HOW IT WAS DONE: DEALING WITH THE PILLIGA FIRE Press release from Coonabarabran Shire Council The story of how the huge Pilliga Forest fire near Coonabarabran was fought was one of a rapid build up and deployment of personnel and equipment once it became clear that fighting it was beyond the resources of the local fire fighting service. This was how the chief fire controller, Superintendent Alan Brinkworth, described what happened when the fire was declared an emergency under Section 44 of the Rural Fires Act 1997 on the morning of last Saturday week (November 29). Superintendent Brinkworth was declared commissioner Phil Koperberg's Incident Controller under the terms of this Act, making it his responsibility to control and manage all the resources directed at the fire. The outbreak had been caused by a lightning strike in the vicinity of Timmalallee Creek, in the heart of the Pilliga, during the afternoon of Thursday, 28 November. It set off a raging fire which spread in all directions, though principally to the south and south east. Local bushfire brigades, under Coonabarabran's Rural Fire Service Fire Control Officer Gary Wilson attacked the blaze, but it was spreading faster than the local resources could manage. This was reported to the Rural Fire Service State Operations Centre, and the following morning it was judged to be a major fire even on a State basis, and so section 44 was involved. This means an Incident Management Team is created, and the fire is attacked with all the resources the State can muster. Superintendent Brinkworth, normally based at the Castlereagh Regional Office of the Rural Fire Service at Narrabri, elected to set up the Incident Control Centre for the fire at the Council Chambers at Coonabarabran. He obtained the assistance of Coonabarabran Shire General Manager Bob Geraghty to organise the shire offices to become the fire control centre. Mr Geraghty, in turn called up all members of his staff to undertake various organisational roles, even though by then it was early Saturday afternoon, and the people concerned were at golf, or swimming, or other leisure activities with their families. All dropped what they were doing and responded immediately. They weren't to know it at the time, but it would be eight or nine days before most would be able to return to normalcy. In due course, those assisting in the council offices included shire council employees, Rural Fire Service volunteers from all parts of the state, staff from adjoining local government areas and others from further afield, Rotarians, school teachers, wives and family members of council staff - all in all, volunteers from all over. There was a major logistical task, as beds must be found, and food prepared, for all the firefighters needed for the task. At the council chambers, liaison officers for the various agencies that would be involved and acting under Supt. Brinkworth's orders were gathered. They included Gary Wilson, whose task was to provide local knowledge, and contact with his bushfire brigades who were already out on the fireline. Others were liaison officers from State Forests, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Police Service, the Ambulance Service and NSW Fire Brigades. The Queensland Fire and Rescue Authority also sent a task force. The Rural Fire Service was well represented, including the Service's Air Attack Group. Rural Fire Service veterans of previous fires were appointed to head up Operations, Planning and Logistics groups. Council's Economic Development and Tourism Manager, Dick Brown began work at 1.15 pm on Saturday as Media Liaison and Public Information manager for the fire, at which he worked for the next eight days, the first three on his own. Within hours, it was a smooth-running operation, and everyone called in had settled down to the task in hand. Each had a clear picture of what had to be done, and set in with a will to do it. At the height of the fire, some 89 people were involved in the running of the control centre. At this time, some 900 firefighters were out in the field, having been called in from most parts of NSW, and even from southern Queensland. But with hundreds of volunteers being relieved after an intensive 72 hours of battling the flames, there were nearly 2,000 men and women firefighters involved overall. All had to be regularly supplied with water and replacements for other stores used, as well as fed, accommodated during breaks from the fireline, and generally succoured, as well as provided with telephones to call home and assure loved ones of their safety. Meanwhile, council staff acting as supply officers had to ensure that there were adequate quantities available of such staples as maps, notebooks, fax machines and fax rolls, telephones, whiteboards, drafting equipment and so on. While this was happening, planning staff received information from the field, and drew up accurate maps of just where the fire was at any given moment, and identified hot spots which needed more than just general attention. New crews arriving were directed where needed, or, if they had made a long and tiring journey, were given a meal and some sleeping time before going out on the fire line. One aspect which bedevilled the whole operation was communications. All the firefighters are equipped with modern radio equipment. But Coonabarabran and its district is a notorious one for poor radio reception. Even mobile telephones only work there in an indifferent fashion, because of the rugged Warrumbungles terrain. Fires, including their smoke, and hot weather also do not help radio signals. So there was a constant problem of transmitting orders, and of receiving back adequate reports of what was happening in the field. Experts were called in to help solve these problems. Trucks with powerful relay equipment were sited on high ground, and eventually, an aircraft was equipped to slowly circle above the fire, and run a repeater service. Finally, using radio equipment which is regarded as some of the best available in the world, most communications problems were resolved, but at no stage was the transfer of information perfect. As crews returned, they were debriefed, and their information relayed onto maps and into the regular briefings of all participants. Early in the piece, a helicopter and a fixed wing aircraft were brought into service. The helicopter was used to drop incendiaries to create firebreaks, while both were used for reconnaissance. Soon, the Rural Fire Service's Air Attack group, four aircraft equipped with water bombing and fire retardant dumping gear, were brought in. Then a number of crop spraying aircraft were also secured, so plenty of water could be sprayed on hot spots to help ground crews. In all , some 17 aircraft took part. On several occasions, helicopters were used to work out the best way to get ground crews into hotspots. This was particularly effective, and Coonabarabran Shire Council's fire controller, Gary Wilson, played a major part in this aspect of the work. There were a number of outbreaks from the edge of the fire as winds came up each day. After a week, most of the perimeter was secured. Finally, a week after the fire began, it was contained, with only a single outbreak on the northern boundary requiring hard fighting and water bombing. The perimeter had grown to 255 kms, with some 143,500 hectares burned. By Sunday, Coonabarabran, especially its shire council, was looking forward to returning to normalcy. And the Fire Control Officers and weary firefighters were looking forward to a rest before being assigned to some other emergency, in another area. For Dick Brown and his Visitor Centre staff, the task was to convey the message across the state that all the shire's tourism attractions, including the Warrumbungles, Siding Spring Observatory, Skywatch, Miniland and Crystal Kingdom, were well and truly still in action. They were especially pleased to be able to report that Pilliga Pottery was open, because it had come within an ace of being destroyed. And there was great satisfaction in being able to report that while half the Pilliga has been destroyed, the lovely picnic ground at the Aloes, with its superb group of koalas, had been well away from the main fire area. The section 44 declaration was lifted on Sunday and the final mop-up and patrolling was handed back to the local brigades. The Newell Highway also re-opened on Sunday. On Sunday evening, the Council put on a couple of barrels of beer at the Shire Hall for the more than 300 local people who had acted as volunteers in various capacities. There was a feeling of relief it was over, and of quiet satisfaction at a job very well done. Many of the firefighters were still out mopping up. There will be another celebration for them. For the community, it was a matter of getting everything back to normal and getting back to planning for Christmas. The community received many plaudits for its work. Chief Superintendent Barry Belt said at the shire hall barbecue that he'd never seen a community respond better. Perhaps one the nicest aspects was the posters produced by Years 1 and 2 at Coonabarabran Primary School, saying 'thank you' to the firefighters. These were displayed at the mess hall in the shire hall, and at the council chambers. These, and the "thank you's" on the street trees in John Street, placed there by the Chamber of Commerce, were especially commented on by hundreds of the firefighters. And they were specially mentioned by the firefighter from near Queanbeyan who telephoned Ian MacNamara during Australia All Over on Sunday to thank the town and its people for their friendliness and great support.