A pilot was killed in Australia February 14 when a helicopter crashed while working on a bush fire southeast of Pipers Brook, Tasmania. The accident was reported to the police and emergency services at about 3:20 p.m. The pilot was the only person on board.
From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation:
Tasmania Fire Service Acting Deputy Chief Jeff Harper said the northern Tasmanian man was an experienced pilot who had been assisting water-bombing activities as a subcontractor.
Mr. Harper said it was a tragic incident, and that the man had worked on multiple Tasmanian fires in the past.
Firefighting aircraft were grounded after the helicopter crash, and will all be assessed overnight before being deployed again.
The Tasmania Police said the pilot’s next of kin has been notified.
Since it started several days ago the fire has burned 1,660Ha (4,100 acres). Helicopters, fixed wing aircraft, heavy machinery, and firefighters on the ground have been working to control the blaze. A number of forestry plantations have been impacted and one structure has been destroyed.
The ABC reported that the bushfire had resulted from a registered burn that got away from the “very remorseful” owner, and it had been deemed accidental.
The Tasmania Police is asking that anyone with information who may have seen the helicopter near Pipers Brook just before the crash should call Launceston Police on 131444 or report it to Crime Stoppers on 1800333000 or crimestopperstas.com.au. Information can be provided anonymously.
On January 23, 2020 the three crewmembers of an EC-130Q, Air Tanker 134, were killed when the aircraft crashed while working on a fire in New South Wales.
Fire Aviation sends out our sincere condolences to the family, friends, and coworkers of the deceased pilot.
The make and model of the helicopter has not been released.
They were working on the Coles Fire northwest of Coonawarra
Map showing the location of heat detected on the Coles Fire at 1605 UTC Jan. 20, 2022 in South Australia.
One firefighter working on the Coles Fire in South Australia has been killed and another hospitalized, the state’s Country Fire Service announced on Friday. The agency said “they were involved in a falling tree incident.”
In a news release the Country Fire Services said, “Family and other personnel have been informed and are being offered support at this time. The seriously injured CFS member has been taken to hospital for further treatment. The safety and wellbeing of our people is our highest priority and our thoughts are with our CFS family at this time.”
From The Guardian:
One firefighter has died and another has been seriously injured after a tree collapsed on a fire truck battling an out-of-control bushfire in South Australia’s south-east.
The incident occurred at the firefront at Coles, near Lucindale, where the blaze was running uncontrolled through bluegum plantations, scrub and grassland, a spokeswoman for the state’s Country Fire Service said.
The Coles Fire, first reported January 19, has burned 3,835 ha (9,476 a) about 28 km (17 miles) west-northwest of Coonawarra in southeast South Australia.
Data from the U.S. National Interagency Fire Center in 2016 showed that in the United States hazardous trees was the fifth leading cause of wildland firefighter fatalities, behind medical, aircraft accidents, vehicle accidents, and entrapments.
Our sincere condolences go out to the family, friends, and co-workers of the two firefighters.
Shows climate change has driven a significant increase in Australia’s forest fire activity over the last three decades
Climate change factors, wildfire weather and activity. From the research.
From CSIRO
A lengthening of the fire season towards Autumn and Winter was identified, along with an increase in fire activity in cooler and warmer regions including alpine forests in Tasmania and tropical rainforests in Queensland.
The research published in Nature Communications is the first of its kind and combines analysis of previous forest fire sites with eight drivers of fire activity including climate, fuel accumulation, ignition, and management (prescribed burning).
Thirty-two years of satellite data and 90 years of ground-based datasets from climate and weather observations, and simulated fuel loads for Australian forests, formed the basis of the research, which allowed researchers to identify climate change driven increases versus natural variability.
CSIRO scientist, Dr. Pep Canadell, said the research was one of the most extensive studies of its kind performed to date, and was important for understanding how continued changes to the climate might impact future fire activity.
“While all eight drivers of fire-activity played varying roles in influencing forest fires, climate was the overwhelming factor driving fire-activity,” Dr Canadell said.
“The results also suggest the frequency of forest megafires are likely to continue under future projected climate change.”
Over the last 90 years, three of the four mega fire years occurred after the year 2000. A mega fire year is defined as the cumulative burned area of forest over one year of more than 1 million hectares.
Australia’s mean temperature has increased by 1.4 degrees Celsius since 1910, with a rapid increase in extreme heat events, while rainfall has declined in the southern and eastern regions of the continent. Globally fire activity is decreasing, however, the extent of forest fires in Australia is increasing.
Burned area, whole of continental Australia including Tasmania, linear fit. From the research.
When comparing the first half (1988 – 2001) with the second half (2002-2018) of the record studied, the research showed that the average annual forest burned area in Australia increased 350 per cent, and 800 per cent when including 2019.
Comparing the same time period, the research showed a five-fold increase in annual average burned area in winter and a three-fold increase in Autumn, with Spring and Summer seeing a ten-fold increase.
“In Australia, fire frequency has increased rapidly in some areas and there are now regions in the southeast and south with fire intervals shorter than 20 years. This is significant because it means some types of vegetation won’t reach maturity and this could put ecosystems at risk,” Dr Canadell said.
“Understanding these trends will help to inform emergency management, health, infrastructure, natural resource management and conservation.”
Bushfire. Courtesy of CSIRO.
The research was conducted by J. G. Canadell, C. P. Meyer, G. D. Cook, et al.
Wildland firefighters are at high risk for cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, and other conditions
6:48 a.m. PDT Nov. 3, 2021
Firefighters near the site of a venting propane tank on the Dixie Fire. Posted Aug 6, 2021. Lassen National Forest photo.
The Parliament in Victoria, Australia has passed legislation that extends the presumptive disease program to wildland firefighters. It also includes “surge firefighters” who are government employees normally in other roles, but who perform firefighting duties during the fire season as part of their agency’s surge capacity as needed.
The presumptive disease program ensures that if a firefighter is diagnosed with any of the 12 listed cancers, they will not have to prove that it was caused by their employment, and it will be considered an on the job injury.
The cancers covered are brain, bladder, kidney, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, leukemia, breast, testicular, multiple myeloma, prostate, ureter, colorectal, and esophageal. The employee must have been on the job for 5 to 15 years, depending on which disease they have.
The presumptive right will apply to individuals diagnosed on or after June 1, 2016 if the diagnosis occurs during the course of a person’s service as a firefighter or within 10 years after they have ceased to serve.
Lily D’Ambrosio, the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, explained the program in detail during the second reading of the bill. Here is a link to the legislation.
Wildland firefighters are at high risk for cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, and other illnesses, including chronic conditions in their knees, shoulders, and backs.
This is an important issue that should also be addressed for federal firefighters in the United States. The Grassroots Wildland Firefighters organization endorsed this type of a program in a position paper.
Presumptive illnesses recognized for forest firefighters in Victoria, and in the U.S. a housing allowance and mental health program
11:51 a.m. MDT Sept. 23, 2021
A firefighter on the Dixie Fire in Northern California. Photo by Luanne Baumann posted on InciWeb August 11, 2021.
Important legislation has been introduced in Australia and in the United States that would have a very meaningful and positive effect on wildland firefighters.
Victoria, Australia
In Victoria, Australia a bill titled “Forests Amendment (Forest Firefighters Presumptive Rights Compensation) Bill 2021” extends the presumptive disease program to forest firefighters. It also includes “surge firefighters” who are government employees normally in other roles, but who perform firefighting duties during the fire season as part of their agency’s surge capacity as needed.
The presumptive disease program ensures that if a firefighter is diagnosed with any of the 12 listed cancers, they will not have to prove that it was caused by their employment, and it will be considered an on the job injury.
The cancers covered are brain, bladder, kidney, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, leukemia, breast, testicular, multiple myeloma, prostate, ureter, colorectal, and oesophageal. The employee must have been on the job for 5 to 15 years, depending on which disease they have.
If the legislation is passed, the presumptive right will apply to individuals diagnosed on or after June 1, 2016 if the diagnosis occurs during the course of a person’s service as a firefighter or within 10 years after they have ceased to serve.
This is an important issue that should also be addressed in the United States.
Lily D’Ambrosio, the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, explained the program in detail during the second reading of the bill. Here is a link to the legislation.
United States
In the United States amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), if they are approved and the bill is passed, would affect wildland fire in two ways.
A housing allowance would be provided to any federal wildland firefighter hired at a location more than 50 miles from their primary residence. The amount would be based on the cost of housing in the area.
And, a mental health awareness and support program would be created for federal wildland firefighters including:
A mental health awareness campaign;
A mental health education and training program that includes an on-boarding curriculum;
An extensive peer-to-peer mental health support network for federal wildland firefighters and their immediate family;
Expanding the Critical Incident Stress Management Program through training, developing, and retaining a larger pool of qualified mental health professionals who are familiar with the experiences of the wildland firefighting workforce, and monitoring and tracking mental health in the profession to better understand the scope of the issue and develop strategies to assist; and
Establish and carry out a new and distinct mental health support service specific to federal wildland firefighters and their immediate family, with culturally relevant and trauma-informed mental health professionals who are readily available and not subject to any limit on the number of sessions or service provided.
In addition, each federal wildland firefighter would be entitled to 7 consecutive days of leave, without loss or reduction in pay, during each calendar year for the purposes of maintaining mental health.
Both of these, a mental health program and a housing allowance, if approved would be huge. Along with salary, these two issues have a large impact on retention. Too many federal firefighters live in their cars because the cost of housing where they are required to work is more than they can afford on the money they make. The mental health issues, including very high suicide rates, have been well documented.
If these two amendments do not end up in the final signed NDAA legislation there is a backup plan. Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse, Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus, would introduce the Housing Our Firefighters Act and the Care for Our Firefighters Act.
Mr. Neguse is also planning to introduce in the near future bills to overhaul federal firefighter pay, benefits and classification.
The Grassroots Wildland Firefighters have been instrumental in getting these issues in front of committee staffers and politicians.
Another amendment in the NDAA would require a study of the risks posed to Department of Defense infrastructure and readiness by wildfire, including interrupted training schedules, deployment of personnel and assets for fire suppression, damage to training areas, and environmental hazards such as unsafe air quality.
In a response to the report from the Bushfire Royal Commission, Australia’s Federal government will create a new agency to provide relief, recovery, and mitigation from future weather events.
The National Recovery and Resilience Agency (NRRA) will be given $600 million to fund projects to bushfire and cyclone-proof houses, and build levees in disaster-prone areas. The money would also be put towards improving telecommunications infrastructure to better withstand disasters.
Two existing recovery agencies will fall under the umbrella of the new government body — the National Drought and North Queensland Flood Response and Recovery Agency (NDNQFRRA), and the National Bushfire Recovery Agency.
Control of the Bushfire Recovery Agency’s $2 billion fund will be handed to the new body.
The long-term recovery efforts in communities affected by recent floods across the east coast and cyclones in Western Australia will also become the responsibility of the NRRA.
NDNQFRRA coordinator-general Shane Stone, a former Northern Territory chief minister and Liberal Party president, will oversee the new agency.
