Prepare for more wildfires says report into Nelson-Tasman blazes

Wednesday, 30 October 2019

Takaka volunteer firefighters Callum Reid, left, and Grant Lawrence are exhausted at the end of their shift in the first week of the blaze that started in Pigeon Valley on February 5.

Fires such as the blaze in February that raged across more than 2300 hectares near Nelson must be expected to occur more frequently and everyone needs to be prepared, says an independent review.

'There was a general lack of awareness within the Nelson and Tasman community around the risk, to them, of unplanned fire,' says the operational review report by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council.

The start of the Pigeon Valley fire on February 5.

The reviewers found a general impression that the fire, which started in tinder-dry conditions on February 5 this year about 30km south-west of Nelson in Pigeon Valley, was a one-off.

'Because of this feeling, there appears to still be a reluctance, by some, to change the way they do things and to incorporate fire protection into their day-to-day business or home life,' the report says.

The glow from the fire could been seen across a swath of the Nelson-Tasman region.

The fire prompted the evacuation of about 3000 people.

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An aerial assault was a key factor in battling the blaze.

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Fire and Emergency NZ released the review report on Wednesday. Speaking from Richmond Fire Station, near Nelson, national commander and deputy chief executive of service delivery Kerry Gregory said such a feeling was not peculiar to fires.

The fire took hold in tinder-dry conditions affecting the Nelson-Tasman region last summer.

'It's a Kiwi attitude in a certain way, where it's not going to happen to me.'

In a changing environment, the fire season in Australia was starting earlier.

Principal rural fire officer Ian Reade says his team has been working with rural industries throughout winter around heat and spark hazard activities.

'That's going to arguably happen here as well so we need to actually be more prepared for that,' Gregory said. 'These aren't one-offs; this will happen again.'

After the Port Hills fire at Christchurch in 2017, 'the same things were said at that time - this is a one-off' but two years later firefighters faced a similar situation with the Pigeon Valley blaze.

The blaze raged across more than 2300 hectares of mainly pine plantations.

'When the next one will be, I can't tell you but I'm 100 per cent sure that it will happen again and we need to be ready for that,' Gregory said.

To help businesses and residents focus on fire risk reduction, the review report recommends Fire and Emergency NZ develop and implement a nationally consistent framework for strategic and tactical fire planning, community education and risk reduction activity.

Tasman mayor Tim King, who was evacuated from his property during the fire, recommends residents plan for future blazes by checking for the presence of potential fuel around their properties, water sources for battling the flames and by being prepared to evacuate.

Six months on from the Pigeon Valley wildfire

The reviewers also made a number of recommendations around improving the organisation's ability to prepare and manage major fires, and to review training for those fighting wildfires.

Deputy chief executive Raewyn Bleakley said Fire and Emergency NZ welcomed the review and fully accepted its findings.

A local state of emergency was declared in Tasman at 8am on February 6 in response to the fire. It was extended a week later and again on February 19 before the decision was made to allow it to expire on February 27.

By the time it was out, the blaze had affected more than 2300ha of mainly pine plantations, destroyed one home and forced the evacuation of about 3000 people and 700 livestock and pets. At its peak, Fire and Emergency NZ deployed 23 helicopters, two fixed-wing aircraft, 23 heavy machines and more than 150 firefighters.

In the days and weeks that followed, other fires broke out at Rabbit Island, Atawhai, Moutere Hill and Dovedale Hill, which added to the complexity facing fire managers. Combined, those fires cost Fire and Emergency NZ about $13 million.

The review report says there was never one mention of dissatisfaction from the community and stakeholders with Fire and Emergency NZ and the way it operates. Its reputation 'was never questioned'.

'Public sentiment remains positive and supportive towards responding and supporting agencies around the Tasman fires,' the report says. 'It is very encouraging to see the high esteem in which Fire and Emergency New Zealand and its employees continue to be held by those that were directly impacted by this event.'

Other recommendations in the review report include:

* The establishment of a set of risk reduction guidelines/requirements around permitted heat and spark activities.

* Fire and Emergency NZ should work to promote any changes required to legislation or regulations to develop a mandatory system of 24-hour total fire ban days, to be declared by Fire and Emergency NZ based on predicted fire weather and associated risk.

* A policy that each region develops a matrix of air, ground, incident management team and machinery resources that will be on stand-by at given forecast levels of fire danger.

* The development of a national aviation management function.

* A comprehensive review of the National Incident Management Teams. The review report says a lack of depth across New Zealand for trained and experienced people to fill the roles on those teams became more obvious over time as each new team had to borrow people from other teams to fill roles and maintain full functionality.

* Review wildfire-related training requirements across Fire and Emergency NZ and key partner agencies. The review found that people on the fire ground came from a range of backgrounds and were asked to undertake activities that they were not practised in.

Bleakley said the review was 'constructive and timely for us as a new organisation'.

'The establishment of Fire and Emergency NZ was the first critical step towards addressing the lessons from Port Hills. It brought together 40 separate organisations and 14,000 people, and since then we have been focused on how we can more effectively work with other organisations and agencies during wildfires and other emergency responses.'

Gregory said the next step was to develop an action plan, which would identify how the review findings would be incorporated.

'We expect to have that completed by the end of this year,' he said.

The review comes after an investigation released in August found the Pigeon Valley fire was accidentally sparked by an agricultural contractor using a disc plough on a rocky paddock.