Posted on by Bernard Corden

CFA Fixville – No one here gets out alive

Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards

Aldous Huxley 1

imageThe Country Fire Authority (CFA) has legislative responsibility for handling fire and other related emergencies throughout regional Victoria in Australia. It employed a significant proportion of volunteers and regularly conducted firefighting and emergency response exercises at its spiritual home, the Fiskville training college near Ballan, approximately 80 kilometres northwest of Melbourne. The site provided residential accommodation for career firefighters and activities typically included classroom delivery of contemporary theory supplemented by rigorous practical exercises on a designated training pad to simulate an extensive range of emergency scenarios. The facility was also occasionally used by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade and selected corporate clients. 2–6

A former chief fire officer and instructor spent 25 years with the organisation and lived at the Fiskville accommodation quarters for several years during the late 1970s. The senior employee was eventually diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease and battled multiple cancers for almost 15 years. Following extensive personal research serious concerns emerged regarding the use of contaminated recycled water, chemical exposure and the prevalence of cancer amongst numerous other firefighters and instructors who lived and worked for many years at the Fiskville complex. A meeting was arranged with a board member to discuss the abnormal corollary although it was suddenly cancelled for unexplained reasons. Meanwhile, the employee’s condition deteriorated rapidly, which required hospitalisation with specialised intensive health care. A casual and rather indifferent corporate response left the victim and immediate dependents somewhat disenchanted. There was no alternative but to seek assistance through various media outlets via an intense focus on their traumatic plight and the travesty of justice. 7–17

Extensive investigations via Sun Herald journalists revealed many further disturbing allegations, some of which dated back almost 30 years. A slops or muck truck was frequently used to supply a cocktail of flammable or combustible liquids to the facility, which were often donated from various petrochemical companies and fuel depots throughout Melbourne and regional Victoria. The toxic solvents were ignited and extinguished using perfluorinated chemical foams and contaminated recycled dam water during emergency scenarios at the firefighting training pad. Liquids were usually mixed and often handled, decanted and stored haphazardly in unlabelled corroded containers. Redundant drums frequently contained dregs or residues and were subsequently buried in the immediate environs. Many of the chemicals were linked to heart, kidney and liver damage and an extensive range of autoimmune and blood disorders. At least nine people died from cancer related illnesses, which were correlated to chemical exposure at the site and a further eight individuals experienced serious health problems. 18–26

Despite a geotechnical investigation in 1988, which reviewed waste disposal protocols and identified environmental contamination and exposure to benzene and other aromatic carcinogens, Fiskville employees and local residents were never informed of the associated risks. Indeed, there was increasing substantive evidence that firefighters and instructors were exposed to a lethal cocktail of carcinogenic chemicals from the specific firefighting activities. This included incorrect use, handling and storage of dangerous goods at the Fiskville site. Political pressure was also escalating and the smoke alarms awoke Rip Van Winkle (aka the torpid state premier Toorak Ted Baillieu), from his slumbers. The laissez faire acolyte and free market fundamentalist promised a full investigation, which was corporate doublespeak for a superficial whitewash using taxpayers money. 27–35

 

 

The decision was supported by the Country Fire Authority and its senior executives although the entire process degenerated into a sinister but somewhat familiar sanitised ritual that merely sacrificed truth and accountability to protect reputations. Its subsequent report attracted extensive criticism, especially from several Fiskville victims, the United Firefighters Union of Australia and some local residents. Serious concerns were raised regarding a perceived conflict of interest, which undermined any skerrick of integrity. The organisation’s chief executive officer and lead investigator were former colleagues and previously held senior roles within a principal state regulator, the Environment Protection Authority Victoria. Its subsequent investigation would inevitably assess their previous public service performance and the duo remained silent about the anomaly and failed to disclose any incongruity. Furthermore, an independent review regarding the decision to appoint Professor Rob Joy conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers inexplicably disregarded or evaded the enigma. 36–46

The manicured terms of reference constrained the investigation and failed to examine any events or dangerous practices at the facility beyond 1999. This unilaterally prescribed limit circumvented a critical recruitment campaign, which conveniently excluded many conscripts that passed through the training college at the turn of the millennium. The investigation was restricted to arbitrarily and qualitatively defined target groups and was unable to establish any statistical significance between exposure to carcinogens and the abnormal cluster of cancer related illnesses. However, it did recommend additional epidemiological health studies, which were eventually undertaken by the Monash University Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health under its Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine. The health study was designed to investigate overall cancer incidence and mortality rates amongst Fiskville firefighters, instructors and other defined target groups. Despite several limitations, the extensive research ultimately confirmed a statistically significant increased cancer rate amongst the high risk category, which encompassed firefighters and instructors working on the Fiskville training pad. 47–55

Meanwhile, the initial whistleblower eventually succumbed to numerous cancers and many other victims and distraught dependents were left chasing smoke in their quest for compensation and justice. Most of the claimants were dehumanised and frequently encountered a tyranny of bureaucracy, which defused and diffused their anger and sorrow into a vacuous officialdom. The patronising disposition of unaccountable power was exacerbated by traditional and somewhat sinister but all too familiar delay, deny and die tactics……The time to hesitate is through no time to wallow in the mire, try now we can only lose and our love become a funeral pyre. 56–61

Following a Victoria state election in November 2014 the Liberal National Party coalition government under Denis Napthine was defeated and the Australian Labor Party assumed office via the leadership of Daniel Andrews. The incumbent premier promptly announced a public inquiry into the operation and management of the CFA Fiskville training academy. The terms of reference were extended to cover operational activities beyond the new millennium, which triggered the resignation of its chief executive officer on the eve of the inquiry in February 2015. 62–69

CFA Fiskville was the spiritual home for many rural Victoria firefighters and epidemiological evidence suggests that contamination from its operational activities contributed to a cluster of occupational cancers and other related illnesses. Moreover, health and safety concerns, especially regarding contaminated water and the handling and storage of dangerous goods, which included perfluorinated firefighting foams were abruptly disregarded or ignored. The egregious performance of senior executives and management left numerous firefighters and community members feeling angry, frustrated and betrayed with many abandoned families shrouded under a brume of despair and anxiety. 70–76

 

 

This was exacerbated by obstructive and uncooperative document recovery processes during the public inquiry. It merely prolonged proceedings, consumed valuable resources and shredded any skerrick of organisational accountability. Meanwhile, the lingering panjandrums and deadwood sacrificed truth via an obedience to the orthodoxy to preserve power and protect reputations. Evidence throughout the public inquiry indicates it was inconceivable that senior management was unaware of the operational or material risks. The regular engagement of independent consultants to review site activities and document extensive reports confirms recognition of their occupational health, safety and environmental responsibilities although the organisation often failed to address many of the recommendations. Furthermore, a dictatorial organisational culture persistently discouraged any internal criticism or complaints. This invariably left many subordinates and trainees somewhat reluctant to report any concerns about environmental contamination or potential occupational health and safety risks in case it jeopardised professional career expectations and future job opportunities. 77–82

During March 2015 extensive potable water quality testing identified significant widespread quantities of perfluorooctane sulfonate across the site. The pollution extended to previously uncontaminated locations, which included hydrants and auxiliary pipework surrounding the training pad. The surfactant is classified as a persistent organic pollutant and was used as an additive in several perfluorinated firefighting foams. There is conflicting information regarding its toxicity and inconclusive evidence to categorise the substance as a human carcinogen. However, amidst the public inquiry the CFA board members confirmed it could no longer guarantee the safety of people and the environment at the site and announced its permanent closure. The state government under Daniel Andrews endorsed and reinforced the decision and a media release was issued accordingly. 83–89

 

 

During the public inquiry the role of WorkSafe Victoria came under intense scrutiny and the regulatory authority attracted extensive and often excoriating criticism. Over ten years its inspectors made 117 visits to the site but failed to address many significant operational risks, which included the handling and storage of dangerous goods and potable water quality. It even provided a letter of assurance confirming the safety of firefighting water at the site although it did not conduct any testing and its understanding of the water source was somewhat vague. Following the decision to close the facility for safety reasons WorkSafe Victoria merely acted as a nonchalant observer. Its egregious performance as a safety ombudsman provoked the state government to demand accountability, which resulted in the resignation of its chief executive officer and chairman. 90–96

It is indisputable that many people were harmed following a persistent litany of unsafe conditions and practices across the Fiskville site and the victims have a right to meaningful justice. However, it is much more than financial compensation and justice delayed is merely justice denied. The existing avenues for compensation were a deplorable and somewhat dehumanising tyranny of bureaucracy, which prompted the state government to introduce presumptive legislation for its firefighters. 97–102

Another disappointing feature throughout the public inquiry and recurring theme was the lassitudinous response Australia’s peak industry health and safety body over such a significant operational or material risk. Despite or maybe in spite of its grandiloquent vision and proclamation as a voice for the unique perspective of its profession, it failed somewhat predictably to afford official representation at the numerous public hearings or provide any written submissions. Meanwhile, it repeatedly promotes shallow national and regional safety conferences and other regular events that merely regurgitate Heinrich’s junk science and Skinner’s black box psychology amongst its cohorts of solipsistic, acquiescent and pseudo-academic recreants….You know that it would be untrue, no time to wallow in the mire. Try now we can only lose; Come on baby light my fire. 103–110

Arbeit macht frei

Arbeit macht frei is a phrase meaning work sets you free. It was used throughout Germany in the 1930s to counteract the scourge of unemployment and eventually appeared above the entrance gates of Auschwitz, Mauthausen-Gusen and many other Nazi concentration camps during the second world war. The slogan originated from a novel by Lorenz Diefenbach and extolled the virtue of labour for many disparate vagabonds on the road to Damascus. It promised liberation but the eventual outcome with its devastating humanitarian consequences was not the kind anyone wanted or envisaged. 111–115

Sinister strategic planning underpinned by an ideology of hostility and hatred became a bureaucracy of death. The mechanisation of slaughter began with exclusion, dehumanisation, internment and atrocity, which is a biproduct of apathy and the bastard child of a complacent public. An insidious impiety was embedded into language and quotidian transactions until it induced a collective paralysis and the inertia became normalcy. The dehumanisation of others via prejudice, racism, narcissism, solipsism and intimidation sets us on the slippery slope to barbarism. This drift into failure or navigating the treacherous safety space between the production and protection dichotomy is a deceptively narrow trajectory, especially amidst a vulgar climate of casino capitalism. 116–120

Many decades have passed since the killing fields of Hawks Nest, Aberfan, Farmington or Moura 4 and some sociologists familiar with Godwin’s Law may repudiate any comparison with death camp atrocities. However, despite prescriptive or performance based legislation and a trojan horse of industrial manslaughter offences, the industrial carnage continues relentlessly. The doublespeak and insincerity is evident throughout many Australian factories, construction projects and mine sites via their entrance gates, which are frequently festooned with similar beguiling propaganda and turgid sludge such as Zero Harm or Safety is our No. 1 priority. It is usually supported by indoctrinating inductions and misinformation using manipulated reactive metrics such as lost time or total recordable injury frequency rates, which perverts the significance of events and insinuates false intentions….Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive. 121–129

In Australia, its self-proclaimed peak industrial safety body has recently responded by changing its brand name to the Australian Institute of Health and Safety. However, without a skerrick of vision the organisation is morally bereft and philosophically rudderless. It is merely polishing a turd or putting lipstick on a pig in a belated, desperate and otiose attempt to repair a tattered image and restore its diaphanous integrity. Moreover, a maxim from Edmund Burke resonates………….The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. 130–131

Speak up

 

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out –

Because I was not a socialist.

 

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out –

Because I was not a trade unionist.

 

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out –

Because I was not a Jew.

 

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.

Martin Niemöller (1892 – 1984) 132

 

 

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