Bushfire survivors and RFS volunteers welcome coroner's call to overhaul bushfire systems

It's been more than four years since Conjola resident Greg Webb's home was reduced to rubble by one of the largest blazes of Black Summer, the Currowan fire."We were watching TV and the Western Australia fires were on the news and it just makes the hairs on your neck stand-up," said Mr Webb.

Ultimately three people were killed and 89 homes destroyed in Conjola and surrounding towns when the Currowan fire jumped the Princes Highway on New Year's Eve.The coroner concluded the decision to carry out a back-burn the day before as part of a containment strategy was appropriate, despite it causing spot fires.

Some community members in Conjola and Mount Wilson still believe back-burning was responsible for starting the fires that destroyed their homes. NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Rob Rogers said the agency has already adopted a previous recommendation for independent reviews of back-burn decisions."It is easy to criticise what happens with a back-burn but often if we do nothing then we get a worse or similar outcome anyway," he said.Another key issue considered by the inquiry was the shortcomings of communication systems.

The president of Cobargo Rural Fire Brigade recalled the terrifying moment his radio stopped working."We suddenly lost connection to the outside world, and we had to operate autonomously."

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