Australia Weather News

Volunteer firefighters say essential safety information is missing from the Bureau of Meteorology's (BOM) new website.

The BOM's "modern and sleek" website update was met with a storm of controversy since it went live last month.

First it was the accessibility and the colour scheme used in certain maps, and then the cost of the website was brought into question.

Volunteer firefighters in Victoria have warned that numerical fire danger ratings have not been transferred from the old site, a gap some fire chiefs fear could put lives at risk.

"I've also had a lot of calls from concerned residents in regards to [the new website] not having the fire index numbers," Glen Park CFA brigade captain Tracey Webber said. 

"People have noticed that that information is missing — not just me as a volunteer firefighter."

The new website does each region a rating using shades ranging from white (no rating) through to red (catastrophic).

What's missing?

During a Victorian fire season the BOM gives each of the state's 10 regions ratings out of five to indicate how dangerous a fire could be.

They run from "no rating" to moderate, high, extreme and catastrophic.

The old iteration of the BOM website also provided a daily numerical value, allowing residents and firefighters to know exactly where on the scale the forecast fell.

That information can no longer be seen on the new website.

"I think that level of detail [is something] people look for, particularly those that listen to the fire services about developing a plan for their own property and their family if something goes desperately wrong," dairy farmer and south-west CFA group officer Mark Billing said.

"There's a big gap between the ratings, so having the numbers sort of gives you the relative danger or the relative fire behaviour within that fire danger rating."

The ABC understands work is underway to migrate that information across to the new website and that in the meantime the information can be found on the old website.

The BOM was unable to give an exact time frame on when the information would be available on the new site.

"That one is going to be changed," BOM general manager of environmental prediction services Matt Collopy said.

"We are looking and working with the emergency management authorities, the fire authorities like CFA, to actually update that not just for Victoria, but for the country."

Fire season looms

Ms Webber will continue to keep a close eye on the new BOM website.

She is yet to shake her frustration with the updates, which have prompted calls for upheaval from the federal government.

"As a volunteer firefighter and as a farmer in the area, I used the BOM website on a daily basis," Ms Webber said.

"I am finding it very frustrating to find any of the information that was so easily and readily available before."

Mr Billing said it was essential the issue be rectified immediately, especially given the time of year.

"The season is virtually upon us and we'll only need a couple of dry weeks with a bit of north-westerly wind and the landscape will change quite rapidly," he said.

Mr Collopy said the matter would be addressed.