On 13 February 2013, a tree fell on the fireground resulting in the tragic deaths of two firefighters, Katie Peters and Steven Kadar. Their loss was felt, and continues to be felt, by the department and broader emergency management sector.
On 17 December 2015, Coroner Olle concluded his inquest into the deaths and issued Coroner's Reports to the department. The Report made ten recommendations and four suggestions to improve the safety of personnel on the fireground when fire fighting in hazardous tree environments.
On 16 March 2016, DELWP submitted its response to the Coroner's Reports, committing to implement all recommendations and suggestions from the inquest.
The safety of our firefighters remains our number one priority and we are doing everything we can do to learn from this tragedy. We are working with our emergency management partners to make sure this work will benefit the whole sector.
We are committed to keeping the community informed as we progress this important work.
Page last updated: 09/06/17