Victorian bushfires royal commission hearings begin
The Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission hearings began last week, and it’s already obvious that warning information was inadequate.
The royal commission is using the County Court in Melbourne for its sittings, and its initial focus is on the “stay or go” bushfire response system and the capacity of existing warning systems.
Residents of the devastated town of Strathewen said they received no official warnings at all, while Kinglake residents received an urgent warning at 5.55pm – just minutes before the firefront obliterated much of the township.
Authorities occasionally struggled to co-ordinate the response effort. In one example, the office of the emergency services commissioner produced a situation report at 5pm on February 8 declaring all Marysville residents were safe – unaware that 34 people had died the previous day.
Among the initial witnesses were Country Fire Authority Chief Officer Russell Rees, Department of Sustainability and Environment Chief Fire Officer Ewan Waller, and Emergency Services Commissioner Bruce Esplin.
Mr Rees conceded he was not aware of a fire map produced by a fire behaviour expert at central command in the early afternoon of February 7. The map accurately forecast the path of the fires but was overlooked in favour of field reports.
Legal counsel challenged authorities over a “chaotic” triple-0 phone system that in some cases put callers through to Centrelink staff.
RMIT social science research fellow Katharine Haynes told the royal commission many people were confused about the “stay or go” fire plan, which offers residents the choice to stay and defend properties or leave early.
A total of 173 people died in the bushfires, which caused about $1.2 billion in insured losses with more than 10,000 claims.
The royal commission will produce an interim report in August ahead of a final report in July next year.
The royal commission is using the County Court in Melbourne for its sittings, and its initial focus is on the “stay or go” bushfire response system and the capacity of existing warning systems.
Residents of the devastated town of Strathewen said they received no official warnings at all, while Kinglake residents received an urgent warning at 5.55pm – just minutes before the firefront obliterated much of the township.
Authorities occasionally struggled to co-ordinate the response effort. In one example, the office of the emergency services commissioner produced a situation report at 5pm on February 8 declaring all Marysville residents were safe – unaware that 34 people had died the previous day.
Among the initial witnesses were Country Fire Authority Chief Officer Russell Rees, Department of Sustainability and Environment Chief Fire Officer Ewan Waller, and Emergency Services Commissioner Bruce Esplin.
Mr Rees conceded he was not aware of a fire map produced by a fire behaviour expert at central command in the early afternoon of February 7. The map accurately forecast the path of the fires but was overlooked in favour of field reports.
Legal counsel challenged authorities over a “chaotic” triple-0 phone system that in some cases put callers through to Centrelink staff.
RMIT social science research fellow Katharine Haynes told the royal commission many people were confused about the “stay or go” fire plan, which offers residents the choice to stay and defend properties or leave early.
A total of 173 people died in the bushfires, which caused about $1.2 billion in insured losses with more than 10,000 claims.
The royal commission will produce an interim report in August ahead of a final report in July next year.