AFAC INDEPENDENT OPERATIONAL REVIEW a Review of the Management of the Tasmanian Fires of December 2018 – March 2019
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
AFAC INDEPENDENT OPERATIONAL REVIEW A review of the management of the Tasmanian fires of December 2018 – March 2019 Prepared for the Tasmanian Government ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Review was conducted under the auspices of the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC) by: • Mal Cronstedt – Deputy Commissioner, Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA • Guy Thomas – Director Asset Services, Queensland Parks & Wildlife Service • Paul Considine – Director Capability and Assurance, AFAC Overall direction was provided by the AFAC office. The Review team would like to thank those individuals who gave freely of their time and spoke openly with the Review members. The team benefitted from the input of representatives of the Tasmanian fire agencies, representatives of interstate agencies that assisted with the management of the fires, officials from the Tasmanian State Government and representatives of organisations with an interest in promoting the values of the Tasmanian wilderness areas. The Review team also greatly appreciates the time taken by members of the public and interested parties to respond to the call for public submissions made in relation to this Review. The Review team read and took account of each submission. We have not attempted to respond in this report to individual submissions made but we have had regard to the major themes that emerged. The input of all participants in preparing this document was of great benefit to the Review team. However, the content of this report and its conclusions remain the joint responsibility of the team. AFAC, July 2019 Copyright © 2019, Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council Limited All rights reserved. Copyright in this publication is subject to the operation of the Copyright Act 1968 and its subsequent amendments. Any material contained in this document except the photographs can be reproduced, providing the source is acknowledged and it is not used for any commercial purpose whatsoever without the permission of the copyright owner. Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council Limited (ABN 52 060 049 327) Level 1, 340 Albert Street East Melbourne Victoria 3002 Telephone: 03 9419 2388 Facsimile: 03 9419 2389 Email: [email protected] Internet: http://www.afac.com.au Disclaimer: This document is constructed from consultation and research between the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council Limited (AFAC), its members and stakeholders. It is intended to address matters relevant to fire, land management and emergency services across Australia and New Zealand. The information in this document is for general purposes only and is not intended to be used by the general public or untrained persons. Use of this document by AFAC member agencies, organisations and public bodies does not derogate from their statutory obligations. It is important that individuals, agencies, organisations and public bodies make their own enquiries as to the currency of this document and its suitability to their own particular circumstances prior to its use. AFAC does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or relevance of this document or the information contained in it, or any liability caused directly or indirectly by any error or omission or actions taken by any person in reliance upon it. Before using this document or the information contained in it you should seek advice from the appropriate fire or emergency services agencies and obtain independent legal advice. Frontispiece: Fire History in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area 2010-2019 AFAC INDEPENDENT OPERATIONAL REVIEW A review of the management of the Tasmanian fires of December 2018 – March 2019 AFAC Independent Operational Review | A review of the management of the Tasmanian fires of December 2018 – March 2019 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Summary ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Recommendations .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5 2 About the Review ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Terms of Reference............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Relationship to other review activities .................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 3 The causes, chronology and response of the 2018-19 bushfires in Tasmania on and following 28 December 2018....... 8 Weather ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Chronology ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 10 South-west Complex (Cambridge IMT) ........................................................................................................................................................................ 10 Rosebery Complex (Rosebery IMT) .................................................................................................................................................................................. 12 The Great Pine Tier Fire (Great Pine Tier IMT) ............................................................................................................................................................. 13 Other fires ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Response: State Operations Centre and Regional Operations Centres ........................................................................................................... 14 Response: Incident Management Teams ............................................................................................................................................................................ 14 South West Complex ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Rosebery Complex ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Great Pine Tier ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 14 Response: Resources deployed ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 15 Air Bases ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 15 Response: Public Information/Community Forums ..................................................................................................................................................... 16 Evacuation Centres Activated .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 16 Impacts ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Built environment ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Power Networks