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ABC News
16 hours ago
- Politics
- ABC News
The Orroral Valley fire inquiry was years in the making but it offered transparency
I'd never heard of Bumbalong. But during the Black Summer bushfires of 2020, this small New South Wales community between Canberra and Bredbo hit the news when a bushfire swept through, destroying homes, farms and livestock in a single day. I watched the flames myself, from Bredbo, as they crept quickly along the hills, sending embers ahead over great distances, igniting patches of dry grass in the surrounding paddocks. The residents who fought the blaze that day would have had little sense of the greater battle still being fought five years on. Some are still re-building after years living in caravans on their land, without even basic facilities like a flushing toilet. The findings of an inquiry into the fire by the ACT's Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker brought down yesterday included an apology. "This matter has taken far too long to be finalised," Chief Coroner Walker said. "I offer my apologies to those affected by the fire and its aftermath." It was the first time the hardship suffered by the residents had been officially acknowledged. This bushfire was no act of nature, it was started by an army helicopter across the border in the ACT. It's now well known the aircraft made an unplanned toilet stop on a hill in the Namadgi National Park at the head of the Orroral Valley. A hot searchlight underneath the helicopter ignited the dry grass, and the pilot hastily took off. The crew said they were focused on safety because they thought the helicopter was damaged. It would be at least 35 minutes after the fire started before Defence told the local firefighting authorities of the exact location of the blaze. The focus of the inquiry was what happened in those minutes. There had been other calls for an inquiry into the fire. It not only caused serious damage to Bumbalong, it also burned through 80 per cent of Namadgi National Park, and even threatened Canberra's southern suburbs, as it burned for five weeks. At the time, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said he didn't want a "witch hunt", so the ACT's Chief Coroner set up her own inquiry. In the end, yesterday's findings were mild. She found there had been an "error of judgement", finding also it was not plausible that none of the crew thought to tell local authorities about the fire immediately. But there was still great value in the inquiry. The identities of the crew were suppressed, but they were compelled to give evidence. This produced a clear picture of how the events unfolded, including the conversations between the crew members which were recorded and played to the court. The inquiry facilitated a transparency that hadn't been there before. Before that, events had come to light slowly after questions from the ABC, revealing the helicopter crew never called in the fire during its flight back to Canberra Airport. Later, pictures taken by the crew emerged. The inquiry also revealed details, including that it was more than nine hours before the Emergency Services Agency Commissioner Georgina Whelan was told a Defence chopper was the cause of the fire. Interestingly the Chief Coroner found the delay in reporting the fire had little impact on the response by local authorities. The smoke had already been spotted from a fire tower within minutes, and firefighters called in. But as Chief Coroner Walker said, reporting the fire earlier would have been beneficial. "Failure to report the fire earlier, and failure of the Commonwealth to accept the overarching need to do so, does raise an issue of public safety," Chief Coroner Walker said. The Bumbalong residents were relieved to hear the Coroner's findings, saying at least someone has been found responsible. They are hoping the findings will help in their next round, a battle in the Civil courts with the Commonwealth over compensation for their losses.
The Advertiser
a day ago
- General
- The Advertiser
'We started a fire': ADF criticised over major blaze
The Australian Defence Force knew about fire risks posed by its aircraft years before an army helicopter sparked a catastrophic blaze that razed most of a national park during Black Summer, a coroner has found. The fire was ignited by the searchlight on an ADF MRH-90 Taipan helicopter, known as ANGEL21, when the crew landed for a toilet break while on a reconnaissance mission outside Canberra on January 27, 2020. The fire quickly spread from the Orroral Valley and went on to burn more than 82,000 hectares of the Namadgi National Park, causing significant damage to the environment and Indigenous sites. The ADF knew about the risk of the lights, which can reach temperatures as high as 500C after 10 minutes of use, after a Black Hawk helicopter ignited a grass fire in 2013, ACT Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker said in inquiry findings handed down on Friday. But while a warning about the lights was added to the Black Hawk flight manuals, it was not included in the MRH-90 document. "The situation is unlikely to have arisen had the aircrew been made aware through the MRH-90 flight manual of the risk of fire associated with landing lights," Ms Walker said in the ACT Coroners Court. "This failure reflects a systemic failure to apply the lesson learned in one context ... to the broader yet patently alike context of another aircraft utilising similar technology." The crew, who had been tasked to identify safe helicopter landing points as bushfires raged across southern NSW, were within their rights to stop for a break, the coroner found. But they made an error of judgment by failing to report the fire to their superiors and other authorities. The inquiry heard the crew noticed the fire soon after landing at 1.38pm, with a flight recording capturing one crew member saying: "We started the fire. We started a fire." As the flames moved towards the fuselage and the crew prepared to take off, another crew member was recorded saying: "Yep f***ing searchlight. Dammit." The crew made an emergency call at 1.45pm to report fire damage to the helicopter, but did not alert anyone to the blaze. When asked why he didn't immediately raise the alarm about the bushfire, the pilot said he was concerned the helicopter could "fall from the sky at any moment". Ms Walker said the situation was clearly frightening for the crew, but they should have reported the fire at a time of heightened risk. "It must have been obvious to any thinking person that a delay in reporting the fire could potentially impact the capacity of the relevant organisations to respond to it," she said. During the inquiry, the federal government did not dispute the searchlight had ignited the fire. Ms Walker made several recommendations, including that the findings from incident reports be shared across the ADF and included in any risk and training materials. The Australian Defence Force knew about fire risks posed by its aircraft years before an army helicopter sparked a catastrophic blaze that razed most of a national park during Black Summer, a coroner has found. The fire was ignited by the searchlight on an ADF MRH-90 Taipan helicopter, known as ANGEL21, when the crew landed for a toilet break while on a reconnaissance mission outside Canberra on January 27, 2020. The fire quickly spread from the Orroral Valley and went on to burn more than 82,000 hectares of the Namadgi National Park, causing significant damage to the environment and Indigenous sites. The ADF knew about the risk of the lights, which can reach temperatures as high as 500C after 10 minutes of use, after a Black Hawk helicopter ignited a grass fire in 2013, ACT Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker said in inquiry findings handed down on Friday. But while a warning about the lights was added to the Black Hawk flight manuals, it was not included in the MRH-90 document. "The situation is unlikely to have arisen had the aircrew been made aware through the MRH-90 flight manual of the risk of fire associated with landing lights," Ms Walker said in the ACT Coroners Court. "This failure reflects a systemic failure to apply the lesson learned in one context ... to the broader yet patently alike context of another aircraft utilising similar technology." The crew, who had been tasked to identify safe helicopter landing points as bushfires raged across southern NSW, were within their rights to stop for a break, the coroner found. But they made an error of judgment by failing to report the fire to their superiors and other authorities. The inquiry heard the crew noticed the fire soon after landing at 1.38pm, with a flight recording capturing one crew member saying: "We started the fire. We started a fire." As the flames moved towards the fuselage and the crew prepared to take off, another crew member was recorded saying: "Yep f***ing searchlight. Dammit." The crew made an emergency call at 1.45pm to report fire damage to the helicopter, but did not alert anyone to the blaze. When asked why he didn't immediately raise the alarm about the bushfire, the pilot said he was concerned the helicopter could "fall from the sky at any moment". Ms Walker said the situation was clearly frightening for the crew, but they should have reported the fire at a time of heightened risk. "It must have been obvious to any thinking person that a delay in reporting the fire could potentially impact the capacity of the relevant organisations to respond to it," she said. During the inquiry, the federal government did not dispute the searchlight had ignited the fire. Ms Walker made several recommendations, including that the findings from incident reports be shared across the ADF and included in any risk and training materials. The Australian Defence Force knew about fire risks posed by its aircraft years before an army helicopter sparked a catastrophic blaze that razed most of a national park during Black Summer, a coroner has found. The fire was ignited by the searchlight on an ADF MRH-90 Taipan helicopter, known as ANGEL21, when the crew landed for a toilet break while on a reconnaissance mission outside Canberra on January 27, 2020. The fire quickly spread from the Orroral Valley and went on to burn more than 82,000 hectares of the Namadgi National Park, causing significant damage to the environment and Indigenous sites. The ADF knew about the risk of the lights, which can reach temperatures as high as 500C after 10 minutes of use, after a Black Hawk helicopter ignited a grass fire in 2013, ACT Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker said in inquiry findings handed down on Friday. But while a warning about the lights was added to the Black Hawk flight manuals, it was not included in the MRH-90 document. "The situation is unlikely to have arisen had the aircrew been made aware through the MRH-90 flight manual of the risk of fire associated with landing lights," Ms Walker said in the ACT Coroners Court. "This failure reflects a systemic failure to apply the lesson learned in one context ... to the broader yet patently alike context of another aircraft utilising similar technology." The crew, who had been tasked to identify safe helicopter landing points as bushfires raged across southern NSW, were within their rights to stop for a break, the coroner found. But they made an error of judgment by failing to report the fire to their superiors and other authorities. The inquiry heard the crew noticed the fire soon after landing at 1.38pm, with a flight recording capturing one crew member saying: "We started the fire. We started a fire." As the flames moved towards the fuselage and the crew prepared to take off, another crew member was recorded saying: "Yep f***ing searchlight. Dammit." The crew made an emergency call at 1.45pm to report fire damage to the helicopter, but did not alert anyone to the blaze. When asked why he didn't immediately raise the alarm about the bushfire, the pilot said he was concerned the helicopter could "fall from the sky at any moment". Ms Walker said the situation was clearly frightening for the crew, but they should have reported the fire at a time of heightened risk. "It must have been obvious to any thinking person that a delay in reporting the fire could potentially impact the capacity of the relevant organisations to respond to it," she said. During the inquiry, the federal government did not dispute the searchlight had ignited the fire. Ms Walker made several recommendations, including that the findings from incident reports be shared across the ADF and included in any risk and training materials. The Australian Defence Force knew about fire risks posed by its aircraft years before an army helicopter sparked a catastrophic blaze that razed most of a national park during Black Summer, a coroner has found. The fire was ignited by the searchlight on an ADF MRH-90 Taipan helicopter, known as ANGEL21, when the crew landed for a toilet break while on a reconnaissance mission outside Canberra on January 27, 2020. The fire quickly spread from the Orroral Valley and went on to burn more than 82,000 hectares of the Namadgi National Park, causing significant damage to the environment and Indigenous sites. The ADF knew about the risk of the lights, which can reach temperatures as high as 500C after 10 minutes of use, after a Black Hawk helicopter ignited a grass fire in 2013, ACT Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker said in inquiry findings handed down on Friday. But while a warning about the lights was added to the Black Hawk flight manuals, it was not included in the MRH-90 document. "The situation is unlikely to have arisen had the aircrew been made aware through the MRH-90 flight manual of the risk of fire associated with landing lights," Ms Walker said in the ACT Coroners Court. "This failure reflects a systemic failure to apply the lesson learned in one context ... to the broader yet patently alike context of another aircraft utilising similar technology." The crew, who had been tasked to identify safe helicopter landing points as bushfires raged across southern NSW, were within their rights to stop for a break, the coroner found. But they made an error of judgment by failing to report the fire to their superiors and other authorities. The inquiry heard the crew noticed the fire soon after landing at 1.38pm, with a flight recording capturing one crew member saying: "We started the fire. We started a fire." As the flames moved towards the fuselage and the crew prepared to take off, another crew member was recorded saying: "Yep f***ing searchlight. Dammit." The crew made an emergency call at 1.45pm to report fire damage to the helicopter, but did not alert anyone to the blaze. When asked why he didn't immediately raise the alarm about the bushfire, the pilot said he was concerned the helicopter could "fall from the sky at any moment". Ms Walker said the situation was clearly frightening for the crew, but they should have reported the fire at a time of heightened risk. "It must have been obvious to any thinking person that a delay in reporting the fire could potentially impact the capacity of the relevant organisations to respond to it," she said. During the inquiry, the federal government did not dispute the searchlight had ignited the fire. Ms Walker made several recommendations, including that the findings from incident reports be shared across the ADF and included in any risk and training materials.
Perth Now
a day ago
- General
- Perth Now
'We started a fire': ADF criticised over major blaze
The Australian Defence Force knew about fire risks posed by its aircraft years before an army helicopter sparked a catastrophic blaze that razed most of a national park during Black Summer, a coroner has found. The fire was ignited by the searchlight on an ADF MRH-90 Taipan helicopter, known as ANGEL21, when the crew landed for a toilet break while on a reconnaissance mission outside Canberra on January 27, 2020. The fire quickly spread from the Orroral Valley and went on to burn more than 82,000 hectares of the Namadgi National Park, causing significant damage to the environment and Indigenous sites. The ADF knew about the risk of the lights, which can reach temperatures as high as 500C after 10 minutes of use, after a Black Hawk helicopter ignited a grass fire in 2013, ACT Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker said in inquiry findings handed down on Friday. But while a warning about the lights was added to the Black Hawk flight manuals, it was not included in the MRH-90 document. "The situation is unlikely to have arisen had the aircrew been made aware through the MRH-90 flight manual of the risk of fire associated with landing lights," Ms Walker said in the ACT Coroners Court. "This failure reflects a systemic failure to apply the lesson learned in one context ... to the broader yet patently alike context of another aircraft utilising similar technology." The crew, who had been tasked to identify safe helicopter landing points as bushfires raged across southern NSW, were within their rights to stop for a break, the coroner found. But they made an error of judgment by failing to report the fire to their superiors and other authorities. The inquiry heard the crew noticed the fire soon after landing at 1.38pm, with a flight recording capturing one crew member saying: "We started the fire. We started a fire." As the flames moved towards the fuselage and the crew prepared to take off, another crew member was recorded saying: "Yep f***ing searchlight. Dammit." The crew made an emergency call at 1.45pm to report fire damage to the helicopter, but did not alert anyone to the blaze. When asked why he didn't immediately raise the alarm about the bushfire, the pilot said he was concerned the helicopter could "fall from the sky at any moment". Ms Walker said the situation was clearly frightening for the crew, but they should have reported the fire at a time of heightened risk. "It must have been obvious to any thinking person that a delay in reporting the fire could potentially impact the capacity of the relevant organisations to respond to it," she said. During the inquiry, the federal government did not dispute the searchlight had ignited the fire. Ms Walker made several recommendations, including that the findings from incident reports be shared across the ADF and included in any risk and training materials.
ABC News
2 days ago
- Climate
- ABC News
Coronial inquiry into Orroral Valley bushfire finds helicopter crew made 'error of judgement' after accidentally sparking blaze
ACT Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker has handed down findings from the coronial inquiry into the 2020 Orroral Valley bushfire, finding the helicopter crew's failure to notify the authorities of the fire was an "error of judgement". The fire was started on January 27, 2020 in the Namadgi National Park south of Canberra, when the landing light of an Australian Army helicopter ignited the dry grass of its landing site. The fire burned through nearly 90,000 hectares of the ACT, also travelling into New South Wales. Chief Magistrate Walker has made eight recommendations around risk assessments, communications and systems. "This matter has taken far too long to be finalised," she said. "Without demur, I offer my apologies to those affected by the fire and its aftermath, in the various ways in which that has occurred."
