ABOUT 30 victims of the Black Tuesday bushfires on Lower Eyre Peninsula are to lodge a multimillion-dollar class action against the Country Fire Service over its handling of the disaster that killed nine people.
The victims want others to join the action, which is based on a belief the fire should have been contained on the Monday night through back-burning operations and water bombing.
Victims are believed to have lost more than $100 million in property and stock in the January 11 fire.
The group has engaged an Adelaide law firm and has held a public meeting in Port Lincoln. An independent investigator has been hired to compile a report on the fires.
The victims, many of whom are volunteer firefighters themselves, are now awaiting the outcome of an expected coronial investigation before initiating legal action.
The CFS's handling of the fire has been the subject of several reports and will be a key factor examined in the coronial investigation.
CFS chief executive Euan Ferguson yesterday said it would be inappropriate to comment on any potential legal action.
Meanwhile, the man charged over the fires, truck driver Marco Visic Jr, has issued an emotional statement through his lawyer, Mark Semmens.
Mr Visic, 40, was last month charged with breaching a section of the Country Fires Act by not having a spark arrester in good order. The fire allegedly took hold when Mr Visic's car was driven in long grass near Wangary.
"My client feels immense sorrow for the devastation caused by the bushfire, to those who lost property and, more so, to those who were injured or lost loved ones in the fires," the statement says. "Mr Visic Jr and his family have suffered emotionally and are distressed by the fire, its consequences and the court charge. Mr Visic asks that he and his family are not vilified for what is the most tragic event on the Eyre Peninsula this century."
The fire claimed nine lives and destroyed 93 homes as it tore through 77,000ha of the lower Eyre Peninsula. Farmers reported 237 sheds and 139 pieces of farm machinery were destroyed. Almost 47,000 head of livestock was lost, including 46,139 sheep.
White Flat resident Patricia Pahl, who lost her house, said she had signed up for the class action because she believed the blaze was poorly handled.
She, like many other victims, claims that back-burning on Monday night could have restricted the extent of the fire, which broke out in up to eight places in extreme temperature and high winds the following day.
"I am not into suing people," Ms Pahl said yesterday. "But there was more that could have been done on that Monday night."
Ms Pahl's daughters, Cassandra, 13, and Helen, 11, fled their property in two four-wheel-drives as 20m-high flames approached. Almost six months after the ordeal, Ms Pahl said many in the community were still coming to terms with the tragedy.
Her family is still living in a caravan amid the rubble of their former home.
"Some days I'm crying, some days I can't talk, some days I'm laughing. It is just stupid," she said.
"The whole thing is very upsetting. It is affecting our kids. But we are so thankful we are alive."
Several victims fear the coronial inquiry will be delayed by a change in state coroners. Outgoing coroner Wayne Chivell, who toured affected areas immediately after the blaze, has resigned to take up a position as a District Court judge.
His replacement has not yet been announced.
"It is very disappointing – the Government should have more sympathy and kept the same coroner until he finished his job," Ms Pahl said.
"The new coroner will have to go over everything and get a gist of the whole thing and that's going to take months. I'm very disheartened about the whole thing."
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