Why were these Vehicles absent from Australian Fire~grounds ~ Black Summer 2020?
PART 1. Proof ~ Australian Bushfire Royal Commissions Consistently Fail!
To: Air Chief Marshal [ACM] Mark Binskin and Royal Commissioners
At: Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements
From: Captain Graham Bates – IO, Australian Army
Subject: Why were these Vehicles absent from Australian Fire~grounds in the Black Summer Firestorms of 2020?
This analysis shows how successful military vehicles are modified into excellent fire-fighting units.
Australian built Bushmaster PMV ~ well regarded for ADF combat operations ~ source youtube-aussie bushmaster
Rejected by ADF, VIC CFA and NSW RFS HQ commanders. Bushmaster variant ~ FireKing ~ during test and evaluation by
authors in 2007 at Mt Gambier SA. Note robust external sprinkler system with armour-plated body.
Co-author Daryl Rigby is on the left. – image by Graham Bates
Thales FireKing enduring the CSIRO Burnover test ~ total heat flux exceeded 120 kw/m2 for a period
greater than 33 seconds, replicating a Fire Danger Index (FDI) of 50 and a fuel loading of 15 tonnes
per hectare. Internal cabin temperature rose by less that 20 deg C above initial ambient conditions.
Forestry ~ South Australia have recently refurbished some of their original 2005 FireKings, full details are in this video below. Crew safety is paramount.
Built in Australia, the FireKing was designed following extensive research from stakeholders responsible for combating bushfires in Australia.
Why do these same stakeholders still refuse to use this equipment that they helped design more than 14 years ago?
Significance
For those reading this ~ if you or anyone dear to you have have been injured or affected by bushfires & firestorms ~ then ask your Member of Parliament this;
«Why are none of these FireKings deployed today?»
This evidence will help you take Action!
Further reading: Fighting Bushfires in Australia ~ Lessons from 1918.
In PART 2 ~ additional Armoured Strike Team fire-fighting vehicles.