has suggested a “national dialogue” to determine whether the bushfire safety message needs to change.

One option he discussed was implementing a national telephone “early warning” system.

I hate to sound insensitive, but Australia has long and weary history of bushfires and drought – it amazes me that we don’t already have an official call-around system in place.

Even one phone call from the CFA to one Victorian resident may have been enough to get the message around in time.

If people had actually possessed the necessary information, they could have called around to ensure that their friends, neighbours, and family knew to evacuate in time.

But even that’s not enough.

For a natural disaster of this scale, and magnitude – the state government should require compulsory evacuations for all towns that are at risk.

Families could have packed up their possessions and hosed down their houses in preparation for leaving.

In this instance, in the interests of human safety and the preservation of countless lives – evacuations should have been made compulsory.

Why was nothing done?

It’s not as though capital cities were burning, there wouldn’t have been a major crisis on the roads – people could have gotten out in time.

I know it’s a sensitive topic.

And I know it must be approached with respect.

But Australia needs to figure out a way to prevent tragedies like this from happening again.

Please donate:

Victoria Bushfire Appeal: 1800 811 700