CFA not omnipotent

On Saturday, during roaring winds and 46+ degree celcius heat, the national broadcaster, ABC local radio, provided continuous emergency updates. Well known presenter's voices were uncharacteristically high pitched as they read through lists of urgent messages for particular local communities on Saturday afternoon. No sooner had the list been read out then it would need to be read again as new communities faced ember attack. It seemed as though they could not speak their words quickly enough to try and share the crucial information with all that needed it so desperately.

We turned the radio on after we smelt smoke. When we stepped outside we couldn't believe what we saw. Only moments before we had been watching a DVD trying to take our minds off the heat and we hadn't been outside for more than 2 hours. The radio alerts, coupled with the roar of hot wind, brown sky, smoke and heat like I've never experienced, were unnerving.

What should we pack? Should we have already left? Would we be able to get the cats and dogs in the car as well as ourselves and our baby if it was closer than we thought? Were we prepared enough to stay? If we left, what roads should we use? Could we count on our local CFA firefighters to stop the fire near us down the hill?

Sudden confusion set in. I realised in that moment of indecision that we were obviously not prepared. And we were the lucky ones, it turned out to be a small grass fire that was later contained in Upper Ferntree Gully, only one suburb away.

We still had power and felt we needed more info so we looked up the CFA and VicRaods websites. This didn't seem up to the minute enough and was only what we had already heard on the radio. The old fashioned local phone tree kicked in. Texts were sent to neighbours and soon we knew exactly where the fire was and how fast it was moving as well as how many fire crews were in attendance. When it came down to it, this was the information we found most useful and reassuring in helping us make the decision to wait a little longer while we got the house ready and packed.

Perhaps this is the biggest lesson that can be taken from this tragedy, that we have come to think the CFA will be everyone's first port of call and saviour. Really it's the work of all of us to be vigilant in alerting each other to danger. The CFA are not omnipotent, but the wider community comes closer to it.

PS: That night as the temperatures plummeted from 46 to 21 degrees celcius, the bushfires helped put on a beautiful sunset in our neck of the woods, marking the contrast between our lives and those of our fellow Victorians in Marysville and Kinglake.