Poor mobile phone coverage and the timeliness of bushfire emergency alerts have been highlighted as systemic issues in New South Wales during the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires.
The fatal Kangawalla fire, which devastated the town of Wytaliba near Glenn Innes on November 8 during 2019, was on Wednesday used as a case study by the NSW Bushfires Coronial Inquiry at Lidcombe to examine the issues in detail.
Former Glenn Innes Severn Council mayor Carol Sparks told the inquiry she had travelled from her Wytaliba property to Glenn Innes on the afternoon of November 8 to try and get more information for the community.
"I could see smoke and fire on my way in," Ms Sparks said.
"I tried to warn them there was fire in Wytaliba but it felt like I wasn't being listened to."
The court heard Ms Sparks became emotional after hearing pleas for help from the local fire brigade and was escorted from the Glen Innes fire control centre.
Communication issues
The inquiry heard Wytaliba Rural Fire brigade captain Richard Jeremy called the control centre just before 3pm to say fire was impacting the town and to request "all the assistance" they could get.
"It was the scariest thing I've ever been through in my life," Mr Jeremy said.
"I shook in my own house for two and a half hours. I was looking at my dogs saying, 'I’m not sure if I’m going to survive this or not'."
Mr Jeremy asked that emergency alerts be sent to residents in the area, but the court heard it was another 55 minutes until it happened.
There were also concerns that many people living in the remote valley did not have internet or phone reception.
Mr Jeremy said he tried to ring or contact by radio those who he knew did not have access to the internet or good phone reception.
Two people died that afternoon and more than half the town was destroyed.
Resources were stretched
NSW Rural Fire Service communications officer Angela Burford was working in the Glenn Innes fire control centre on the afternoon of November 8 and told the court resources were stretched.
"Multiple emergency warnings had been issued and were being juggled," she said.
Ms Burford also told the court that before issuing an emergency alert for Wytaliba, she needed to confirm what the situation was on the ground to ensure the information was accurate.
She said message fatigue was also a consideration in her decision not to immediately send an emergency alert because the community had received a number of alerts in the days leading up to November 8.
Prior to that day, and despite nearly a decade's experience, Ms Burford told the coroner she had only ever sent as many as one emergency alerts on any given day.
On this day, she sent 11.
The inquiry continues on Friday.
The coroner is expected to make recommendations to improve communication between the RFS and communities during 2023.
