What Now?!

A crisis communication plan devised by Annabelle Amos

1. Situational Context• Over 13 hours away from Brisbane in South West New South Wales, a

bushfire has broken out in Currawinya National Park- a 3 hour drive South West of Cunnamulla.

• It’s been a wet Summer for the area so there is lots of mitchell and buffel grass around that has dried up over Autumn. It’s the hottest Autumn on record and at around 1am on Thursday April 12, a lightning storm in the area has caused a spark, igniting the grass. Because it’s very dry and the grass is long and untouched by stock, and it’s a windy night, the fire spreads quickly.

• The stakeholders involved in this situation are the Bulloo Shire Council and farmers who own land and stock in the surrounding areas. Other stakeholders include the Thargomindah Rural Fire Brigade and the Hungerford Rural Fire Brigade and Queensland Fire and Rescue Services (QFRS). Other emergency people should be told of the situation also; police and ambulance people, as well as the SES.

• You have been informed of the bushfire by the police who were contacted on 000 by a camper at the National Park.

2. Your Role

• You are the chief communications officer for the Mayor of Bulloo Shire Council.

• Your daily role involves communicating community plans and other important information to members of the Bulloo Shire. You also manage and monitor correspondence on the Bulloo Shire website.

3. Strategies

• You need to contact key stakeholders in order of priority. Safety comes first, therefore the land owners surrounding the National Park need to be contacted, as well as the staff who run the campsites at the park to inform guests that an evacuation has been issued.

• Secondly, both the Thargomindah and Hungerford Rural Fire Brigades need to be contacted as well as the QFRS to contain the fire.

• The most effective way to contact all parties is via phone. The fire services have already been informed by the police. It is your job to call property owners and ensure they are prepared for an evacuation from their properties if necessary.

4. Evacuation Centres

• The Bulloo Shire is the third largest in Queensland, which means there are a lot of people to provide shelter for. You have done some research, and you require a place that will hold up to 800 people if necessary. The town hall two hours away at Eulo holds 500 people and the town hall two hours away at Hungerford holds 700 people. You decide to make the evacuation centre the Hungerford town hall. The Catholic church has also contacted you saying they can hold an extra 150 people.

– What is the safest option?

5. Greenies and Animal Lovers• It’s now 5am and the RSPCA have

found out that you are assisting campers at the National Park be evacuated to Hungerford. You are aware that the National Park is home to native Australian animals such as koalas and kangaroos and the RSPCA want to rescue as many as they can. You know it’s far too risky to let these people in; so you need to turn them, and anyone else who wants access to the park, away. – Do you think this is fair?

6. Journalists arrive and start asking questions

• It’s now 9am and the 200 campers have been evacuated from the Currawinya National Park safely, but you are receiving complaints from them because journalists have choppered in from Toowoomba. The Toowoomba Chroniclay journalists are harassing the evacuees for information and it is upsetting them because they just want to be left alone.

• You schedule a brief media conference to provide journalists with the information they need at this time and tell them there will be updates throughout the morning.

– Do you ask the journalists to stop asking questions of the distressed? Should you set up a counseling service?

7. Politics

• The Mayor of Bulloo Shire Council, Cr John Ferguson, is on the campaign trail at the moment, and wants to come to the shelter at Hungerford to meet with the evacuees. The only problem is that he is currently in the town of St George for a meeting with the Mayor there. It is over eight hours away, and access to anywhere west of St George has been closed because of the risk. You tell Cr Ferguson this information and he becomes frustrated with you.

– Do you think it’s a good idea for the Mayor to be an exception to the rule? How do you deal with his frustration towards you?

8. Getting Worse

• The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) told you that the wind was blowing in a Westerly direction, so you have evacuated everyone West of the National Park. BoM have contacted you again, and the temperature is expected to rise and the wind has changed to a North Westerly direction. This information has somehow reached the public and they are blaming you for not informing them earlier because there is not enough time for them to rescue their stock.

– What do you say in response to all of this negative attention, especially if it isn’t your fault? Have you ensured everyone that the QFRS is doing everything they can?

9. ‘Hero’ causes problems

• You discover the RSPCA are still outraged at your decision to let the firemen do their job instead of helping rescue the wildlife, and they have a team of five people prepared to go into the line of the fire to rescue the animals. You explain to them yet again that it’s far too risky and ask the police to retain them. This causes interest among the journalists again- there are more journalists who have arrived from Brisbane now.

– How do you deal with the sudden attention from the media for a reason that isn’t detrimental to the wellbeing of humans?

10. First Casualties• You have heard report from the police about the

first victims of the fire. Two bodies were found on the Hungerford-Eulo road in a car parked on the side of the road. The identity of the victims is unknown; however, police have discovered the registration number of the car and it is registered to a Mr and Mrs Webelliott of Cunnamulla.

– Do you tell the Webelliott family of the discovery of the two bodies in a vehicle registered to them? Or do you wait until the identity of the couple is known before you tell them?

11. More Information

• You find out that the reason the two people died was because they were attempting to escape from the fire which had engulfed their house. They had been contacted by you to evacuate, however, because they were from such a rural area, they didn’t have enough fuel in their car. They would have used their own fuel on their property, but the fire had blocked their access to the fuel bowser. You know this issue could have been avoided if they had been better prepared.

– What should you do to ensure this doesn’t happen to anyone else?

– Do you tell the journalists this is the reason for their death?

12. Feeding the Masses

• It is now 1pm and nobody from the evacuation centres have eaten yet. The CWA has volunteered to assist with feeding everyone. There have also been donations from the Hungerford community so there ends up being enough food to feed the 670 people that now occupy the building.

– How do you ensure everyone is fed fairly and that nobody is left out? There are a lot of people in the building.

13. The End… Almost

• The police have received a call from the QFRS about the fire. They have managed to contain it; however, there’s a long way to go before it’s entirely extinguished and residents can return home. You have been told that four properties have been completely wiped out by the fire.

– How do you tell these property owners their entire livelihood has been ruined? How would you feel if you were in this situation?

– Do you tell the press about these four properties, or simply outline the amount of land that has been affected?

14. Staying or Going• You’ve been awake since the fire started in the early

hours of the morning and it’s starting to get dark again. Fire crews have confirmed that they have contained the blaze, but it isn’t over. You know that from reading bushfire reports from previous enquiries that there is still a long road ahead, even though it all seems to be calming down.

– Do you stay until the fire is out for good? Or do you go back to your motel and catch a bit of shut-eye before evening sets in? You know that the fire isn’t going to be extinguished anytime soon; however, with the Mayor being out of town, you are solely responsible for the updates on the issue.

15. Victim’s Identities Confirmed• After deciding to stay and monitor everything with the

Mayor’s absence playing on your decision heavily, you have heard confirmation of the identities of the two people in the car. It has been confirmed that they indeed are the bodies of Mr & Mrs Webelliott. You inform the family of this confirmation. They are understandably distraught. You have a press conference organised to tell the press about the information; however, the family do not want you to release their private information to the public.

– What information is considered to be ‘private’ in this situation? Do you proceed with the conference? Or do you keep the wishes of the family and not disclose the information?

16. The Stories

• You are now receiving a call from the Toowoomba Chroniclay who wants to know how the fire started and if there was anything that could be done to stop it. You refer them to the press conferences you have given.

• The next day, an article is set out, with a headline that reads:BULLOO COUNCIL: “DEATHS COULD HAVE BEEN

PREVENTED”

– In typical Chroniclay style, they’ve taken everything you said out of context and aren’t exhibiting the message you wanted to get out. How do you respond to this headline? Is it really detrimental to the council’s reputation?

17. Evacuation Centers at Capacity

• Both evacuation centres at Hungerford have almost reached full capacity. Although the QFRS has told you they have contained the blaze and there shouldn’t be anymore people looking for refuge, you’re still worried you may require more space.

– Do you contact the local high school and see if they can provide their school gym/hall if necessary?

18. The Damage

• QFRS have stopped the fire completely now. They have reported that there has been over 40 000ha of damage and a lot of properties have been severely impacted. It’s now 10am the next morning- 32 hours since the blaze first was reported. You decide to call a media conference to share this information with the public before people start heading home.

– Should you speak to the land owners who have had some (or all) of their properties impacted by the fire before you make the announcement?

19. Tricky Business

• It has been one week since the fire at Currawinya National Park broke out, and you have been receiving phone calls from various news sources and current affairs programs requesting a photograph of the couple that died and contact details of the victim’s families. – Do you give them a picture?– Do you give them contacts?

20. Resolution • As part of the reconstruction and rehabilitation, the QLD

Government has offered assistance packages to people who were directly affected by the fire. Because there was loss of life and the reason of their deaths could have been prevented, the council have decided to implement a fire and rescue training program to educate locals of the threat of fire. A training day has been scheduled and locals have been informed of this via email and letters.

– How do you ensure everyone gets the message? Do you think what the QLD Government is giving people is fair? Should more be done?

– What is your final statement?