So far, it feels a lot like being in the scouts. You get to feel responsible without having any real responsibility other than staying alive. You get to talk about survival and consider the grim prospect of mass tragedy. If you're sufficiently enthused, you can join a volunteer brigade and get a uniform.
It's all very self-sufficient. Self-sufficiency is a good thing. But in terms of fire safety, so is a collective effort, and so is having the government constructively engage. Recent state-sponsored efforts to prepared Victorians for the coming fire season leave a lot to be desired.
October 11-18 is Fire Action Week. For you and I, this is a week to begin preparing for the summer ahead. For the State Government, it is a week of telling you and I to begin preparing for the summer ahead.
Fire Action Week has seen any number of compelling intitiatives to ensure we are fire safe and fire ready. For example, Monday's Age contained an 8 page lift-out on how to 'be prepared'. Step 1 (not listed in the lift-out) was 'be prepared to read through the Sports section to obtain your lift-out'. Non-readers of the Sports section of The Age should feel free to perish.
We have also had John Brumby's Fire Action Week Address:
However, the real cracker during Fire Action Week has been the implementation of the 'Probably Best to Go, Unless You Really Want to Stay and You Are Adequately Prepared, Except if it is an Emergency, in Which Case for God's Sake Don't Stay' policy. Formerly, Victorians were encouraged to decide early whether in the event of wildfire they would stay and defend their property or evacuate. The bushfires of Black Saturday earlier this year exposed a fatal disparity between understandings of the preparation needed to stay and defend a property, and the reality of a widespread lack of preparation. Now, Victorians are being encouraged to Stay and Defend unless it happens to be a Code Red day, in which case, they should evacuate. So long as it is not too late.
Others have already deeply criticised the confusion which will surely result.
But in part the issue here is not so much that the State Government needs to vastly improve the effectiveness of its communication techniques. It also lies in the government's willingness to ensure there is adequate fire coverage from professionals as well as citizens. Earlier this year, an independent Board of Reference recommended the State Government increase the number of professional CFA firefighters. In August, Premier Brumby acknowledged there would be 700 'seasonal' firefighters deployed this coming summer.
This is a measure which falls some way short of the recommendations required to ensure we are adequately protected this summer.
There is a need for more professional firefighting coverage across Victoria.
Wherein lies the value of delay?
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