The Naked Farmer – (18-year CFA Volunteer), Buloke Times

Have you ever been a volunteer? It feels great, doesn’t it? Imagine if you were responsible for putting those volunteers’ lives at added risk?

For an organisation like the CFA which relies predominantly on volunteers, why wouldn’t it stop and ask the question, “Why are we allowing the added risk of Transmission Lines to our volunteers and those we serve to protect?”

Rural land holders (who are typically CFA volunteers) pay a Fire Services Property Levy on their land, which funds the annual estimated expenditure of the CFA and its (paid) employees.

The CFA has its own standing orders that stipulate “25 meter minimum clearance should be maintained of the transmission line easement.” However, in hypothetical conversation with CFA employees they are far too quick to say “but we didn’t ask you to attend that fire” or “we didn’t ask you to go near the transmission lines …”

Every minute is vital, and every second is critical to containing and stopping wildfire.

Let me take you to the front line of a wildfire as a CFA volunteer:

3:05 p.m. Sunday, Jan 1 Temp 38 degrees, 43 km northerly wind gusting to 57 km… forecast top is 41 degrees before a “dirty” change late p.m.. The fire truck has red and blue lights flashing, you are wearing your full PPE, your neighbour is driving the fire tanker and your cousin stands beside you on the back.

All present have literally dropped their personal lives to get to the fire ground. Every minute it burns, it is wreaking destruction and danger in every aspect. Travelling to the map reference received, you can see the plume of smoke billowing into the air. As you are getting closer, you can now smell it. The colour of the sky has turned to a darkened yellow/grey, as the sun is blocked by the plume of smoke. Your body starts to prepare itself for what you are entering, sweat is running, breathing fastening, stomach feeling hollow as adrenaline is naturally released. Your body has identified this for what it is and is looking for a flight response….but being a volunteer, you are there to fight!

3:34 p.m – Radio chatter increases from the fire ground as other volunteers arrive on scene. The radio is screaming, questions and statements being shouted, panic and fear clear through their call “We need more tankers”, “We need help on the south side”, “It’s jumped the break on the north east side”. Now the visibility is down to a kilometre max.

Directions

We receive direction from fire ground control to stay on the east side of the fire, followed by a firm reminder that Transmission Lines will be in the fireground at some point, with a map grid reference provided of their location.

3:37 p.m. – We wheel on to the flank of the fire, 4-5 metres from the flames and drive parallel to the fire to allow the two on the back to squirt the fire from the tanker whilst travelling. Now the air temperature is well in excess of 45 degrees, the fire being only metres from the side of the truck, flames are as high as the truck and the smoke blocking our view in every direction, visibility no more than 30-40 metres at best, you can feel the heat of the fire against your face, one hose being used to knock the flame as far in front of the truck as possible (5-6 metres), the second to extinguish the reduced flame beside the truck.

Havoc

The wind is creating havoc, not only the dust, smoke and soot, but the water from the hose is barely hitting the ground and flame, it is being blown off target.

3:38 p.m. – The driver continues to read the fire closely, watching the two on the back closely for facial reaction and body language to gauge if we are close enough to the fire, too far, going too fast or too slow….his focus broken as the radio screams, “Where is that bloody aircraft? It is heading towards the house, we need all available units on the southwest side of the fire now!” The driver is left to make a judgment call….

3:43 p.m. on the back… you continue to bounce across a paddock none of you have ever been in before, your own focus is broken with an alarm screaming, your cousin who is standing shoulder to shoulder with you is yelling at you, but you struggle to hear/understand, due to the wind that is howling, the noise of the fire, the water pump and the truck…you lean in closer to him, “We’re out of water, we need more water!”

“More Water!”

3:44 p.m. It’s a quick flash of panic, shit that didn’t last long, when in reality we have now been on the fire ground, attacking the fire for just over 7 minutes. We have now travelled between 2-3 kms, guided by where the fire is was burning with limited visibility.

Now that you have a mild understanding of what it can be like on the fire ground and having emptied your first tank of water….at what point did you identify the imaginary line that is no closer than 25 metres to the next imaginary line, which is approximately 50 metres from the 540,000 volts of power that will arc and kill you and your crew from potentially 75 metres away?

You can thank the Labor Governments for the loss of asset and life (be that human or animal). Don’t forget the VNI West project manager, Mr Sam McGee, who is advocating that “you can fight fires under the lines”.

Aircraft won’t be able to help as 540KV of electricity does not discriminate when there is smoke in the air, as smoke is an extremely good conductor of electricity and the lines will arc and flashover will occur.

What will the response be at the next Royal Commission?

CFA advised its volunteers to remain at least 25 m from the easement? CFA stated that the safety of its volunteers was their highest priority; however, we can’t control where they fight wildfire? Or the same recommendation as the previous Royal Commission? Recommendation 27.2 – Transmission lines should be put underground.

Mr Bowen, life is far more precious than foreign investment and CFA Chief Executive Officer Natalie MacDonald and Chief Officer Jason Heffernan, your volunteers’ lives are far more important than being “Apolitical”.

This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 27 October 2023.