The Sir Ivan fire has highlighted some of the same frustrations seen during the 2013 Wambelong fires, also in Warrumbungle Shire.
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One key recommendation that stood out as having been disregarded by the government was that a local firefighter be in every command vehicle.
The Rural Fire Service (RFS) says local volunteers were used where possible in the Sir Ivan fire. If that’s the case, it firstly seems the police and other emergency services were operating in isolation – communications-wise, at least – from services such as the RFS.
How else do you explain the gap in understanding about where the locals understood to be safe, accessible areas, versus where the police were closing access?
There appears to be a gap in the co-ordination of how the local knowledge is shared with the crews they’re on the ground with, back to RFS command, and out to other emergency services.
A further challenge, which also appears to be at least in part due to poor communication, is how to fight to local conditions.
Locals commented on the apparent lack of understanding of the visiting volunteers in how to approach a grass fire.
Just as a Central West local crew would have to adjust how approached a fire in the Blue Mountains, or other areas, the visiting crews were perhaps less effective than they might have been, had they come with a better understanding, or briefing, on what treatment the fire required.
Another clear message from Sir Ivan and Wambelong was the need for a better understanding by the RFS of what property and infrastructure to prioritise.
It seems the RFS central command hasn’t got this message, and that would be because the government did not adopt that recommendation from Wambelong.
There would still be complicating factors, such as the different requirements to protect a village compared to valuable livestock and farm infrastructure.
Maybe farms need a sign at key entry points, so as fire crews enter the property, they know straight up from farm to farm what they’re prioritising.
Without a greater effort to address some of these issues, the frustration will only continue to grow.
We don’t want to see volunteers withdraw because the government, RFS and other emergency services couldn’t solve these clearly critical on-the-ground, practical issues.
The work the volunteers do is too valuable, but could be even more so if they were given better support.
