Sudden closure of Mount Gellibrand Fire Tower puts community at risk

A fire tower that has been “absolutely critical” in a Victorian community’s bushfire response for more than 40 years has been closed just two weeks before summer.

AN “ABSOLUTELY critical” fire tower has been closed indefinitely just two weeks before summer in the high-fire danger area of Victoria’s Western Plains.

Locals were devastated to hear the CFA had marked the Mount Gellibrand Fire Tower unsafe to use this week, on the cusp of a “potentially really bad fire season”.

The CFA was warned in an engineer’s report in 2017 the tower required an upgrade or replacement but no action was taken.

The “essential” Mount Gellibrand Fire Tower has been closed with no plan to fix it.

Marianne Stewart, the CFA Winchelsea group secretary and whose late father played a role in setting up the tower in 1978, said after huge spring rain, “grass out on plains could be up to six feet (1.8m) high” and the tower played an essential role in their firefighting response.

“The fire spotters we’ve had over the years have been phenomenal and can spot a speck of smoke really easily,” she said, explaining those on the fire tower then radioed it in.

“Most farmers around the region have listening sets (so we) all stop what we’re doing and tune in.

“Everybody is almost ready to roll before we get the alarm … being forewarned sees a much quicker response.”

On bad fire days, the tower could be manned by a volunteer on-and-off for as long as 18 hours.

Marrianne said that on a clear day the tower had a “360 degree sweep of the southern ridges of the Grampians and 100km to north”, putting it in the “perfect spot”.

John Callahan, who organised the building of the tower and was an air observer with the CFA for nearly 60 years, said despite the use of aircraft for spotting and monitoring fires, they still used the towers.

“You can’t have an aircraft up all the time, all day and can’t have it up in severe wind and at night,” he said.

“The best aspect of (the tower) is that it all looks up all gullies in the Otways that no one else can see up in case of fire.

“It’s used regularly by other towers to cross reference any sighting they have.”

Mr Callahan said when the tower was built, the town was relieved that they didn’t have to be watching for fires all day because there was a dedicated process.

“One night there was a severe lightning storm and there was 27 lightning strikes identified from up there that turned into fires very quickly.”

Local Liberal MP Richard Riordan said the community had been told to use mobile phones and the internet to monitor fires instead, which he labelled “absolute insanity”.

“They don’t even have internet and mobile phone reception in main street,” he said.

Mr Riordan said the biggest blow was that the CFA had been notified three years ago in an engineer’s report that there were issues with the tower.

“It’s not anyone’s fault it’s weathered but they’ve known and done nothing,” Mr Riordan said.

“It’s absolutely inexcusable they’ve let this happen, closing it without any plan to fix it and telling volunteers to use mobile phones and internet.”

Mr Riordan said his party would be raising the issue as “a matter of urgency” in parliament next week, demanding funds — estimating about $300,000 needed to fix the tower — in the state budget.

Despite community concerns, a CFA spokeswoman said in a statement that there would be no impact on the ability to “respond to emergencies and protect lives and property”.

“There are other fire towers nearby which have vision across the general area which Mt Gellibrand covers,” the spokeswoman said.

“CFA is in the process of planning other ways to supplement coverage including using aerial detection flights.

“Fire towers are used for smoke sightings, particularly in remote areas, however with mobile phones, other advanced technology and vigilant community members and the travelling public, CFA doesn’t just rely on fire towers for early detection of fires.”

When questioned on the issue, the office of Victorian Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville also referred to other nearby towers in operation and “aerial detection flights, mobile phone coverage and other advanced technology”.

“The community should be in no doubt that they are well protected this coming fire season,” the government spokeswoman said.

Locals will be hosting a rally at the Mount Gellibrand Fire Tower at 1pm on Friday.

MORE

RECKLESS BLAZES SPARK CRACKDOWN AS FARM FIRE RISK FLARES

WHY THOUSANDS OF CFA VOLUNTEERS HAVE BEEN DISMISSED

CFA LEFT TO CARRY COST OVER MERGER