REC315-3815 |
17 - Assets and technology
17 - Assets and technology
|
That, in order to equip NSW RFS with comprehensive information on all structures and assets at risk of bush fire, Government ensures that:
- there is a single whole-of-government procurement and acquisition program for imagery and LiDAR and that Government accelerate the building of the State Digital Twin and associated Digital Workbench
- owners/managers of assets (apart from private home owners whose information will be provided through local councils) in bush fire prone land are required to provide to the Digital Twin at least the following information/metadata with quality control certification on an annual basis (with annual census at least two months before the start of the fire season):
* precise geolocation
* description of asset including picture
* value level
* fire treatment on asset
* Asset Protection Zone (APZ) details and how it is maintained
* access details
* what redundancy is available if relevant
* any metadata requirements specific to the asset class
* emergency contact and instructions on how to access where more information is held
* any restrictions on data access and sharing.
The Digital Twin must also be able to incorporate:
- information about the hazard reduction results for road verges, fire trails, APZs and other defendable space
- local information supplied by organisations such as local NSW RFS brigades.
|
REC315-3837 |
17 - Assets and technology
17 - Assets and technology
|
That, in order to improve firefighter safety, Government fire authorities:
a) ensure all light tankers used as part of active frontline bush fire fighting operations are fitted with a single point crew protection safety spray system and radiant heat protection blankets as a minimum standard across all NSW fire authorities
b) ensure all medium/heavy tankers are fitted with radiant heat protection blankets, wheel and ‘halo’ sprays fitted as a minimum standard across all NSW fire authorities
c) undertake additional research to determine the most appropriate cabin protection for the different frontline vehicles.
d) provide ongoing investment for NSW RFS fleet upgrades.
|
REC315-3861 |
16 - Training and behaviour
16 - Training and behaviour
|
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.
|
REC315-3807 |
16 - Training and behaviour
16 - Training and behaviour
|
That, in order to expand NSW’s specialist aviation personnel safety and capacity, Government expand simulator capabilities at the NSW RFS Training Academy.
|
REC315-3836 |
17 - Assets and technology
17 - Assets and technology
|
That, in order to ensure frontline personnel have appropriate personal protective clothing during bush fires:
a) FRNSW review the current design of its bush fire jacket, noting improvements that have been made since 2002 that meet AS/NZS4824:2006 Protective clothing for firefighters, and increase the allocation of bush fire coats to two jackets per member
b) NSW RFS issue two sets of personal protective clothing to operational members, and others as appropriate.
|
REC315-3849 |
17 - Assets and technology
17 - Assets and technology
|
That, in order to enhance NSW’s fire fighting capacity, Government trial aerial fire fighting at night in the 2020-21 season with a view to full implementation if successful.
|
REC315-3803 |
16 - Training and behaviour
16 - Training and behaviour
|
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.
|
REC315-3819 |
13 - Mapping and data quality
13 - Mapping and data quality
|
That, as part of the spatial technology acceleration program, Government support deployment of remote sensing and picture processing technologies to monitor and audit how well Asset Protection Zones and defendable space are being maintained, especially around towns.
|
REC315-3848 |
17 - Assets and technology
17 - Assets and technology
|
That, in order to enhance NSW’s ability to improve situational awareness, Government expand FRNSW’s Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS) capability (both capital assets and trained operators) to major regional centres and ensure the NSW RFS and other NSW government agencies can access this capability as required.
|
REC315-3801 |
13 - Mapping and data quality
13 - Mapping and data quality
|
That, in order to improve capability to detect ignitions and monitor accurately all fire edge intensity and progression automatically across the State in near real time, Government establish a spatial technology acceleration program to maximise the information available from the various remote sensing technologies currently in use and to plan for inclusion of new remote sensing systems that can sense precisely and rapidly through heavy smoke, cloud, fog and dust. This will require work within the State and with partners nationally and internationally.
|
REC315-3817 |
5 - Hazard reduction burns
5 - Hazard reduction burns
|
That Government, noting that hazard reduction targeted in proximity to assets is on balance more likely to provide help than hinder, should:
a) support local councils and partner agencies to implement more comprehensive hazard
reduction at a local level around towns/cities, communities and local infrastructure assets, and provide incentives for communities to organise themselves to prioritise and implement local hazard reduction initiatives. This will involve a suite of hazard reduction techniques depending on the landscape including prescribed burning, clearing, mowing, and mechanical treatments, and easy disposal of green waste into processors turning it into bioenergy or biofuels
b) beyond the local level priorities for hazard reduction, prioritise prescribed burning in parts of the landscape where fuel treatment may help reduce probability of fires escalating quickly and where terrain and potential atmospheric interactions are likely to escalate fires into fire-generated thunderstorms. This will likely involve a proactive program of treating ridge tops that are prone to dry lightning where reduced fuels may help reduce speed of spread when the fire first starts, or particular windward or lee-slopes that are susceptible to generating extreme fire behaviour and drive fire towards towns.
|
REC315-3847 |
17 - Assets and technology
17 - Assets and technology
|
That, in order to ensure Australia’s fire fighting aerial capacity capitalises on existing assets and is made up of the right mix, Government:
a) request the Commonwealth to conduct a trial with NSW RFS on the feasibility of retrofitting RAAF C130 aircraft with modular airborne fire fighting systems to provide the Australian Defence Force with the capacity to augment aerial fire fighting during major disasters
b) work with states and territories through the National Aerial Firefighting Centre to review the current mix of aviation assets and determine whether it is fit-for-purpose, noting the current lack of mid-sized fire fighting aircraft.
|
REC315-3800 |
13 - Mapping and data quality
13 - Mapping and data quality
|
That the NSW Government, along with other Australian governments, ask AFAC to establish a national bush fire database. This database would enable:
- monitoring of trends in bush fire activity and impacts, including timing, cause, extent and intensity across all land tenures and vegetation types
- tracking trends and identifying patterns in associated weather and climate signals that contribute to severe bush fires
- evaluation of the cost and effectiveness of risk mitigation efforts, including hazard reduction, and fire suppression activities so we have a better understanding of what works.
|
REC315-3816 |
5 - Hazard reduction burns
5 - Hazard reduction burns
|
That Government re-commit to the current, regionally based approach to planning and coordinating hazard reduction activities across all tenures through Bush Fire Management Committees but ensure that it is actually being implemented at a high-level of quality across NSW. Getting it to a high-level of quality requires:
a) implementing the Inquiry’s recommendation about performance auditing of Bush Fire Risk Management Plans
b) prioritising implementation of revised processes for bush fire risk management planning that incorporate new modelling and methods for quantifying risk and the residual risk profile as a result of proposed hazard reduction works
c) ensuring regional priorities for hazard reduction, and how they are determined, are communicated clearly to the community, and their implementation is reported on transparently. This will include being very clear about the objectives of hazard reduction activities and communicating that hazard reduction does not eliminate the risk of fire affecting properties
d) the methodology for assessing and planning for risk reduction becomes an ongoing area of research and the frameworks are formally reviewed every three years.
|
REC315-3843 |
17 - Assets and technology
17 - Assets and technology
|
That, in order to improve early fire suppression, the NSW RFS trial initial aerial dispatch in areas of high bush fire risk. The trial should identify the most appropriate and cost-effective mix of aircraft, and any associated infrastructure improvements that would be required.
|