ADF helicopter crew delayed alerting authorities of fire it started

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A coroner's inquiry into the devastating Orroral Valley fire south of Canberra has criticised the crew of a defence helicopter who accidentally started the blaze for failing to notify authorities about the blaze. The 2020 bushfire which devastated much of Namadgi National Park was sparked by the helicopter's searchlight during an unplanned toilet stop. The fire burned for five weeks and crossed into New South Wales.

Transcript

00:00It's been a long five and a half years for Karen and Michael Gallagher on their farm

00:07at Bumbalong since the Auroral Valley fire left them with nothing.

00:13Today they watch the coroner from home.

00:15It is, it's surprising to think that somebody just wouldn't think.

00:18The fire that burnt 90,000 hectares of the ACT's Nimadji National Park crossed the border

00:25into New South Wales, burning down their house and destroying their property.

00:30We lost everything.

00:31You know, we lost it.

00:33We lost tractors, sheds, houses.

00:35The Gallaghers and their neighbours fought the fire and then had to fight to have a voice

00:40in the inquiry which laid bare the events leading up to the fire.

00:45A defence helicopter made an unplanned toilet stop in Nimadji, its searchlight igniting tinder

00:52dry grass.

00:53A transcript of an exchange between crew members was published as part of the inquiry.

00:59We started the fire, we started a fire.

01:02Turn the searchlight off now.

01:04Come up, come up, come up.

01:07Come up, come up.

01:09Just, just wait, wait, wait, wait, wait guys, just wait.

01:14We've got a fire under the aircraft.

01:16The crew maintained from that point they were totally focused on their own safety.

01:22And although authorities became aware of the blaze, it would be around 45 minutes before

01:28they heard about it from defence.

01:30The coroner found it was an error of judgement on the crew's part not to alert local firefighters.

01:37The Commonwealth submits that this finding cannot be made absent expert evidence.

01:44This is not a matter requiring expert evidence.

01:47It is a matter involving an assessment of the facts, the witnesses and common sense.

01:53Chief Coroner Walker said it was not plausible, despite the stress, that no one thought to

01:59say anything, even to air traffic control.

02:02It was absolutely within their means to do so by simply stating to the ATC words along

02:09the lines of, fire started in a rural valley alert fire brigade.

02:14Just a silly error in judgement has caused so much heartache.

02:18Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker made eight recommendations today, including a call for direct reporting

02:24of incidents, establishing duty contacts and better communication within defence about the

02:31the lessons from other incidents.

02:33The coroner set up the inquiry herself after the ACT's chief minister rejected the idea,

02:40saying he didn't want a witch hunt.

02:42Today, the emergency services minister said there were concerns about harming the government's

02:48relationship with defence.

02:50This is, you know, a key conversation out of the 2020 fire, but I think that, you know,

02:57we're looking forward now and working closely with our ADF.

03:01Over at Bumbleong, the Gallaghers are still rebuilding.

03:04They welcomed the finding that someone did the wrong thing and hope it will make a difference

03:09to their lives.

03:10Well, we hope so.

03:11Yeah, we hope so.

03:12We've got a claim for damages in at the moment.

03:17It's been going for five plus years.

03:20To date, the Commonwealth has paid no compensation to anyone.

03:25Defence says it's reviewing the report.

03:28.

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