STATIC WATER SUPPLY CHALLENGES: AUSTRALIA`S SOLUTION
BRUCE COVEY
Australia, a very dry continent, has a long history of bushfires. A major problem facing crews fighting these fires is an insufficient water supply, especially in areas of ridgeline development, where topography assists the acceleration and severity of fires.
In some areas, the water service infrastructure is inadequate for providing sufficient firefighting resources to suppress a major fire. Water service infrastructure problems arise from the common use of four-inch water mains in suburban residential areas. Depending on the severity of the fire, firefighters stretched across a wide defensive front face difficulties when too many firefighting appliances draw water from a single main. This problem is exacerbated by residents` drawing water from the same water main to protect their homes.
Because of the complexities and excessive cost of upgrading the reticulated water supply, a strategy was needed to overcome the expected and eventual water resource management crisis. There was also a need for contingency plans that could be implemented should the water service infrastructure break down as a result of natural disasters such as earthquakes or man-made disasters that destroy water mains, localized malfunctions in the system, or technical malfunctions that may occur January 1, 2000.
EMBER ATTACKS
Firefighters also have been encountering the problem of ember attacks, which are particularly relevant when fighting fires in areas surrounded by eucalypti forests. As eucalypti shed their bark during fires, they produce long strips of burning embers that are carried by the wind ahead of the main fire front, igniting bush and buildings when they fall.1 The far-reaching ember storm poses strategic difficulties for incident controllers in positioning crews and managing resources. The situation in which embers leap over firefighters` heads and create another fire front behind them, burning houses and bush indiscriminately, is difficult to combat. The problem is intensified by the fact that almost all of the available reticulated water is being used to extinguish the fire front. During the fires that decimated the Sydney suburbs of Jannali and Como in 1994, many houses were destroyed by ember attack, not direct flame impingement.2
COMMUNITY EDUCATION
Historically, a lack of public awareness about how to react to a major disaster has hampered the efforts of firefighters and other emergency services to manage a disaster. This is the case with bushfires as well. The public needs to be educated on how individuals and family units can reduce the impact of a major fire disaster on themselves and their property and possessions. Emergency disaster planning often emphasizes evacuating the affected area, which often limits access to important information about the locality and privately owned resources. Public information related to bushfire awareness often is generic and in the forms of mass-produced brochures and refrigerator magnets. A more flexible and localized method of community education is needed to cater to each area`s particular topography, fuel load/area ratios, vegetation, and evacuation procedures.
THE STATIC WATER SUPPLY PROGRAM
To address these problems, the Static Water Supply (SWS) Program was initiated. Its main objectives are as follows:
to recognize formally the billions of liters of water stored in backyard swimming pools (static water supplies) as an essential firefighting resource in high-risk suburban areas; to identify SWS locations with an identification plate; to include in strategic planning the mapping of the thousands of SWS locations and incorporate this information into an incident command system procedure; to embark on a widespread face-to-face public education campaign to teach residents living on the interface how to minimize potential damage to their homes and how to react to the threat of a major fire; to create new operational guidelines, response units, and training regimens to efficiently use this resource; to continue to expand the application of the program to contingency plans for managing malfunctions or technical breakdowns in the reticulated water supply; and to encourage closer partnerships among fire brigades, governments, and communities to lessen the impact of a major fire disaster.
THE PILOT PROGRAM
To gauge public response, a pilot project was conducted in the suburb of Berowra (population 20,000), a high-risk area in the north of Sydney. This area has an interface fire history, a high fuel load, and a topography that contributes to the potential for severe fires.
With the help of the local council and government offices, static water supply (backyard swimming pools) locations were identified by the following means: aerial photography, a register generated from local planning information, local media and community participation, and input from the local fire brigade. A comprehensive record of SWS locations in the pilot area was compiled.
The locations were marked with identification plates made from aluminum and reflective lettering (cost was about $1 U.S. currency). Adhesive stickers were also made available, to offer flexibility to firefighters and residents.
A front-page article in local newspapers explained the program and its objectives and that the local fire brigade would be methodically progressing through the pilot area installing identification plates at the homes of residences with swimming pools. All residents cooperated, since those living on the interface were greatly concerned about the threat of bushfire.
In one large ridgetop area consisting of more than 200 houses and served by a poor reticulated water supply, 40 swimming pools were identified. The average pool contains 50,000 liters (12,000 gallons–enough to protect up to six houses surrounding the pool), 10 times the amount carried in a fire tanker; therefore, the water in these 40 pools amounted to more than two million liters (480,000 gallons) of accessible water. This frequency of SWS locations was consistent throughout the entire pilot area.
Because of the outstanding public response and the minimal cost involved in the pilot project, NSWFB senior management decided to implement the program on a statewide basis. The program was enthusiastically endorsed by the State Minister of Emergency Services and was subsequently extended to a joint service initiative between the professional urban MSW Fire Brigades and the volunteer Rural Fire Service.
STATEWIDE PROGRAM
High-risk areas with a long history of devastation caused by interface fires [Sutherland Shire (population 194,000), the Blue Mountains Shire (population 72,000), and the Northern Sydney area (447,000)] were targeted for Phase 1 of the implementation process.
Public Education and Fire Prevention
Public education is a recognized fire prevention strategy. Over recent years, the NSWFB has recognized that public education was needed to increase the safety of the public during major interface fires.3 The Static Water Supply Program offered firefighters a perfect vehicle for delivering face-to-face education to the interface community in the program areas. It also increased the profile of the NSW Fire Brigades, which enhanced the community`s understanding of the fire service`s role in disaster management.
Since the logistics involved in providing personal education to every household in the areas targeted by the SWS program would have exceeded local fire brigade resources, focusing on residences with swimming pools provided a more realistic objective. Residents about to be visited were notified by a letter, which also explained the program. This advance notice also made it possible for neighbors of these residents to attend the meeting if it was convenient and for residents to prepare a list of questions they may have before the firefighters arrived.
The major areas of concern were the following:
how to react when a major fire approaches;
how to achieve fire safety maintenance around the home; and
how, when, and where to evacuate.
Experienced firefighters gave residents information pertaining to the residents` particular area and individual needs. Obviously, households on top of the ridges face different problems than those located in the valleys. Vegetation, fuel loads, aspect, predominant winds, and building construction all have a different bearing on individuals` safety.
FIRE SAFETY MAINTENANCE
Fire safety maintenance around the home is an effective measure to minimize structural damage.4 This is especially relevant to ember attack. Removing all unnecessary flammable materials and debris, in addition to performing other basic maintenance chores, decreases the potential for an interface fire to spread and create additional fire fronts. The objective of heightening the public`s awareness of these issues through the SWS program is to minimize structure damage, therefore reducing the strain on local firefighting resources during major bushfires.
Most populated areas in New South Wales are covered by an emergency disaster plan (DISPLAN), which allocates to emergency agencies responsibilities for coordinating disaster management. The emergency agencies are well aware of evacuation procedures, but this information is not always conveyed to the public. The SWS program allowed firefighters to discuss evacuation centers, routes, and procedures and to encourage families to have prearranged meeting places should family members become separated. This approach is designed to prevent family members outside the disaster area from trying to enter the combat zone against the controlling agency`s orders, therefore avoiding a life-threatening situation.
During the visits, firefighters also recorded residents` disabilities, impairments, or other special needs, which must be considered during evacuation. This information is shared with other agencies involved in evacuation and incorporated into local preincident planning.
Operational Improvements
Firefighters have always used swimming pools and other static water supplies as a firefighting resource. In England during World War II, firefighters would construct static water supplies to defend against fires caused by bombing. The bombs would often destroy the reticulated system, leaving firefighters to solve the water supply problem.5 Interface fires may be a different enemy but can be just as cruel.
The NSW Fire Brigades Act and Rural Fires Act allow professional and volunteer services to use water from any static supply to extinguish fires. They formally recognize the value of the water stored in swimming pools and the benefit of including this resource in strategic planning. The value of this resource has always been acknowledged but was generally underestimated when fighting fires on the urban/bushland interface.
Along with this recognition came the need to rethink operational strategies and explore ways to best exploit this resource. As with the wartime analogy, interface fires can be anticipated, although their location and severity cannot be forecast. The only reasonable certainty is that if the fire is of any magnitude, the reticulated supply will be unable to cope with fire service and community demands.
All NSWFB pumping appliances are fitted with an additional portable petrol-driven pump that has drafting capabilities, providing more options for appliance commanders and incident controllers. Since most backyard swimming pools are not accessible for drafting directly into fire appliances, crews responding to interface fires in which the reticulated supply has been overloaded now have the option of using swimming pools as a resource.
Locating a static water supply has always been time consuming and dependent on luck. With the SWS program in place, this operational strategy has become more coordinated, since relevant houses are clearly marked by ID plates. Firefighters` setup time is dramatically reduced, leading to an increase in operational effectiveness.
The improved water resource can be used in various ways: The reticulated supply could be concentrated on offensive strategies while SWS is used for defensive strategies. This is an effective method of combating ember attack in structures not affected by direct flame impingement. As an offensive weapon, portable pumps and an SWS allows firefighters to be more flexible and have greater mobility.
With advances in computer technology and geographic information systems, SWS locations are mapped on a cadastral (town plan-ning map) layer to assist incident controllers to construct strategic defense lines using the SWS resources. This can also be incorporated into incident control system (ICS) guidelines. This strategic data, in conjunction with the physical identification of the SWS locations to assist fireground officers (especially nonlocal crews) to locate the resource more rapidly, can be used to organize the most effective counterattack.
Operational benefits of the SWS program are the following:
It improves resource management.
It improves strategic planning capabilities.
It can be used for offensive or defensive firefighting.
The problem of transporting water to the fireground is reduced.
Fewer appliances, which can be scarce on blow-up days, are needed.
It reduces traffic, especially in confined ridgetop areas.
Offensive crews can be more flexible/mobile.
Defensive crews can operate in relative safety from direct flame impingement.
The NSWFB is developing a new type of response unit for use when reticulated overload is anticipated. The unit consists of a vehicle capable of carrying up to 10 two-firefighter teams towing a trailer carrying 10 portable pumps and associated firefighting equipment. New training regimens are being researched for recruits, and operational guidelines are being developed for including this response unit in task force procedures.
Incident controllers using the information provided on the SWS cadastral maps are able to construct defensive lines with appropriate crew placement.
BENEFITS
NSW Fire Brigades have found the SWS Program to be a tremendous vehicle for reducing the impact of emergencies on the community by building closer partnerships with the community, other emergency services, local government, public utilities, and the media.
The community`s input through the use of its water resource and improved fire safety maintenance and information has already assisted firefighters in Northern Sydney during a recent bushfire.
Water authorities are drafting a memorandum of understanding stating that public considerations will have priority when it comes to disaster management. Information gathered during this program has also benefited cross-agency activities, especially the police, who are responsible for evacuation.
The media have committed to reporting the SWS program aims in a factual, nonalarmist way. The media play an important role in any broad-based community project.
WIDER APPLICATION
Australia`s emergency services must prepare contingency plans for two events in the Year 2000: the Olympic Games in Sydney and the Year 2000 (Y2K) computer problem. The Olympic Games place Australia on the world stage, requiring that all emergency services consider threats to public utilities including the water service infrastructure.
A more immediate problem arises from the threat of challenges the new millennium may bring, possibly the breakdown of the reticulated water supply. Since January 1, 2000, falls in the middle of the Australian bush fire season, contingency plans are being made to combat interface or structure fires that may occur.
It may be unrealistic to have the SWS program implemented throughout New South Wales by 2000, but a targeted approach will yield significant emergency management benefits by that time. Contacts being made with local governments and an ongoing information-gathering process will make it possible to generate SWS registers within the context of Y2K risk management.
At the time this article was written, the Static Water Supply Program was being implemented across the entire Sydney region and had also been started in satellite cities and rural areas. All major cities within NSW that have rising populations and interface fire problems will be targeted in the near future.
Research into the operational aspects of the program is ongoing. Currently, all fire services can benefit from the improved resource management using normal standard operating procedures.
In Australia, the incidence of urban/bushland interface fires will increase as a result of urban sprawl and rural migration. As the interface grows to meet the demands of population increases, so will the community`s level of exposure. All emergency services will be compelled to develop new strategies such as the Static Water Supply Program to reduce the impact of major fires on the people they protect.
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Devastation caused by 94 bushfires in 1994 in the interface Sydney suburbs of Jannali and Como. One victim was recovered in a burnt house. Firefighters were hampered by a lack of water. Note the backyard pools–they are now identified and incorporated into a neighborhood static water supply. (Photo courtesy of Forensic Services Group, NSW Police Service.)
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Station officer marks an area containing a backyard swimming pool with an SWS (static water supply) identification plate as a community resident looks on. (Photo by Tony Ishak, NSW Fire Brigades.)
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NSWFB firefighter with Davey Pump. (Photo by Tony Ishak, NSW Fire Brigades.)
Endnotes
1. Luke, R.H. and A.G. McArthur. 1986. Bushfires in Australia. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
2. Hiatt J, senior deputy state coroner. 1996. New South Wales Bushfire Inquiry. Coroners Court. Westmead.
3. Hume, B. 1995. Focussing the New South Wales Fire Brigades on Prevention Rather than Suppression. Unpublished paper submitted to the National Fire Academy.
4. Webster, Jr. The Complete Australian Bushfire Book. (Penguin Books: Australia, 1989).
5. Blackstone, G.V. The History of the British Fire Service. (Fire Protection Association: London, 1996).
BRUCE COVEY has been a firefighter with the New South Wales Fire Brigades for 11 years and has been stationed in an urban/bushland interface area of Sydney for more than seven years. He is currently managing the implementation of the SWS program throughout the state.
