New Exhibition: Defining Moments in Bushfire History

Australia is one of the most fire-prone countries on Earth. Bushfires are not an occasional crisis, they are a recurring part of life that has shaped landscapes, tested communities, and pushed emergency services to their limits.

To acknowledge this history, the Museum of Fire recently launched an exhibition highlighting this history. The fires in this exhibition span more than half a century, each leaving their mark not only in loss, but in what was learned - driving change in how fires are fought, how communities are warned, and how services are trained and built.

Blue Mountains and Illawarra bushfire, 1968

The spring of 1968 saw major fires spread across the Illawarra and Blue Mountains districts. Firefighters from the NSW Fire Brigades (NSWFB; today Fire and Rescue NSW, FRNSW) and the Bush Fire Brigades (now the NSW Rural Fire Service, RFS) came together to fight the blaze from late October until early December. Fires were first reported at Mount Kembla on 25 October and spread across the Illawarra area until early November. Meanwhile in the Blue Mountains, fires had been burning in the Grose Valley for weeks before breaking containment lines on 28 November and went until early December. In total these bushfires claimed over 2,000,000 hectares and 88 houses.

During these bushfires it became clear that a ‘fire plan’ was necessary for days of extreme fire danger, so following these fires a conference was held to discuss and implement better bushfire fighting tactics. In response to this conference, the Board of Fire Commissioners of NSW (the governing body of the NSWFB) approved the proposal which authorised its firefighters to conduct hazard reduction burns in bushland areas in the lead up to bushfire season. Two years later in 1970 the Bush Fires Act was amended to form the Bush Fire Council of NSW who would coordinate bushfire fighting efforts in the eastern part of NSW.

Blue Mountains Bushfires, 1968. [Museum of Fire Collection]

Eastern Seaboard Fires, 1994

Between 3 to 14 January 1994, the NSWFB were called to action against the threat of bushfires in the greater Sydney area, Newcastle and along the Central Coast. Some of the fires had been burning since Boxing Day 1993, but the peak bushfire period began with a total fire ban implemented on 3 January 1994. By Wednesday 12 January, many of the fires that firefighters had been in constant battle with were considered under control, with the most serious threat of fire coming to an end by

15 January. These bushfires would go on to claim approximately 600,000 hectares of bushland, around 200 houses, and the lives of three firefighters and one civilian.

During these bushfires the community felt hopeless in not being able to help save their homes. In response to this, the NSWFB reviewed their hose posts (local depots of firefighting equipment for use by community members established during World War Two) and the concept of mobile units were developed known as the Community Fire Unit (CFU). Following a Coronial Inquiry, the Rural Fires Act 1997 was proclaimed which replaced the Bush Fire Council of NSW with the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS). This allowed there to be a single chain of command through the appointment of a Commissioner to the organisation.

Bushfire approaching Bundeena, 1994 [Photograph by John Veage, Museum of Fire Collection]

Canberra Bushfires, 2002-2003

In the lead up to the 2002 - 2003 bushfire season NSW was experiencing an extreme drought with high temperatures, low relative humidity, and hot gusty winds as early as August 2002. Grass fires became common place, with the first major bushfire of the season occurring on 8 October 2002 in Engadine. By mid-October fires were burning across most of the state. In early January 2003 the fires then spread to the outskirts of Canberra. On 18 January the temperature rose to 40°C with winds reaching over 80km/h causing the fire to cross into the suburbs and within just 10 hours saw 470 homes lost. By the next day, firefighters had brought the fires in the ACT under control turning their focus towards property protection, containment and mop-up. These fires were also the first instance of a verified ‘fire tornado’ occurring and being captured on video.

The bushfires that swept through the Canberra region brought about significant change to how the ACT Government managed and responded to emergencies, including major bushfires. Changes that were implemented included the creation of Australia’s first unified emergency agency, known as the Emergency Services Agency which encompasses the Ambulance Service, Fire & Rescue Service, Rural Fire Service, and State Emergency Services. Additionally, Community Fire Units were created to assist during these emergencies.

Bushfires at Warragamba, 2002 [Museum of Fire Collection]

Black Saturday, 2009

The bushfires in 2009, which became known as Black Saturday, remain one of the most devastating emergency incidents in Australian history and saw the largest interstate deployment from the NSW RFS. Australia had been experiencing a near decades-long drought with temperatures reaching up to 46°C around Melbourne on Saturday 7 February 2009. The first fire was reported at 11:47am in Kilmore East and by the evening of 8 February over 400 individual fires were burning across Victoria with the fires not being fully contained until 14 March. More than 450,000 hectares of land was burnt with around 3,500 buildings destroyed, including 2,000 houses.

Significant changes were made following these devastating bushfires, including the creation of the Bush Fire Survival Plan and the Emergency Alert System which sends alerts to mobile and fixed phones to warn people of approaching bushfires. The first use of the Emergency Alert SMS System by the RFS occurred on 19 December 2009 for the Walla Walla Tip Fire in the Greater Hume, with this system still in use today.

RFS Erikson air crane conducting water bombing in Victoria, 2009. [Photograph by Country Fire Authority, Courtesy of Fire and Rescue NSW]

Red October, 2013

As early as September 2013, fires began burning across the greater Sydney area, with major outbreaks taking place in Castlereagh, Winmalee and Marsden Park. Conditions continued to worsen and by 13 October there were 152 fires burning across the state. Fires would continue burning until rain began to fall on 23 October, making the fires more manageable to control. Just in October, a total of roughly 118,000 hectares was burnt with 222 houses destroyed and 168 houses damaged. This crisis saw the largest short-term mobilisation in FRNSW history with every spare and training appliance staffed to respond.

In response to these fires and others occurring earlier that same year, the NSW Government implemented an $8.2 million package for the RFS to improve their website, Bush Fire Information Line, ICT systems and ICON (Incident Control Online), Bush Fire Behaviour and Building Impact Assessment teams, and the enhancement of the Rapid Aerial Response Team program. The RFS also launched the MyFirePlan smartphone app which expanded on their previous Bush Fire Survival Plan created in 2009 to make it more accessible for members of the community.

Fire heading towards Castlereagh. Photograph taken from Fire Air1, 10 September 2013. [Courtesy of Fire and Rescue NSW]

Black Summer, 2019-2020

The summer of 2019 – 2020 saw unprecedented bushfires burn across Australia with over 1,000 bush and grass fires already burning as early as winter in July 2019. By December 2019, more than 2,000 bush and grass fires were burning in NSW with more were breaking out in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. Smoke from the fires was even reported to have traveled as far as Argentina and Chile. Heavy rains helped to finally bring the fires under control and NSW was declared bushfire free for the first time in more than 240 days in March 2020. The Linfield Park Road Fire in Port Macquarie became the season’s longest running fire starting on 18 July 2019 and was not extinguished until 209 days later on 12 February 2020. In NSW the total amount of land destroyed was an extraordinary 5.68 million hectares.

Following these bushfires the NSW Government conducted an inquiry to ensure the state was better protected in future bushfire seasons. This inquiry made 148 recommendations, supported with funding from the NSW Government to complete them. This included purchasing and refurbishing firefighting appliances, improved cross-border and interstate communications during bushfire season, investment in mental health support for emergency services, updates to the Fires Near Me app (now Hazards Near Me), improved firefighting uniforms, increased staffing for the National Parks and Wildlife Service to conduct hazard reductions, and much more.

Tahmoor Bushfire, Strike Team Echo, 19 December 2019. [Courtesy of Fire and Rescue NSW]

While we could only focus on a small portion of significant bushfires in this exhibition, we will continue to share more stories on our blog and social media, so made sure you are subscribed.

- Story by Museum of Fire Heritage Team