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FOREST FIRE VICTORIA NEWS
ISSUE 7, JANUARY 2007
act coroner delivers findings
THE ACT Coroner said it was a miracle more people were not killedin the
devastating 2003 Canberra bushfires and cited as contributing factors
inadequate planning and
anunwillingness to aggressively fight smaller outbreaks
Deliveringher findings inthe inquest into the fatal firestorm, Maria Doogan said the bushfires were ignited by lightning strikes south of Canberra on January 8, 2003, but were not contained in the first few days.
Instead, fanned by dry winds and soaring temperatures, they formed a fire-fuelled tornado that engulfed Canberra's western suburbs, killing four people, injuring 430, 46 seriously, and destroying more than 500 homes. In a letter to ACT Attorney-General Simon Corbell, published in her report, Mrs Doogan said more people could have died. "Frankly, on the evidence before the inquiry, it is a miracle that no more than four people died."
She said poor communications between the bureau and the Australian Federal Police and the wider community had a direct impact on the extent of damage caused by the blaze.
Mrs Doogan also attributed some of the blame to overgrown forest trails, drought, inadequate maps of the affected area and jurisdiction confusion when the fire crossed the ACT/NSW border.
The inquest into the firesstarted in October 2003. At issue was the extent to which the fire could have been contained before it reached Canberra and what warnings could have been given to those in its path. Mrs Dooganfound the firestorm was caused when four fires which had been burning for more than 10 days came together. Shesaid the firestorm was a combination of 15 factors.
"I find that the cause of the firestorm was....a failure on the part of the Emergency Services Bureau to aggressively attack the Bendora, Stockyard Spur and Mount Gingera fires in the first few days after their ignition," she said.
Mrs Doogan said the bureau had a lack of strategy for dealing with the fires as late as January 17, the day before the firestorm hit the nation's capital,and the bureau had failed to properly marshall and use volunteer resources
Mrs Doogan's report includes 73 recommendations and runs to 843 pages. The full report can be found at this web address:
Canberra Firestorm Report/The Canberra Firestorm Report.htm
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