MECC Presentation to Bushfire Royal Commission

A Royal Commission into the February 2009 "Black Saturday" Victorian bushfires, the worst in Australia's history, was held in April.   One of the key purposes of the Commission was to review the Government's bushfire strategy.

The MECC Central system, piloted by Alpine Shire MECC (Municipal Emergency Co-ordination Centre) was put into practice to manage the emergency as Bright and mountain hinterland was threatened by several fires which burned a total of over 30,000 hectares during the bushfires. 

While there were no deaths in Alpine Shire, there were in neighbouring Indigo Shire.  There was significant property damage in both shires.

Due to the significance of the event Datalink, with Alpine Shire, was part of a report presentation on the effectiveness of the web based system (one of the first of its kind) in the bushfire emergency co-ordination effort.

Many other MECCs operate purely using old fashioned face-to-face and call-centre type communication.  MECC operators have traditionally been hesitant to embrace technology in an area that is so hands on.  However the experience at Alpine Shire was positive and the consensus was that it complemented the traditional communication.  It may well have helped saved lives and property.

As a result, several other local councils are now looking into integrated web based solutions for emergency co-ordination in preparation for next year's bushfire season.