Page 381 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 2 March 1994
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We should not take these services and the people behind them for granted. I was reminded of this before this bushfire season, when in a report presented to the Minister the chair of the ACT Bush Fire Council said:
... for a range of climatic and associated reasons, we may well be approaching a period of high bushfire risk. I would not want the community, or the organisation, to be complacent following mild fire seasons.
Certainly, our emergency services have not been complacent. Mindful of the major problems confronting New South Wales, it was, however, important to consider the ACT situation. Particular considerations included maintaining the level of fire protection to the ACT community, as we were also in a high fire danger period; providing a margin of time to rearrange rosters and working arrangements if protracted assistance was required; and making available appropriate people with the right level of skills and experience. Recognising these requirements, a task force made up of members of the Rural Firefighting Service, the Fire Brigade, the emergency services and the Ambulance Service was assembled. Equipment was provided using primarily reserve urban standby and volunteer bushfire brigade equipment. A rostering system for off duty personnel and volunteer staff was developed. The United Firefighters Union agreed that normal award conditions would be waived for those members attending the Sydney fires.
At 7 o'clock that night, just three hours after the request was received, the initial task force departed for Sydney. The initial force, commanded by Superintendent David Mackin, included 12 Rural Firefighting Service volunteers, nine Fire Brigade personnel from the training and community safety section, four emergency services volunteers, and one Ambulance Service paramedic. This was the first occasion that a composite force of rural volunteer, emergency services volunteer and permanent Ambulance Service and Fire Brigade staff had left the ACT as a single group.
On Saturday, 8 January 1994, a further request for assistance was received from the New South Wales Fire Brigade for urban pumpers to help protect the southern districts of Sydney - two urban pumpers and 11 ACT Fire Brigade firefighters were dispatched - and for two experienced district officers to take control of specific task groups. Two district officers were dispatched to New South Wales Fire Brigade control. Assistance was also provided through the Chief Fire Control Officer of the ACT, Mr Peter Lucas-Smith, providing support to the New South Wales bushfire headquarters control centre to relieve Mr Koperberg. The helicopter and pilot on lease to the ACT Rural Firefighting Service were deployed for water bombing activities in the Blue Mountains. Mechanical support was included in the ACT contingent.
In view of the excessive public inquiries, it was inappropriate to coordinate the Sydney involvement and continue normal activities from the emergency management control room at Curtin. A separate emergency coordination centre was set up in the Curtin conference room. Appropriate services, that is, the police, fire brigade, bushfire, ambulance and disaster welfare, were also advised of its formation. Communications staff undertook the installation of the necessary telephone lines with ACTNET and Telecom technicians between 10.00 pm and 3.00 am on that first evening. The complexity of such arrangements is clear. The cooperation and speed with which all ACT services acted is something for us all to recognise.
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