Posted March 20, 2018 16:33:38

Photo: Forensic police inspect the damage left by the bushfire. (ABC News: Matthew Roberts)

The Fire Brigade Employees Union (FBEU) says more houses could have been saved in Tathra's bushfires if the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) accepted initial offers of help.

The bushfire in the coastal town has destroyed at least 69 homes and damaged 39 more.

The FBEU has accused the NSW RFS of rejecting offers of support from Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) because of an ongoing "turf war" between the two fire services.

Union official Mick Nairn said there were FRNSW resources near Tathra which could have been made quickly available in the firefighting effort.

"There were multiple crews set up ready to deploy that day and it appears if it is correct [that] head office of the RFS has refused those offers of service, heads need to roll," Mr Nairn said.

"If resources were on the ground in a position to protect those houses, there could have been more saved.

"Clearly somebody here has made a grave error. If that is the case, we need an open and transparent inquiry to get to the bottom of it.

Photo: Ingrid Mitchell and Deborah Naif walk through the remnants of their house on Wildlife Drive, Tathra. (ABC News: Matthew Roberts)

"The competition between the state's two fire services is dysfunctional and dangerous."

The RFS has defended its decision to reject the initial offers of assistance.

A spokesperson said the calls for support were rejected because based on information at the time, it was determined it would have been too difficult for the pumpers on offer to get to the area.

"The local NSW RFS duty officer who received the offer of assistance, based on the information they had on the location and terrain, identified that the vehicle would not be able to gain access to the area," the spokesperson said.

"As an urban structure firefighting vehicle, the pumper is not suitable for firefighting areas off established roads and does not have the correct safety equipment to be working in a remote bushland area.

"Five NSW RFS brigades were on scene and fighting the fire for a number of hours in that area."

The spokesperson said when the situation escalated further support was requested.

"When the fire jumped the Bega River and escalated, assistance was requested and provided by Fire & Rescue NSW, as well as further NSW RFS brigades," they said.

The FBEU has previously criticised the RFS, saying in 2015 there had been an ongoing turf war which had affected firefighting efforts.

Topics: disasters-and-accidents, fires, unions, nsw, tathra-2550