KI fire review contains concerning findings

In fact, climate change experts say extreme weather events are likely to occur more frequently in the future.

Mother Nature is incredibly unpredictable, and so much is out of our control.

But in the aftermath of natural disasters, it is important to review and analyse our response. What worked? What didn't work? What could be improved, and what could be duplicated or replicated elsewhere in the future?

There have been no shortage of reviews following the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, when SA experienced significant blazes at Yorketown, Cudlee Creek, Keilira and Kangaroo Island.

Nationally, we had a Royal Commission, while the SA government engaged former Australian Federal Police head Mick Keelty to conduct an independent review.

The latest report to be released publicly is Lessons from the Island, a review of the Country Fire Service response conducted by disaster and emergency planning consultants C3 Resilience, at the request of the CFS.

The report is 96 pages long, and pulls no punches.

Some findings are particularly troubling, such as there being "a culture of some not following, or actively working against, the chain of command", along with "a lack of discipline shown, often by senior members, following the chain of command".

Related reading: Govt response to fire review rolling out

Also troubling are reports that "a number of mainland crews appeared to be treating the deployment like it was 'a holiday' rather than a firefighting operation".

When battling bushfires that burn for days, having extra resources from across the state or interstate is essential to manage the workload, cover the fireground and reduce fatigue. There is no place for those who are not prepared to put in 100 per cent effort.

It's important that the report sparks action to eliminate these concerning occurrences, and is not left on a shelf to gather dust.

Everything must be done to reduce the losses and keep residents and volunteers - be they on CFS trucks or manning farm firefighting units - safe.

We must ensure the actions of a few do not taint the reputation of the dedicated CFS volunteers that work so hard to keep our communities safe in dangerous conditions.