I'm sorry, says haunted Vic fire chief

Victoria's only remaining fire chief at the helm on Black Saturday has apologised
for his failures on the day and says he feels partly responsible for the 173 deaths
in the fires.
Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) chief fire officer Ewan Waller
said he was haunted by the tragic events that unfolded on February 7 last year.
"In one degree you feel personally responsible for all the deaths," Mr Waller said.
"Often you wake at night and think over things that did and didn't happen, so no,
it's not pleasant."
But he never considered resigning, even after receiving stinging criticism from the
bushfires royal commission.
The commission criticised Mr Waller for his lack of leadership on Black Saturday,
particularly in relation to warnings.
Speaking to the media for the first time since the commission's final report was
released four days ago, Mr Waller said he was "deeply affected" by what happened and
in hindsight would have done things differently on the day.
But he rejected the commission's findings that there were deficiencies of leadership
across the emergency services.
"I fully accept the statements made about me in the royal commission, I believe
they're fair and reasonable," he said.
"I'm fully accountable and responsible for my actions on the day and I will never
step away from that.
"Certainly I'm sorry for the people affected by the bushfires and if anything I did
aggravated that situation I fully accept that."
Mr Waller said he would not quit and had a leadership role to play in making
Victoria safe in the lead-up to the fire season.
But he ruled out putting himself forward for the new role of fire commissioner.
A fire commissioner is set to be appointed by October on the back of a
recommendation by the bushfires royal commission.
Mr Waller is the only fire chief remaining since Black Saturday after his Country
Fire Authority (CFA) counterpart Russell Rees quit amid a ground swell of criticism.
Earlier this week, Emergency Services Commissioner Bruce Esplin revealed he would
also stay on, despite being criticised by the commission.
Mr Esplin said he was encouraged by the government and supporters across Victoria
not to quit.
And he stands by the leadership team's decision not to declare a state of disaster
on Black Saturday, which the commissioners said would have reflected the gravity of
the situation and sharpened the focus of emergency services.
"The powers that a declaration of a state of disaster activates weren't considered
necessary and I think that was the right decision," he told AAP on Wednesday.
"I don't think that that's a fair criticism."
Mr Esplin is in the first year of a three-year contract.
He said he will also not be vying for the fire commissioner role, which requires
operational firefighting experience.