A Procedural Overhaul Needed After Black Saturday

On February 6th, the Premier of Victoria John Brumby issued a warning about the extreme weather conditions expected the next day, saying people should expect the "worst day [of fire conditions] in the history of the state".

But despite that early message, on the day of the fire, internet published warnings were delayed by up to forty minutes and emergency telephone centers could not handle the number of calls they received. The CFA's chief fire officer, Russell Rees, even said he was not aware that accurate predictions had been mapped by fire behavior experts working in the state's main Integrated Emergency Co-ordination Centre on Black Saturday.

Now the Royal Commission is calling for urgent and widespread changes in the way the CFA handles public warnings. They say strict operating procedures may have actually hampered rescue efforts that day. They want those protocols to be relaxed in such emergency situations.

Senior counsel on the inquiry also blasts claims that warning sirens would scare people. Jack Rush QC says those sirens should be used instead to alert people of the approaching fires.

In addition, the commission is recommending that the number of call takers being increased on days of extreme danger.

Another sticking point in the inquiry is the issue of refuge centers. The commission wants refuge centers in high fire risk areas re-opened. Refuge centers were closed after the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983 because officials said they were too expensive to maintain. They also allege that the security of knowing a refuge center is available makes people less likely to evacuate their own homes on schedule.

The Black Saturday fires destroyed over 2,200 houses and damaged thousands more.

Over a hundred fifty people

The day of the fires several localities across the state recorded their highest temperatures since records began in 1859.