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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REC315-3820 |
32 - Doctrine, standards, and reform
32 - Doctrine, standards, and reform
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That Government amend the Rural Fires Act 1997 so that all public land management agencies be required to forward complaints received about bush fire hazards to the Commissioner of the NSW RFS. As an interim measure, heads of agencies should commence this practice immediately.
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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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REC315-3804 |
32 - Doctrine, standards, and reform
32 - Doctrine, standards, and reform
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That the NSW RFS Commissioner consult with the Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner and other emergency services to develop a protocol in the event that simultaneous emergency events necessitate the re-allocation of resources while a Section 44 declaration is in place.
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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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REC315-3856 |
10 - Infrastructure
10 - Infrastructure
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That, in order to improve response times to Triple Zero calls, the NSW RFS implements the integrated dispatch system before the 2020-21 fire season commences.
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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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REC315-3830 |
39 - Disaster Risk Management
39 - Disaster Risk Management
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That as a matter of urgency, in order to accelerate and finalise a State-wide strategic fire trail network, the NSW RFS Commissioner and Bush Fire Coordinating Committee (BFCC):
- set a deadline for Bush Fire Management Committees to complete all outstanding Fire Access and Fire Trail (FAFT) Plans for submission to BFCC for approval, and a related deadline for BFCC consideration of these
- assess the completed suite of FAFT Plans to identify high-priority trails of relative strategic importance across the State for urgent construction or upgrades with particular reference to the needs of upcoming fire seasons
- enforce completion of annual fire trail condition assessment reporting by relevant landholders. Following this, the BFCC should, as part of its standard business, undertake an audit of all FAFT Plans and annual fire trail condition assessment reports
- develop a single asset management system to capture the outcomes of annual fire trail condition assessment reporting on a tenure-blind basis to support BFCC strategic and budgetary prioritisation and inform funding allocation to agencies for capital works programs
- commission a review of FAFT Plans, with particular assessment of containment line potential, following a significant bush fire event in their area, as part of the planned review of BFCC Policy and NSW RFS Standards in 2020-21.
Where it is not feasible to construct a fire trail completely on public land, and private landowners are not satisfied with proposed negotiated arrangements to construct the trail across their land, Government should negotiate acquisition of an easement interest, with appropriate compensation, over private land.
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REC315-3803 |
16 - Training and behaviour
16 - Training and behaviour
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That Government support training initiatives to increase the capacity of fire authorities to fight the kind of megafires seen in the 2019-20 season. The training initiatives should include:
a) targeted training in local weather effects for fire behaviour analysts who are embedded in Incident Management Teams
b) an increase in the number of trained fire behaviour analysts so that, should there be a repeat of the scale of these fires, all Incident Management Teams can have an embedded analyst and there is some redundancy under more normal conditions
c) training of more meteorologists in fire behaviour so there are more expert resources available to embed within the NSW RFS State Operations Centre
d) dedicated training for firefighters in extreme fire behaviour
e) support for research training in challenging firefighting problems.
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REC315-3840 |
29 - Operational Health and Safety
29 - Operational Health and Safety
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That, in order to ensure firefighter sustenance is of sufficient volume and quality, the NSW RFS reviews food standards and procedures in consultation with volunteers. The review should include catering service standards, including food safety, as well as the viability of sourcing commercial contracts and providing 12-hour food packs to firefighters.
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REC315-3851 |
10 - Infrastructure
10 - Infrastructure
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That, to ensure mobile generators are sourced and distributed on a priority basis during natural disasters, the EUSFAC work with the NSW Telco Authority, relevant NSW government agencies and commercial stakeholders to develop a mobile asset deployment strategy. The strategy should reduce duplication in purchasing, maintaining and housing mobile generators and improve agility in deployment.
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REC315-3813 |
35 - Business and Industry in relation to industry
35 - Business and Industry in relation to industry
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That, in order to ensure tourism businesses are prepared for natural disasters including bush fires, Resilience NSW work with NSW RFS and Destination NSW to develop bush fire preparedness support for tourism businesses, based on research into existing models. Over time, this support could be expanded to include other natural hazards.
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REC315-3827 |
10 - Infrastructure
10 - Infrastructure
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That, in order to minimise communication outages and extend basic communication coverage during bush fires, the NSW Government work directly, or together with other Australian governments and/or their relevant power and telecommunications regulatory, policy and market bodies, to:
- ensure there are sufficient redundancy options available (e.g. backup diesel generators, deployed temporary telecommunications facilities, etc.) to supply power to essential telecommunication infrastructure or alternative telecommunications infrastructure
- ensure that the telecommunication entities’ and electricity network providers’ Bush Fire Risk Management Plans are updated annually and reported on in the NSW RFS Commissioner’s annual statement to Parliament on the upcoming bush fire season and include details of all actions taken to mitigate those risks including maintenance of APZs and access roads
- ensure there is appropriate auditing of distributors’ preparedness for risks arising from network assets being affected by bush fire, as well as the risk of networks initiating a bush fire
- facilitate cross-carrier roaming arrangements between carriers and the public for basic text, voice and data during the period of emergency in areas directly affected by fire
- enable NSW RFS to require carriers to provide regular information on the status of outages and areas affected by fire.
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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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REC315-3839 |
29 - Operational Health and Safety
29 - Operational Health and Safety
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That, to ensure firefighters can access mental health support through GPs, Government work with the Commonwealth Government to:
a) provide a free mental health screen to firefighters post-fire event and waive any gap payments if additional treatment is required
b) create a new Medicare Benefits Scheme item number to enable Governments to track demand for mental health services from firefighters over time and ensure an appropriate level of support is available.
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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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REC315-3809 |
37 - Funding
37 - Funding
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That Government work with other Australian governments to provide long-term funding certainty to AFAC, including the National Resource Sharing Centre (NRSC) and the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC).
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REC315-3826 |
10 - Infrastructure
10 - Infrastructure
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That, in order to maximise the protection of critical infrastructure in a bush fire, Australian governments revise the regulatory framework for the provision to government authorities of information about all critical infrastructure (public and private) including a possible change to compel the owners of critical assets to provide all needed metadata, updated annually, for appropriate planning, preparation and response for bush fire. This would include information about location, ownership, access, details of service the infrastructure supports, and fire treatments of building and surrounding zones.
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REC315-3838 |
29 - Operational Health and Safety
29 - Operational Health and Safety
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That, in order to ensure all NSW RFS members can access the mental health support they need, the NSW RFS expands in-house mental health support for members.
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REC315-3845 |
26 - Research
26 - Research
|
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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REC315-3807 |
16 - Training and behaviour
16 - Training and behaviour
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That, in order to expand NSW’s specialist aviation personnel safety and capacity, Government expand simulator capabilities at the NSW RFS Training Academy.
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REC315-3861 |
16 - Training and behaviour
16 - Training and behaviour
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That, in order to expand the pool of trained personnel able to undertake the Public Information Functional Area Coordinator (PIFAC) role, Resilience NSW and the NSW Police Media Unit (PIFAC) develop and deliver a training package for Emergency Management Media Liaison Officers.
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REC315-3825 |
39 - Disaster Risk Management
39 - Disaster Risk Management
|
That Government, acknowledging that a strategic approach to planning for bush fire will take time, and in order to protect, prepare and build resilience into existing communities better, should immediately:
- prepare, in association with the insurance sector, a model framework and statutory basis for the establishment of an enforcement, compliance and education program which adopts a risk-based approach to routine inspection of local bush fire prone developments to ensure that every local development on bush fire prone land is prepared for future bush fire seasons in accordance with bush fire protection standards of the day, that account for worsening conditions
- ensure local government is resourced to enable effective audit, enforcement and compliance powers in respect of local developments and assets on bush fire land
- consider the introduction of subsidies for property owners to undertake site mitigation works to reduce bush fire risk and work with the Insurance Council of Australia to develop an agreed set of measures to insure against with a view to risk reductions resulting in lower insurance premiums
- review vegetation clearing policies to ensure that the processes are clear and easy to navigate for the community, and that they enable appropriate bush fire risk management by individual landowners without undue cost or complexity.
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REC315-3834 |
12 - EM agency and authority
12 - EM agency and authority
|
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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REC315-3805 |
32 - Doctrine, standards, and reform
32 - Doctrine, standards, and reform
|
That, to strengthen cross-agency accountability and deliver improved bush fire risk management outcomes:
a) Bush Fire Coordinating Committee (BFCC) members from NSW government agencies are at the level of Coordinator General/Deputy Secretary/Agency Head/Deputy Commissioner (or equivalent)
b) the BFCC ensures all Bush Fire Risk Management Plans, Operation Coordination Plans and Fire Access and Fire Trail (FAFT) Plans are compliant with the timeframes outlined in section 52 of the Rural Fires Act as soon as practicable
c) the BFCC develops a risk-based performance auditing cycle to ensure Bush Fire Risk Management Plans, Operation Coordination Plans and FAFT Plans are fit-for-purpose and any opportunities for improvement are identified and actioned
d) the NSW RFS considers the best way of enhancing the transparency of BFCC decision-making, for example by publishing BFCC membership and minutes on its website
e) the BFCC endorses the annual statement to Parliament on the likely fire risk and the effectiveness of planning and preparation
f) relevant agencies review Bush Fire Management Committee (BFMC) membership and confirm to the NSW RFS that members have sufficient discretion and authority to agree and implement risk mitigation activities at the local level
g) the NSW RFS Commissioner amends the BFMC Policy to require BFMCs to refer unresolved issues to the BFCC for resolution.
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REC315-3844 |
32 - Doctrine, standards, and reform
32 - Doctrine, standards, and reform
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That, in order to enhance fire fighting strategies in severe conditions, the NSW RFS implements the following in respect to backburning:
a) establish protocols for each category (tactical and strategic) within their operational and training doctrine. These protocols should include lessons learnt from the 2019-20 season
b) modify ‘ICON’ to implement the capability to record all backburns, including whether or not they break containment lines
c) when fire conditions are approaching Severe or above, an independent review must be undertaken at State Operations Level before strategic backburns are implemented
d) where there is significant concern within a community regarding a backburn, the NSW RFS should undertake a community engagement session with affected residents to discuss the backburn, including any investigation and relevant findings.
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