FIREFIGHTERS who battled a bushfire in Western Australia last summer were not warned about a deadly wind change until moments before the flames engulfed their vehicles, killing firefighter Wendy Bearfoot.
Ms Bearfoot, 45, died and several others were injured when their trucks were trapped by a fast-moving firestorm at Black Cat Creek last October.
A report into the deadly bushfire near Albany revealed vital weather forecasts showing dramatic changes in conditions were not passed on in full to the firefighters in the heat of the battle.
And the investigation, released by the state's Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES), concluded firefighters were left stranded in the so-called 'Dead Man's Zone' when the wind shifted, pushing flames towards the crews in moments.
"Within about four minutes, firefighters were trapped in a burnover," the report says.
"The nature of the terrain, thick vegetation and that the fire approached the crews on an angle from behind meant that they may not have been immediately aware ... until the fire was close, giving them a short time to react."
While the fire was jointly managed by the City of Albany, DFES and the former Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) none "had a direct line of control", the report revealed.
Plus the stranded crews had no in-cab radiant heat shields to protect them from the flames, and were not recently trained in what to do when they were trapped by a burnover.
The report made 10 recommendations, including all vehicles entering the fireground to be fitted with one accessible fire blanket per person, and fire managers receive more training about how to properly interpret weather forecasts.
Ms Bearfoot, a mother of three, suffered burns to more than 60 per cent of her body, and died three weeks later despite intensive treatment in Royal Perth Hospital's world-renowned burns unit.
Colleague Charlene Hordyk, 25, suffered severe burns to 20 per cent of her body.
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