Mobile black spot delaying RFS response in bushfire hit town

Living without access to phone reception was inconvenient for residents of a NSW mid-north coast town – but when the bushfires hit it became life and death.

• Uninsured homeowners left with nothing
• “The devil himself” rained fire on tiny town

There are concerns a lack of communication infrastructure in some fire-ravaged NSW towns made it harder for residents and authorities to respond to the fast moving infernos that razed almost 20 homes.

Locals are now angry their calls for a mobile tower have gone unheeded for years.

The rural Mid-North coast town of Bobin, at last count, lost 18 homes, its cafe and school when the 80,000 hectare Rumba Complex fire tore through the valley.

Scenes around Bobin where several homes were destroyed.

Among the homes burned to the ground was that of Tracey Davis and her husband Kevin Cavanagh.

“There was a local crew with 1000 litres defending the home and they had to leave for backup,” she told The Daily Telegraph.

“The next crews that came in managed to defend the shed but they didn’t know the house was further up the property.”

Tracey Davis and Kevin Cavanagh standing in the ruins of their home. Picture: Peter Lorimer

Bobin is 350km north of Sydney. Picture: Peter Parks

Ms Davis lauded the NSW Rural Fire Service crews that fought to defend her home, but she worries the Bobin black spot left many “flying blind” in the emergency.

“We have a military that can see a pimple on someone’s face in the Middle East but we can’t keep track of our fire trucks,” she said.

Mick Munns captains the Marlee RFS brigade, which neighbours Bobin. His crew worked 18 hours straight “running on pure adrenaline” trying to defend homes.

His crew uses a pager system and its own radios, like all RFS crews, to overcome the lack of phone coverage.

But when Mr Munns gets paged about a fire, and has to summon his brigade, he is forced to race to the top of the hill in his car so he can call them on their phones.

Pat Guest comforts his daughter, Alice Guest, after they lost their family home near Bobin. Picture: Peter Lorimer

Similarly communities that aren’t receiving any kind of signal may not get access to emergency alert texts or the RFS Fires Near Me online notices.

“It’s very slow at the moment, the emergency response,” he said.

“It should just be two or three phone calls to get everyone in a truck, now it’s meet every day 9am and just wait to see what happens.”

Marlee resident and now evacuation centre chief Jenny Cameron said she has been speaking with local member David Gillespie to get a tower installed “for years”.

“Meanwhile peoples’ lives and livelihoods are at risk,” she said.

“Houses could burn down, they have, and we won’t cop that anymore. We’ve had it for many years.”

The leveled houses right next door to Jenny and Dean Aqualina who had their house severely damaged in the fires. Picture: Peter Lorimer

Mark O’Brien, Sandra Zielke and Peter Schouten in the Bobin Community Hall. Picture: Peter Lorimer.

Dr Gillespie told The Daily Telegraph he has been hammering on the telcos’ doors trying to get a tower installed.

“I’ve made depositions we’ve put down a list of hot spots … we are on their case,” he said.

“It’s not like they haven’t been told, asked, begged or bribed.”

Dr Gillespie said he hopes the bushfire crisis that has swept through his region will put the companies under pressure to install the much needed infrastructure.

The mobile black spot program, he said, should leave them with few excuses.

Mr Munns said the emergency situation should drive the point home to politicians and companies “like a sledgehammer”.

“It’s essential now,” Mr Munns said, shaking his head.

“I’m trying to get people together to put fires out.”

Originally published as Mobile black spot delaying RFS response in bushfire hit town