We Look at How a Fire Can Cause So Much Destruction

BtN: Episode 1 Transcripts 17/02/08

On this week's Behind the News

§  The bushfire disaster in Victoria.

§  We look at how a fire can cause so much destruction.

§  How families are coping.

§  And how can we stop it happening again.

Hi I'm Nathan Bazley welcome to another year of Behind the News.

Also on the show today we see floods that have inundated Queensland but first to the terrible events in Victoria.

Bushfire Disaster

Reporter: Nathan Bazley

INTRO: Australia has been shocked by the worst natural disaster in the nation's history. The massive bushfires that ripped through Victoria killed at least 180 people but that number is expected to increase as hundreds of burnt buildings and cars are searched. Thousands of people have also been left without anywhere to live and have lost all their clothes and possessions. The size of the tragedy has shocked people around the world and many are now asking how can a bushfire have caused so much devastation.

Fire - it's one of our most useful tools and a part of daily life. But out of control it can instantly become one of the deadliest forces on the planet.

KEVIN RUDD: You have been to hell and back and we intend to help you rebuild.

JULIA GUILLARD: The 7th February, 2009 will now be remembered as one of the darkest days in Australia's peace-time history.

The weekend from hell started with dire warnings from fire-fighters and the weather bureau. They were expecting high winds, dry air and record temperatures. All in all, they feared that if any fires started, they would be impossible to fight. And they were...

Thirty-one fires ripped through the state, destroying whole towns in minutes. Residents in their path were given little or no warning of how bad it would be.

Scientists say it was like 500 atomic bombs worth of heat being released on these small communities. This was all that was left of the town of Marysville. And this, their school.

Town after town, area after area were destroyed. More than 450,000 hectares were burnt, including around 2000 houses. But worse than that was the number of lives lost. 189 people have been confirmed dead and maybe a million animals also lost their lives. It was easily Australia's worst natural disaster in history.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: But why was it so deadly? Well to answer that, we need to know how a bushfire can go from a tiny spark to a massive inferno.

There are a few factors that can make a small fire turn into something like Saturday's destructive blaze. The weather is a big one. On the day of the fires, there was 47 degree heat in Victoria, along with very dry, but very powerful winds. The heat made fuel - like wood and leaves - burn much easier.

Wind pushed flames through the bush at more than 120 kilometres an hour and blew burning embers up to 15 km from the fire itself. This created all new firefronts with frightening speed. They were the worst conditions ever recorded.

Another factor that made this fire so devastating is the areas that it hit. Much of the parts of Victoria that were burnt are hilly and covered in eucalyptus trees. This also helped the fire move so quickly - fires travel much faster uphill and eucalypts are highly flammable because of the oil in their leaves.

Most of the people living in these areas are nestled right in amongst those trees and hills. For many, there wasn't anything they could do.

Some sheltered in their houses, others decided to evacuate. Some found themselves in cars, or the middle of nowhere. But all said the heat that came off this fire was like nothing they had ever experienced.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: The most dangerous part of a bushfire is the radiant heat, or energy, that's released. Think about a heater. You don't have to put your hand in any flames to get burnt. It's the same with a bushfire, but the heat energy that is released from a fire that big can burn any uncovered skin from a long way away.

Hospitals in Victoria have been flooded with patients suffering terrible burns. Some were injured while fighting the blaze, others were burnt very badly when they were caught without protection. Many will take years to get back to full health. How long it will take their communities to recover is far less certain.

Fire Aftermath

Reporter: Sarah Larsen

INTRO: For most of us it's hard to imagine what it would be like to lose everything you own let alone your loved ones. But right now there are thousands of people in Victoria who are having to deal with just that. But one thing we've seen in the past couple of weeks is that when things are worst you often see people at their best.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: On a local sports ground in the fire zone, life goes on There's a game of cricket, coffee with mates. Friends, neighbours, and strangers doing normal everyday things in a situation that's far from normal.

RED CROSS WORKER: What do you do when you've lost everything? This is home to these people.

After the fires people who had lost their homes or couldn't get back to them had to find somewhere to live.

Some stayed with family or neighbours

WOMAN: We left with thongs, t-shirts, that's all.

For others, evacuation centres and ovals became little villages. 13-year old Robin and her family are living in one of the big tents provided by the army which has also brought in portable toilets and bathrooms. Volunteers are giving out free meals, clothes, blankets, and anything else people need and if they need to talk there are professional councillors on hand.

Sometimes it’s kids helping the adults, like Jacob, who's looking out for his dad.

JAKE: You right dad?

STEVE: Yeah, I'm alright.

JAKE: You're shaking.

STEVE: I'm just cold. Just nervous.

No one is being left to go through this alone and all over Australia people are trying to help in whatever way they can. So far Australians have raised more than 100 million dollars for bushfire relief funds. Even schools have got involved. These guys had a casual day to raise money and also donated clothes and groceries.

And people are even giving blood. Centres around the country have been full of people donating the precious red stuff. People with burns will need a lot of that over the next few weeks.

BUSHFIRE SURVIVOR: Everyone, everyone is doing something, and its wonderful.

At the camps you can see what a difference it makes. These kids lost everything in the fire but they've already been given toys to play with. And there have been some welcome distractions; like some famous visitors who gave out autographs and hugs.

But it's not just people who need looking after. Lots of people escaped with their pets, which means there are dogs and cats, even ponies. So there are farm animals and injured native animals that all need special care.

BUSHFIRE SURVIVOR: And we're going to need more of these ointments and aloe vera cream.

And farm animals will need feed. Farmers have been sending trucks to help.

So what happens next? Well for many the priority will be finding somewhere more permanent to live. People who had insurance will get money to rebuild. For others there'll be help from the government and charities. But there are some things that can't be replaced.

WHITTLESEA HIGH SCHOOL KIDS: It won't be the same it definite won't be the same not with 6 students who have passed away a teacher who has passed away it definitely won't be the same.

There have been church services for the victims. The Prime Minister has vowed to rebuild these towns brick by brick.

BUSHFIRE SURVIVOR: People who want to stay up here will make this the community that it was.

STEVE, BUSHFIRE SURVIVOR: We're going to build it bigger and better and my wife is going to get the new kitchen she's always wanted.

The horror of Black Saturday will never be forgotten, but with friendship, courage and hard work, these communities will get through together.

Presenter: National Day of Mourning

Thanks Sarah and it's been announced that there will be a national day of mourning next Sunday. If you want to send a message of support to everyone affected by the bushfires we have set up a special page on our website. Just go to abc.net.au/btn.

Black Saturday Investigation

Reporter, Nathan Bazley

INTRO: Now the question many people are asking is could the disaster have been prevented and how can we stop it happening again. The government has set up a special inquiry to try to answer those questions and many others.

Once the devastation and shock started to subside, many began asking questions. The first was one that the police were quick to answer - how did these fires start?

ASST COMMISSIONER DANNYE MALONEY, PHOENIX TASKFORCE: We believe some of those fires were deliberately lit.

Arson is a serious charge, but those responsible for such a horrific act may be in even bigger trouble.

KEVIN RUDD: What do you say about anyone like that? What do you say? Dunno. Just - there's no words to describe it, other than it's mass murder.

And murder is the charge those responsible might face, if they are caught. To make sure that happens, loads of police have been assigned to the case.

But there are other questions being asked by those caught in the fires too. Some are asking why was there no warning.

Fire information is vital so people can decide whether to leave their homes or get ready to fight the flames.

Info was given out over the radio, but the monster blazes moved so quickly that the info was soon out of date. So the government is now looking at a system where messages are sent straight to everyone’s phones and computers.

Forensic scientists are carefully investigating how the fires did their damage to try and answer some other questions too.

One is whether people should even be allowed to stay in their homes. Until now, the advice has been that you can hide from the fire front in your home and then come out when the danger has passed.

But quite a few people died in their houses this time, so now that's being questioned. There's even a suggestion that everyone should be evacuated from areas at risk. Which would be a mammoth job.

Another concern is the rules and regulations for living in the bush. Some houses in these areas are built right amongst the trees. There's now a push for laws to make people clear those trees to keep the flames away from the houses.

Another suggestion is that homes at risk should have special bunkers where people can hide in safety. Even more radical is a suggestion that homes shouldn't be allowed in risky areas at all but that would upset a lot of people.

And while we're talking about clearing trees, there's a call for more burn-offs to reduce the amount of fuel lying around like dead leaves and undergrowth

A burn-off is when fire-fighters deliberately burn an area in a controlled way during a safe time of year. By doing that they reduce the amount of fuel which means if a fire does start in summer it won't be as fierce. But critics say there hasn't been enough of that happening, because we've become too concerned about the environment.

To answer these and many other questions, the government has set up a powerful inquiry to see what can be learnt from these fires. They have the power to question everyone, from politicians, to emergency services, to the families on the ground. So while this freak firestorm may have had a horrible impact right now, the lessons we learn from it may save many more in the future.

Presenter: Website Support

You can tell us your ideas about fire safety on our website.

Now, this story is very upsetting for everyone involved even if you're watching and reading about it thousands of ks away. If you're feeling worried by what you've seen you can go to our website and there's a page there with some advice on how to deal with upsetting stories.

Queensland Floods

Reporter, Catherine Ellis

INTRO: While Victorians try to rebuild their lives after the fires, Queenslanders are cleaning up after a natural disaster left parts of their state underwater. It's the wet season in the north of Australia so cyclones and monsoonal rain are expected but not this bad. It's the worst floods in the region's history. Catherine finds out more and takes a look at how floods happen

CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTING: The rain started falling on the first of January and just kept coming.

Eventually more than half the state was affected by floods- an area the size of South Australia!

Whole towns were swamped, major roads blocked, homes, businesses and farms destroyed and animals killed.

Ingham, north of Townsville, was the worst affected. It was hit by two major floods in one week.

JENNY MORRIS, RESIDENT: That was the second time. The first time it came to the top of the fridge.

BRUNO, RESIDENT: I've been here for 68 years and I've never seen it like this before.

Many people had to be rescued.

And the local school was turned into an evacuation centre.

The Cartwrights were stuck in their home for a week.

JAYNE CARTWRIGHT, MUM: We had water downstairs in our house neck deep. We've lost everything that was downstairs, beds, fridges.

KIERA CARTWRIGHT, DAUGHTER: It has been our first flood in town and it's quite scary to know that this could happen again in the next year or so.

Boats and helicopters had to be used to get fresh food and medicine to people.

The wildlife also suffered. Many animals got washed away.