REC315-3855 |
7 - Inter-agency communication
7 - Inter-agency communication
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That, in order to ensure all agencies have a clear understanding of cross-border communication channels during bush fires, all MoUs between state or territory agencies include an agreed protocol about how agencies will communicate across borders and that these are reflected in Incident Action Plans.
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REC315-3802 |
26 - Research
26 - Research
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That Government establish NSW as a major world centre of bush fire research, and technology development and commercialisation. This should include:
a) establishing a Bush Fire Technology Fund, modelled on the Medical Devices Fund, to assist with the rapid development of technologies and services to sense, fight, mop up after and protect from bush fires
b) commissioning further research into extreme fire behaviour and building up the research and research training capacity in this field. This will improve our ability to understand, model and predict the likelihood of extreme fire behaviour in the landscape and enable targeting of fire fighting resources to areas where fires are likely to become most damaging.
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REC315-3841 |
12 - EM agency and authority
12 - EM agency and authority
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That, in order to ensure suitably skilled and experienced personnel operate as Divisional Commanders during major fire incidents, Bush Fire Management Committees identify appropriate personnel as part of their plan of operations.
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REC315-3854 |
7 - Inter-agency communication
7 - Inter-agency communication
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That, in order to ensure emergency response agencies can communicate across state and territory borders, the Commonwealth Government allocate 10 + 10 MHz as a dedicated spectrum for Public Safety Mobile Broadband (PSMB) at no cost to states and territories.
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REC315-3799 |
9 - Community education
9 - Community education
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That at the start of each fire season, based on advice from the Bush Fire Coordinating Committee, Government provide a public statement with an evaluation of the likely fire season risk and the effectiveness of the planning and preparation for the upcoming season. This should be based on sophisticated monitoring of the key risk factors and signals for an extreme fire season. It should form the basis for clear public communication about these risks on a regional basis and the actions that Government proposes in preparation.
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REC315-3834 |
12 - EM agency and authority
12 - EM agency and authority
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That, in order to ensure all firefighters understand how local situational awareness reflects (or may not reflect) the broader scale situation presented by a large/extreme bush fire and the implications this may have on asset protection and fire suppression strategies, the NSW RFS:
a) develops information packages for all types of operating environments to improve out-of- area crews’ understanding of the local terrain and fuels, and distributes information to out-of-area crew members from all fire authorities
b) accelerates the roll out of Mobile Data Terminals into all fire fighting vehicles to improve delivery of briefings and incident information/intelligence to field commanders.
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REC315-3853 |
7 - Inter-agency communication
7 - Inter-agency communication
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That, in order to ensure the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) can maintain communications during emergencies, the Government provide the SEOC with independent Public Safety Network functionality.
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REC315-3831 |
26 - Research
26 - Research
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That, in order to capture and understand the impacts of bush fire smoke better, Government invest in operational air quality forecasting and alert systems, and public health research and policy development. This would involve investment to:
- develop a comprehensive system of forecasting and alerts for air quality incidents and all pollutants of concern, including but not limited to bush fire smoke, ozone and dust, and which is ideally nationally consistent
- investigate further the health impacts of bush fire smoke, based on improved data collection and including research on the long-term health impacts of poor air quality as a result of sustained exposure to severe bush fire smoke, particularly for vulnerable and at- risk segments of the community (children, elderly, firefighters, etc).
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REC315-3852 |
7 - Inter-agency communication
7 - Inter-agency communication
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That, in order to improve fireground communications between NSW agencies and interstate personnel: a) Government ensure all NSW fire authority personnel and vehicles can access and utilise the Public Safety Network (PSN). This should include access to NSW RFS Private Mobile Radio networks where PSN coverage is not yet available.
b) the NSW Telco Authority review cross-border communications availability and planning and advise NSW fire authorities on next steps to enable multi-state interoperability for wide area communications.
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REC315-3864 |
9 - Community education
9 - Community education
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That, in order to ensure people can access clear information on cross-border fires, the NSW RFS:
a) incorporate information on fires in neighbouring states and territories into Fires Near Me NSW
b) collaborate with other states and territories to develop a national app as part of the Australian Warning System being developed through the AFAC Warnings Group.
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REC315-3828 |
9 - Community education
9 - Community education
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That, in order to improve bush fire planning and protection of road infrastructure and to ensure communities, freight movers and fire fighting agencies have appropriate access and egress in a bush fire event, Government, working with local government as needed:
- develop a formal bush fire risk assessment process for all State roads and bridges, to
identify:
* ‘high-risk’ communities where access and egress in the event of a fire will be
affected, for example rural communities connected by a single road surrounded by bushland, and ensure community bush fire planning processes (i.e. Bush Fire Risk Management Plans (BFRMPs) or Community Protection Plans) include plans to ‘leave early’ or enforce mandatory evacuation orders
* how waterways can be integrated better into the transport network as evacuation routes or places of shelter when road and rail transport is unavailable – waterways should be included in regional emergency management plans
* route options for rapid identification of needed road closures in the event of fire
* key sections of the State’s road network for future upgrade to ensure whole corridors
are resilient to fire impacts, regardless of who manages the asset
- audit, through the NSW RFS Audit Unit (to be established) the inclusion of critical road
infrastructure in BFRMPs prepared by Bush Fire Management Committees (ensuring that appropriate transport representation is provided to BFMCs) and Local Emergency Management Committees across the State.
In support of these measures, it will be critical that the community is given early warning of bush fire events and has ample time to evacuate prior to or during an emergency.
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REC315-3846 |
12 - EM agency and authority
12 - EM agency and authority
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That, in order to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of heavy plant used in dry fire fighting techniques, the NSW RFS expand and introduce the following in respect to heavy plant:
a) increase the number of trained Heavy Plant Supervisors and Managers to ensure an appropriate level of supervision in future significant fire seasons and to facilitate better the identification and tasking of appropriate localised heavy plant contractors; and review the feasibility of linkage to the SAP system for invoicing improvements. This should be introduced prior to the 2020-21 fire season
b) expand ARENA software to include the Heavy Plant Register, including the introduction
of GPS tracking for all agency and contracted plant, to improve contractual compliance
c) review the existing contractual process to ensure all heavy plant is categorised into types, size and functionality along with exploring potential for a standardised hourly rate for that category of equipment
d) work with Soil Conservation Service to ensure appropriate standards for the engagement and management of heavy plant to deliver safe and effective heavy plant service, including the delivery of standards and auditing.
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REC315-3857 |
12 - EM agency and authority
12 - EM agency and authority
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That, in order to ensure timely payment and maintain positive ongoing supplier relationships during large-scale bush fires, the NSW RFS implements an automated logistics solution, informed by the outcomes of the Emergency Logistics Project.
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REC315-3818 |
26 - Research
26 - Research
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That, in order to improve understanding of optimal hazard reduction techniques and their application in the landscape:
a) Government extend the recently introduced program of mitigation crews so that hazard reduction activities can be undertaken when conditions are optimal (throughout the week and potentially at night)
b) all fire authorities review prescribed burning techniques and their implementation, and
commission further research into optimal prescribed burning regimes and techniques. This should include research to understand critical thresholds that, when breached, may render fuel treatment ineffective (i.e. fuel moisture thresholds), and the short, medium and long-term outcomes of hazard reduction burning regimes
c) Government commission research into a range of other hazard reduction techniques to understand better the cost versus benefit and effectiveness of different practices in various circumstances, including grazing.
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REC315-3845 |
26 - Research
26 - Research
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That Government commission further research on the potential risks and benefits of backburning during severe, extreme and catastrophic conditions and/or in particular terrain, and that the NSW RFS use this research to inform future backburning protocols and training.
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