A state coroner has delivered 28 recommendations to the commissioners of the NSW Rural Fire Service and NSW Police, as well as the chief executive of Essential Energy, following an inquiry into the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfire season.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
* The Rural Fire Service should review training for aviation and incident management, including providing more information to pilots and recording why tasks are rejected
* Tasking decisions for large aerial firefighting craft to be made at the state operations level rather than by local incident managers, with an improved flight risk assessment tool to be developed
* Authorised fire investigators empowered to request and receive more information from police when probing a fire's origin
* RFS to develop training for public liaison officers and incident controllers emphasising early warnings to communities with limited access to reliable communications
* RFS to engage with researchers and make representations for a minimum Australian standard for fire trucks addressing rollovers and falling objects
* NSW Police review standard operating procedures for investigating fires suspected as being an unintended result of intentional backburning
* Essential Energy remodelling of bushfire risk classification system to review expert evidence in the inquiry and account for the limitations identified
THE FIRES
* Killed 25 people in NSW, while estimated animal deaths exceed 800 million
* Burned over 5.5 million hectares of land, the largest recorded in NSW history
* Destroyed 2476 houses, 284 facilities, 5559 outbuildings and three schools
* Led to estimated losses of $1.88 billion in NSW
THE INQUIRY
* Led by NSW State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan
* Examined the 2019-20 bushfire season, known as Black Summer, which lasted eight months with an estimated 11,774 fire incidents across NSW
* Examined 46 fires, including 12 that led to deaths
* Conducted 78 days of hearings across two years, commencing in August 2021
* Received statements from 780 witnesses including emergency responders, experts, and eyewitnesses, with 190 witnesses providing oral evidence
* Built on earlier inquiries including the NSW Government Bushfire Inquiry, Royal Commission into Natural Disaster Arrangements and a Senate committee probe
Source: 2019/2020 NSW Bushfires Coronial Inquiry
Australian Associated Press
