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Keelty fire report months away

Residents affected by November’s bushfires are in for a long wait to read special investigator Mick Keelty’s findings.

The former Federal Police chief’s focused inquiry into the blazes started by the Department of Environment and Conservation were handed over this week.

Principal project officer Cole Thurley from the Department of Premier and Cabinet said all the inquiry’s interviews were finished, with the last week spent putting together the final report for the Public Sector Commissioner.

There would be no public briefing on the findings, with the investigator’s role concluded unless the team were to return to Margaret River at another stage to present the report to the community.

Mr Thurley said the report would be assessed by the WA Government first and any information for Margaret River residents would come from them. Although the inquiry was not an investigation into DEC’s controlled burning practices, he said the inquiry team hoped the information would inform how such blazes were conducted in the future.

The Times understands interviews led by Mr Keelty were wide-ranging, taking in authorities such as the United Firefighters Australia and the Bushfire Front.

Wallcliffe Volunteer Bushfire Brigade captain Brett Trunfull confirmed he recently gave evidence, but couldn’t disclose the details while the report was still under wraps.

“I don’t think we’ll see anything for some time,” he said.

“I think the Government will sit on it and wait until it has cooled down.”

The Times understands an innovative computer tracking log of local brigade vehicles, championed and developed by the Wallcliffe brigade, was also part of the evidence supplied to Mr Keelty.

The system recorded feedback from emergency service radios to locate vehicles in a process similar to global positioning systems.

The radios deployed in the Capes originally shared the same serial number, but innovation by Wallcliffe brigade members meant each vehicle’s location and activities while on the job could now be tracked and recorded.

Members of local brigades who did not want to be named said they provided very important information to Mr Keelty that would support a negative finding.