Gippsland residents have told Victoria’s Bushfire Royal Commission that warning systems failed on Black Saturday
Gippsland residents have told Victoria’s Bushfire Royal Commission that warning systems failed on Black Saturday
1 April 2009
published by www.abc.net.au
Australia — The commission has spent the day in Traralgon, hearing from people affected by the Churchill-Jeerelang bushfire which killed 11 people and damaged more than 250 properties.
Residents raised concerns about a lack of warnings as the fire approached townships.
Callignee brigade captain Ian Ewitt says new systems are needed to warn people about fires.
“One person, the first they knew about it was they heard a helicopter flying low,” he said. “Well perhaps those helicopters could have PA systems on them.
“I know that the water bombers have a siren system that alerts the firefighters that it’s about to dump the water.”
There were also calls for telecommunications upgrades and more resources for local CFA brigades.
Former CSIRO fire scientist David Packham lives in nearby Willung, and says it was clear days before February 7 that the fire danger would be extreme.
“In my view, the warnings were insufficient,” he said.
About 60 residents from the area around Callignee and Traralgon South attended the first of several consultation sessions across the region.
Commissioner Bernard Teague told residents the issues they raise will help shape the formal inquiry into the bushfires.
Residents are expected to tell the commission that land management practices were a major contributor to the fire.
Tomorrow, Boolarra residents will have their say about the fires that hit the town a week before Black Saturday.
The commission will then head to Labertouche in West Gippsland.
