PPERFORMANCEERFORMANCE EXAMINATIONEXAMINATION Responding to Major Bushfires Report 7 October 2004 AUDITOR GENERAL for Western Australia Serving the Public Interest AUDITOR GENERAL for Western Australia THE SPEAKER THE PRESIDENT LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL PERFORMANCE EXAMINATION – Responding to Major Bushfires This report has been prepared consequent to an examination conducted under section 80 of the Financial Administration and Audit Act 1985 for submission to Parliament under the provisions of section 95 of the Act. Performance Examinations are an integral part of the overall Performance Auditing program and seek to provide Parliament with assessments of the effectiveness and effi ciency of public sector programs and activities thereby identifying opportunities for improved performance. The information provided through this approach will, I am sure, assist Parliament in better evaluating agency performance and enhance Parliamentary decision-making to the benefi t of all Western Australians. D D R PEARSON AUDITOR GENERAL October 20, 2004 2 AUDITOR GENERAL FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA RESPONDING TO MAJOR BUSHFIRES Contents Auditor General’s Overview 4 Executive Summary 5 Key fi ndings 5 Key recommendations 6 About this examination 7 Major bushfi res in Western Australia 7 Need for better coordination 8 Need for better preparation 9 Introduction 12 The risks associated with major bushfi res are increasing 13 Scope and focus of the examination 15 Arrangements Across Organisations Need to be Better Coordinated 16 Findings and recommendations 16 There are inherent risks in many organisations sharing authority for fi ghting major bushfi res 17 A command structure across organisations is needed during major bushfi res 20 The State’s Emergency Management Plan, Westplan Wildfi re, needs improvement 22 Fire Fighting Organisations Need to be Better Prepared 24 Findings and recommendations 24 The Australian Inter-Service Incident Management System needs to be uniformly established 26 Training and development issues need to be addressed 29 Major bushfi res have exposed weaknesses in planning 33 Telecommunication problems have hampered effective operations 34 Shortfalls in appliances and equipment are being attended to 35 AUDITOR GENERAL FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA 3 Auditor General’s Overview Bushfi res are a natural part of the Australian landscape and Western Australia experiences thousands of bushfi res every year. The vast majority of these are detected and extinguished by our volunteer and career fi re fi ghters before they have time to escalate into major bushfi res. On occasion, however, particularly under extreme weather conditions, bushfi res can intensify very rapidly, and lives become threatened, property destroyed, and our natural environments devastated. It is critical in these circumstances, that we are well prepared, and capable of combating these bushfi res effectively. Accordingly, this examination has focused on the improvements needed for managing such bushfi re emergencies. This focus is not intended to detract from the invaluable work done by fi re fi ghting organisations, and volunteer and career fi re fi ghters, in successfully extinguishing the large number of fi res that do not escalate into major bushfi res. Indeed, I commend all fi re fi ghters for their courage and dedication in what can be very trying and dangerous situations. I especially applaud the work of volunteers, who form the backbone of our fi refi ghting system. Volunteers keep our communities protected from the destruction that uncontrolled bushfi res can infl ict. It is, also important to ensure that both volunteer and career fi refi ghters have the safest and most effective system possible for combating bushfi res. Many advances have been made in this regard over recent years. These include the formation of the Fire and Emergency Services Authority which has improved the coordination of urban and rural bushfi re services, and the introduction of the Emergency Services Levy, which established greater certainty of funding for supplying volunteer brigades with the appliances and equipment they need. Fundamentally, however, the organisational arrangements for managing bushfi res has not changed since their introduction over 50 years ago. System level changes are necessary to establish a clear authoritative basis and a more cohesive structure for controlling major bushfi res. 4 AUDITOR GENERAL FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA RESPONDING TO MAJOR BUSHFIRES Executive Summary The authority for fi ghting bushfi res is shared across each of the 122 local governments in regional Western Australia, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA), and the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM). Authority is based on land tenure, according to the geographical jurisdiction of each organisation. While fi re fi ghting organisations generally work well together, major bushfi res have exposed weaknesses in these arrangements. Changes are needed to establish a more cohesive fi re fi ghting structure and a sound authoritative basis for managing bushfi re emergencies. Key findings Western Australia relies heavily on volunteers to fi ght bushfi res with local government volunteer Bush Fire Brigades forming the foundation of the bushfi re fi ghting system. Particularly at regional levels, there is a high level of goodwill and cooperation across fi re fi ghting organisations which support fi re fi ghting efforts. The organisational arrangements for fi ghting major bushfi res need to be better coordinated: the authority for fi ghting bushfi res being dispersed across 124 organisations poses inherent risks when multiple bushfi res demand a coordinated response, or when major bushfi res cross organisational boundaries the absence of a State-wide command structure across volunteer Bush Fire Brigades weakens the capacity for managing major bushfi res effectively, particularly when there are multiple bushfi res burning simultaneously the State’s bushfi re Emergency Management Plan (Westplan Wildfi re) lacks supporting legislation and is not part of an actively supported planning framework, which undermines its effective implementation in major bushfi re emergencies. Fire fi ghting organisations need to be better prepared: the Australian Inter-Service Incident Management System (AIIMS) has been adopted by the State fi re fi ghting authorities in Western Australia and throughout Australia, however, its adoption at local government level is varied, with some local government brigades fully embracing it, and others not there are key training and development issues to be addressed: there are barriers to the take-up of training by volunteers which impacts on volunteer safety during major bushfi res CALM faces challenges in maintaining its current level of trained staff major bushfi res have exposed local level planning weaknesses which have reduced the effectiveness of fi re fi ghting efforts problems with telecommunications systems across organisations have hampered effective operations. AUDITOR GENERAL FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (continued) Key recommendations Government should: establish a State-wide command structure across volunteer Bush Fire Brigades for fi ghting major bushfi res, to more effectively manage the coordination of personnel and resources establish emergency management legislation which clarifi es State and local government responsibilities, and which rectifi es the defi ciencies in the State’s bushfi re Emergency Management Plan, Westplan Wildfi re. FESA should: in addition to its current initiatives, develop and implement structured programs (with clearly identifi ed objectives, target groups and time lines for achievement) aimed at: increasing the level of adoption of AIIMS by local governments and volunteer Bush Fire Brigades improving local government bushfi re emergency and response planning. Fire fi ghting organisations should: address their key training and development issues resolve existing telecommunication problems and work with other emergency service organisations to establish compatible telecommunications systems. 6 AUDITOR GENERAL FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA RESPONDING TO MAJOR BUSHFIRES About this examination This examination focused on how well prepared the State is to deal with major bushfi res in the south west land division of Western Australia (from Kalbarri to Esperance, which includes 93 local government areas) by reviewing the: coordination across fi re fi ghting organisations for responding to major bushfi res planning and other preparations needed to support bushfi re fi ghting operations. Major bushfires in Western Australia In the summer of 2002-03, Western Australia experienced its most severe bushfi re season since the fi res which destroyed Dwellingup in 1961. Overall, while most of these bushfi res were small or medium sized fi res, there were also at least nine major bushfi res. Major bushfi res are those fi res where complex fi re management issues are present requiring a coordinated multi-agency response over several days or weeks. Over the past two summers, four people have lost their lives, and millions of dollars worth of private property, stock and livestock have been destroyed, as a direct result of major bushfi res. Environmental damage was infl icted on thousands of hectares of woodlands and wetlands in the proposed Walpole Wilderness Area and State forest. The risks associated with major bushfires are increasing Changes in land use have increased the threats posed by major bushfi res. Urban sprawl has blurred the previously clear distinction between urban and rural land. Housing