MELBOURNE: Victims of Australia's deadly 2009 firestorm
have launched legal action against a Singapore power firm alleging
poorly-maintained electrical wires sparked the blaze, reports said
Saturday.
Lawyers representing almost 600 people lodged a class
action in Victoria's Supreme Court against Singapore Power for
allegedly failing to maintain an ageing line, which fell and
started the February 7 fire at Kilmore East.
It was the deadliest blaze of "Black Saturday", Australia's worst
natural disaster, claiming 119 of the 173 lives lost. Legal firm
Maurice Blackburn said the suit could be worth hundreds of millions
of dollars.
"We have heard strong evidence at the Royal Commission (into the
fires) that Singapore Power could have taken a number of steps to
prevent the devastating Kilmore East-Kinglake bushfire," firm
chairman Bernard Murphy told The Age newspaper.
"Electricity distribution companies are commercial enterprises that
have a responsibility to ensure that public safety is not
compromised simply in order to keep costs down. Singapore Power's
failures have had very tragic consequences."
The action currently has 598 plaintiffs but could grow to as many
as 1,300, including people who lost family members in the fire,
suffered physical injuries and lost property, or had ongoing
psychological damage, The Age said.
It will allege Singapore Power failed to fit a 10 dollar (8.70 US)
anti-vibration device to guard against metal fatigue and that the
circuit-breaker system was not adequate for a dry, windy,
fire-prone area.
The 1.1-kilometre (0.7-mile) single-strand line, one of the longest
in Victoria, was only checked every five years and rust and wire
deterioration could not be detected by ground crews, the case will
also claim.
Unusually for an Australian civil case, Maurice Blackburn has asked
that it be decided by a jury instead of a judge.
The Black Saturday fires rushed into small communities with little
warning, killing 173 residents as they sheltered in their homes, or
fled in cars. Entire towns were razed, reducing more than 2,000
homes to ash.
- AFP/jy
