As technology becomes increasingly integral to safety during emergencies, the reliability of mobile communications has come under scrutiny. In response to this pressing concern, a community in Victoria has developed a proactive strategy to address potential disasters.
On January 8, 2026, authorities in Victoria issued dire warnings about an impending catastrophic fire risk for the following day. The Country Fire Authority (CFA) characterized the conditions as the most perilous experienced throughout the summer. In a central Victorian brigade, social media announcements served as urgent reminders of the devastating Black Saturday fires, which had claimed 160 lives in the same area during a similarly treacherous situation.
In Castlemaine, a town with a population of approximately 7,000, Fiannuala Morgan urged her parents to evacuate their home located in the arid hills just outside the town. While she opted to remain in Castlemaine, she was acutely aware of the fire risk as the temperature soared to 31 degrees by the next morning. “Though I understood the catastrophic rating, I lacked a full grasp of its implications,” Fiannuala recounted. “When the fire ignited, it escalated rapidly.”
Events unfolded swiftly. A powerful, scorching wind arrived, likened to the opening of an oven door, causing power outages. Fiannuala’s emergency app began to malfunction, and her attempts to contact her parents via phone were unsuccessful. “My emergency app froze, and I couldn’t reach my mother or father through text or call,” she explained.
Nearby, a grass fire was advancing toward Harcourt, a town celebrated for its apple orchards. Fortunately, Fiannuala managed to connect with her brother in Melbourne, who provided updates through the VicEmergency app. She eventually climbed a hill to find better reception and witnessed the alarming transformation of the sky as smoke turned it a foreboding orange hue. “I had always believed Castlemaine was a safe area, but in those conditions, I realized that nowhere was truly safe,” she reflected.
In her home, Fiannuala placed her Persian cat in the bathtub to shield it from the heat as the air conditioning failed alongside the power. With no backup radio, she resorted to her car’s radio for updates, only to learn that the broadcasting tower in Mount Alexander had succumbed to the flames.
Feeling isolated and concerned for her parents, who were sheltering with friends, she made the risky decision to seek them out despite the hazardous driving conditions. “It wasn’t responsible to go,” she admitted, noting the erratic behavior of other drivers. Upon reaching them, she found that her parents also struggled with poor mobile reception and access to emergency information.
As the afternoon wore on, urgent alerts advised residents of Harcourt to “shelter indoors immediately.” The rapidly spreading grassfire ultimately destroyed 66 homes, leaving behind a stark contrast of devastation and untouched properties. Fortunately, a shift in the wind spared Castlemaine from the worst of the destruction.
For Fiannuala, who teaches publishing and communications at the University of Melbourne, the experience prompted a profound awareness of the risks posed by inadequate communication networks amid increasing natural disasters exacerbated by climate change. She emphasized that the systems in place for crucial services like bushfire alerts have not been sufficiently reinforced. Recent telecommunications developments, such as the rollout of the NBN and the decommissioning of reliable copper-wire landlines, have left communities like Castlemaine vulnerable and uninformed during emergencies.
Fiannuala warns that future incidents could have fatal consequences. She envisions individuals, cut off from information, making perilous decisions that could lead them into danger.
The shortcomings of communication networks have been highlighted repeatedly, particularly after the Black Summer fires of 2019-20, which underscored the failures caused by power outages. Reports have consistently called for improvements to telecommunications infrastructure to ensure communities can access essential emergency information during critical times.
Recent outages from providers like Optus and Telstra have further illustrated the vulnerabilities of our communication systems, raising concerns about the reliability of emergency calls.
Amidst these challenges, Vince Di Pietro, a former naval aviator and ex-CEO of Lockheed Martin Australia, is spearheading a unique initiative. Residing in a region affected by both floods and fires, Vince is committed to enhancing community resilience against such disasters. During a visit to his home in Nowra, New South Wales, he shared insights into his innovative project aimed at addressing these pressing communication issues.
