Lessons from the ashes: Shire and fireys reflect on Katanning’s February fire crisis

The lingering trauma of Katanning’s biggest bushfire in recent memory might not be felt until the first cloud of smoke surfaces this summer, Shire of Katanning president Liz Guidera says. About seven months after Katanning residents were urged to evacuate the town on February 8, the Shire and firefighters met to reflect on the community’s response. As 4600ha of burnt land and blackened paddocks on the northern and western edges of town starts to regrow, Cr Guidera said the memories of the fight for Katanning lingered. One home was lost but those who were in Katanning know the outcome could have been far worse. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services estimated more than 200 buildings were saved, including 43 homes. “After a bushfire such as the one experienced in Katanning in February many people have dealt with memories, especially our very brave local firefighters from across the region,” Cr Guidera said. “It was a scary fire and there may be some trauma associated with it that is ongoing. It may not present until the first cloud of smoke goes up this summer. “Because of COVID-19 we didn’t have the chance to continue the support of those affected, so we will all need to keep supporting each other through the coming fire season.” Cr Guidera said a key lesson taken from the events in February, was the importance of communicating emergency evacuation messages in multiple languages. DFES Great Southern acting superintendent Murray Hatton was an incident control officer on the ground in February. Mr Hatton said the most effective part of the response was the co-ordination between the Shire of Katanning, volunteer firefighters and other groups who had dropped everything to protect the town. “The Shire of Katanning did a remarkable job,” he said. “The Shire has a wonderful volunteer network with some very skilled and capable people that have a lot of gear. “But the reality was that was never going to be enough on that day. “I think the success story is the assistance offered freely by adjacent local governments. “That when we called, the cavalry from north, south, east and west, they arrived without fanfare. “It was that typical Australian way to help your neighbours when they are in a bit of trouble — I thought it was sensational.” After reflecting on the fires, Mr Hatton said DFES recognised the importance of providing community contractors with basic training on what to do in an escalating emergency. During the February blaze, local shires and contractors provided the graders that helped protect major assets such as WAMMCO while a fleet of water bombers attacked the main fire front and volunteer firefighters provided the grunt on the ground. “That preventative work ended up paying dividends,” he said. “They were critical assets and if we’d lost those there was going to be some very, very long-term negative impacts for Katanning and the wider district. “But we had some people in some circumstances that they were not familiar with and we had a few safety issues that came about and that was one of the learnings. “We use a lot of contractors that aren’t necessarily fire-savvy, so to give them a basic, simple training session to enable them to understand the process they are going into and who they would report to. “It is about following a chain of command, particularly at times when it is helter skelter and there will be a range of people requiring different things at the same time.” Mr Hatton said DFES would be looking to offer training to contractors in the coming months. Mr Hatton said the unprecedented air support during the fire also provided a key learning opportunity for the department. With up to six fixed-wing water bombers, a heavy-lift helicopter and a large air tanker, the aerial response was unlike anything the region had experienced before. “There were some learnings for us about how to use all those aircraft at the same time to the greatest value. We certainly didn’t get it right in Katanning,” he said. “If faced with the same circumstances again, myself as incident controller and I believe DFES more widely, would probably use it slightly differently to get better bang for our buck.”