Vic: NZ firefighter injury probe announced

AAP General News (Australia)
12-18-2006
Vic: NZ firefighter injury probe announced

By Danny Rose

MELBOURNE, Dec 18 AAP - An investigation has been launched into how a group of New
Zealand firefighters were injured while fighting Victoria's fires, as three remained in
a Melbourne hospital's burns unit today.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) said the probe would take in
the fire's movements and whether the men were wearing the proper safety equipment.

Eleven New Zealand firefighters suffered burns and smoke inhalation when the fire front
turned on them as they fought a spot fire near Mansfield, in the state's north, on Saturday.

DSE fires chief officer Ewan Waller said the men reacted in accordance with their training
which had minimised their injuries.

"The main fire started to pick up and it came towards them, they took evasive action,
some escaped the site, others got caught," Mr Waller said today.

"They covered themselves up and waited for the first lot of fire to go over them and
then the second lot of fire - which has the more stronger radiant heat - that's what caused
the damage."

Mr Waller stopped short of stating the men were all wearing gloves and masks.

"We won't speculate on that because, for example, in the brief conversation we've had
one of the men got burned through his gloves.

"(The heat) baked the hand to some degree."

The trapped men took refuge in a ditch while the flames roared over their heads, and
they were later rescued by a helicopter.

Three of the men - Nick McCabe, Barrie Hunt and John Tupura - remained in The Alfred
hospital today where they have mainly superficial face and hand injuries.

One man was also scheduled for surgery this afternoon to treat a deep burn to his hand.

Mr Waller said all of the NZ firefighters were under the control of managers with local
knowledge of the area, and the probe would take several weeks to complete.

The findings could hold implications for any further deployment of foreign firefighters
in Victoria, and Mr Waller said there were plans to fly in up to 300 personnel from America
and Canada early next year.

"We're not saying anything did go wrong," Mr Waller said of the New Zealand firefighters'
incident.

"It could have happened to any of our firefighters."

Mr McCabe gave an interview to a New Zealand radio station today in which he made light
of his injuries and said such close-shave incidents were part of the job.

"It's like every job, you just handle things, do your training, and it comes out fine,"

he told Radio Live via telephone from his bed.

"Oh, heck, I'm up walking around and having a bit of a laugh. I've just had a bit of
tea ... I'm pretty comfortable."

The DSE website says there are four major fires still burning out of control in Victoria's
north and east, with a further 52 rated as contained.

These fires, which were started by lightning strikes, have burnt out almost 700,000
hectares, mostly in the Great Dividing Range and The Alpine National Park.

Victoria Police also said today an information van would tour the Gippsland towns of
Walhalla and Erica tomorrow, as they work to find the arsonist believed responsible for
a bushfire burning in Coopers Creek.

That fire began last Thursday and 48-year-old Donald Dosser, of Longford, died after
he fell off a trailer while battling the blaze.

AAP dr/dk/jt/cdh

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES VIC NIGHTLEAD

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