Ash Wednesday Fires - Aftermath

Aftermath

Many of the Victorian fires were thought to have been caused by sparks between short-circuiting power lines, and tree branches connecting with power lines. A systematic review of fire safety was undertaken; areas under high tension pylons were cleared and local domestic lines considered to be at risk were replaced with insulated three-phase supply lines.

In South Australia, an inquest into the fires found that the communication systems used by the Country Fire Service were inadequate and, as a result, the Government radio network was installed, although this did not happen until almost 20 years later. Improvements in weather forecasting, with particular reference to wind changes and fronts, was undertaken by the Bureau of Meteorology. An emergency disaster plan was also legislated known as Displan. Many of the lessons learned in building better homes for fire survival, bush management and emergency response efficiency in analysis of the fires conducted by the CSIRO were to prove vital in later crises, including the 1994 Eastern seaboard and 2003 Canberra fire outbreaks.

A study was conducted into the 32 fatalities (excluding firefighters) that occurred in Victoria. It revealed that 25 were outside their homes, several of whom died in vehicles while attempting to escape the conflagration. It was found that delaying evacuation until the last minute was a common failing.