‘Stay or go’ policy under fire at royal commission
The “stay or go” bushfire response policy came under heavy scrutiny during the second week of hearings at the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission in Melbourne last week.
Joan Davey, whose son, daughter-in-law and two children died in the Kinglake blaze, said he had always intended to evacuate their home in the event of an emergency but had reconsidered after attending CFA meetings.
She said the option to “stay and defend” was unrealistic given the enormous risk facing some residents. The victims lived at the highest point of Kinglake on a street that was wiped out by the firestorm.
The royal commission also heard from Country Fire Authority group officer Lou Sigmund, who said he was chastised by fire authorities for using a town siren to warn residents of an earlier fire at Boolarra.
The warnings led residents to flee the town ahead of the fire on January 30, which destroyed 29 homes. All residents of the town survived.
Mr Sigmund agreed it was a risk to use the siren but said residents did not understand the “stay or go” policy.
“An operations officer told me that use of the siren was inappropriate,” he said. “In contrast, I have had nothing but positive feedback from townspeople.”
Fire behaviour expert Kevin Tolhurst told the royal commission the bushfires created energy equivalent to 1500 atomic bombs.
Joan Davey, whose son, daughter-in-law and two children died in the Kinglake blaze, said he had always intended to evacuate their home in the event of an emergency but had reconsidered after attending CFA meetings.
She said the option to “stay and defend” was unrealistic given the enormous risk facing some residents. The victims lived at the highest point of Kinglake on a street that was wiped out by the firestorm.
The royal commission also heard from Country Fire Authority group officer Lou Sigmund, who said he was chastised by fire authorities for using a town siren to warn residents of an earlier fire at Boolarra.
The warnings led residents to flee the town ahead of the fire on January 30, which destroyed 29 homes. All residents of the town survived.
Mr Sigmund agreed it was a risk to use the siren but said residents did not understand the “stay or go” policy.
“An operations officer told me that use of the siren was inappropriate,” he said. “In contrast, I have had nothing but positive feedback from townspeople.”
Fire behaviour expert Kevin Tolhurst told the royal commission the bushfires created energy equivalent to 1500 atomic bombs.