The Coles Bay bushfire, Tasmania’s first of the upcoming fire and summer season, has been successfully contained one week after it initially ignited.
While the cause remains undetermined and under investigation, the Tasmania Fire Service has announced a comprehensive review into the management of the emergency situation.
Questions have been raised about the effectiveness of the emergency alert system and evacuation protocols, as well as where to find safe havens.
Speaking to ABC Radio, TFS Deputy Chief Matt Lowe said that an operational analysis will be conducted at the lower level, with a broader review at the higher level.
“Any major incident we attend there’s always lessons to be learnt and areas we can improve,” Lowe said.
“Obviously there’s been some issues … around whether the community were notified, whether that notifications were timely or not.”
“It’s been four years since we’ve had major fire in the landscape, So it’s not lost on me that there may be a level of complacency within our own fire service and within the community.”
Lowe said the emergency messaging ‘worked’ during the blaze, with the first alert sent to a 9.6km polygon around the fire area, excluding Coles Bay, via text at 3:07pm.
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“We don’t have a guarantee that that message is going to get through. It can be due to mobile network. It can be due to individuals not looking at their phones or if they’re driving.”
“It’s not a fix all emergency alert, and it’s not always utilised.”
Lowe said other alerts were distributed shortly after across Radio, Facebook and the TasAlerts website.
Around 1,284 hectares of national park and 650 hectares of private land were deliberately burnt during backburning operations over the weekend, which TFS Incident Controller Mark Kop says will consolidate the fire boundary and strengthen control lines extending to around 22kms over the coming days.
“With favourable weather conditions in the area since Saturday, backburning operations have made significant progress to consolidate the bushfire perimeter and provide future protection for the community and critical infrastructure,” Kop said.
“We understand the impact the bushfire and backburning operations have had on the Coles Bay community, and we appreciate their ongoing understanding while we continue with these critical works to consolidate the fire.”
“This bushfire is a timely example of how crucial it is to be informed and to know how to access information that affects you and our local community.”
