Forensic medical lessons learned from the Victorian Bushfire Disaster: recommendations from the Phase 5 debrief

The February 7th 2009 bushfires in Victoria, Australia, resulted in the deaths of 173 individuals, of whom 164 were included in the subsequent DVI operation. The final stage of the International DVI protocol is a debrief, referred to as Phase 5. The Phase 5 operational debrief process conducted in the wake of this disaster was designed for the purpose of developing new strategies in light of this experience. The agencies involved included the Coroners Court of Victoria, the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, the Department of Justice, and Victoria Police. During the course of this debriefing process strategies and protocols were developed which aim to improve the capacity of all agencies to respond and resolve future incidents. This paper outlines the Phase 5 debrief carried out in the 6 months following the final coronial identification board, and details the findings and recommendations made by the agencies involved.