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Examination of Prescribed Burning Practices - Wilsons Promontory

In April 2005, a 20-hectare prescribed burn at Wilsons Promontory escaped and subsequently burnt more than 6000 hectares of the national park.

Shortly thereafter, the Secretary of the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) asked the Emergency Services Commissioner to examine prescribed burning practices, focusing on how the management of fuel reduction burns might be improved to minimise the risk of such escapes.

Extensive statewide consultation involved DSE fire management personnel, staff of DSE’s partner agencies and a variety of stakeholders. The October 2005 report’s recommendations covered the areas of burn management, organisational capacity, risk management and community engagement. DSE has accepted all recommendations and begun implementing them.

Recommendations

1. Integrate information management systems relating to the prescribed burning program to provide consistency across the networked emergency organisation:
   • upgrade FireWeb as a map-based application
   • include risk management tools on FireWeb
   • develop an integrated information management standard across the networked emergency organisation.
     
     
2. Develop new prescriptions for prescribed burning to accommodate local conditions in those areas where standard prescriptions are assessed to be inappropriate.
   • develop prescriptions for heathland/peat at Wilsons Promontory
   • finalise development of  prescriptions for the Mallee
   • disseminate the fuel hazard guide to all burn personnel
   • develop a training program to interpret prescriptions.
     
     
3. Align policies and processes, within the year-round focus on fire management, to provide consistency in the approach to fire regardless of its origins, that is: fuel reduction burning, regeneration and ecological burning or unplanned fire:
   • extend contracted fire season services to increase resources available in  high risk periods during the prescribed burning program
   • revise documentation to remove distinctions between planned and unplanned fire
   • extend Emergency Coordination Centre operations to include the prescribed burning program
   • apply Australasian Interagency Incident Management System-Incident Control System rules to the prescribed burning program as a priority element of improving risk management processes.
     
     
4. Clarify, strengthen and document roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of DSE and its partner organisations in the prescribed burning program:
   • fire management should be added as core business
   • update and reissue policies and procedures
   • progressively rewrite manuals to separate guidelines and educational information
   • develop communication plans to accompany the release of new or updated information.
     
     
5. Give priority to the establishment of risk management processes across all stages of prescribed burning within the department’s broader risk management strategy:
   • incorporate risk management skill development in training programs
   • formalise peer review throughout the prescribed burning process
   • formalise the role of mentoring in the prescribed burning program
   • establish accountability mechanisms that preclude personnel who plan a burn from also approving the burn
   • incorporate performance and risk management analysis into the investigation of  burn escapes in addition to origin and cause
   • communicate findings of debriefs, investigations, research and good practice to all stakeholders
   • include burn history and lessons learnt as part of FireWeb history
   • extend the use of cost efficient technology during prescribed burns, such as hand held thermal imaging equipment.
     
     
6. Strengthen internal and external communications to ensure adequate stakeholder involvement throughout the prescribed burning program:
   • coordinate public information and media about prescribed burns in the DSE corporate communications policy
   • explore opportunities to secure appropriate stakeholder engagement at all stages of the prescribed burning program
   • extend burn OIC  update program concept to all personnel engaged in the prescribed burning program
   • establish links between the prescribed burning program and the Integrated Municipal Fire Management Planning project.
     
     
7. Develop a component of the DSE Workforce Strategy to build organisational capacity and sustainability of the prescribed burning program across the networked emergency organisation:
   • formalise fire management accountabilities including prescribed burning in executive and non executive performance management systems and related plans
   • include annual resource commitments in schedules to cooperative agreements across the networked emergency organisation
   • undertake continuing research to address volunteer motivation and involvement in the prescribed burning program across the networked emergency organisation
   • identify opportunities to recognise fire related training that are transferable to non fire related employment.
     
     
8. Update education and training programs relating to prescribed burning to reflect revised organisational  priorities including year-round (365-day) fire management program:
   • update training manuals
   • revise content of training programs
   • develop options for electronic delivery and assessment of training modules.

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Author:	Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner
Place of Publication:	Melbourne
Publisher:	Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner
Date of Publication:	October 2005
Number of Pages:	68
Copyright:	State of Victoria, 2005