A group of West Australian volunteer fire brigades, fire fighters, farmers and state emergency services volunteers have released a unified statement calling on the State Government to perform a major reform of WA’s bush firefighting system.
The statement came in response to the Ferguson Inquiry into the January Yarloop/Waroona bushfires, and described WA’s firefighting system as too centralised to adequately tackle regional and rural fires.
The statement said the reporting of management during the Yarloop fire “found the current system for managing bushfires in Western Australia is failing citizens and government”.
If the current system continues as it is, it will result in more loss of life and larger scale disasters, according to the lobby group, which includes the Association of Volunteer Bushfire Brigades (AVBFB), the Pastoralists and Graziers Association, the WA Farmers Federation, the Bushfire Front, the State Emergency Services Volunteer Association and Locals Against Wildfire.
AVBFB state president Dave Gossage said the Yarloop fires were an example of how there had been a steady erosion of community firefighting capacity in recent years, even as there has been an increased frequency of “mega fires”, fatalities, and homes and businesses lost due to fire.
“It is no coincidence that these worrying changes have occurred since the abolition pf the Bush Fires Board, the centralisation of emergency services and the overemphasis on response at the expense of risk prevention and mitigation,” Mr Gossage said.
The lobby group is calling for the formation of a “properly-resourced, independent, community-based Rural Fire Service” which is not controlled by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services.
“Common sense decision making at a local level is pivotal to fire management, if further fatalities are to be avoided in bushfires and natural disasters in Western Australia,” Mr Gossage said.
Member for Murray-Wellington Murray Cowper echoed the groups sentiments, and said his experience following the Yarloop fires cemented his view of the necessity of a rural bushfire service.
“What we learnt from Yarloop is that there was a whole lot of volunteer firefighters who had lived in the area for 20, 30 years, and had the experience and knowledge of the area, but who were not able to fight the fire they way they believed was correct because of how it was managed,” Mr Cowper said.
“I have no doubt that the management involved were trying their utmost to handle the fire, and there’s no accusations being levelled there.
“But what’s needed is an understanding and respect of the people who live in these areas, who have to deal with fires every season.”
