From...
Select Committee on the recent Australian Bush Fires 25/07/2003
Mr McARTHUR —Just as an aside, you comment in your report that one of the bulldozers was unable to operate because the blade did not meet DSE specifications. That is an interesting twist of technology. Could you enlighten the committee as to what meets specifications in terms of bulldozer blade width?
Mr S. Paton —I have no idea what the DSE blade specification width is, nor could I care less. But I know that one float, towed up from Eildon, presented itself on the driveway across from my ski shop and a little bloke in a pair of overalls and a fast truck turned him back to Eildon. They were appealing for bulldozers to come and help them with the forest. I heard the commotion and went over to try and find out what was happening. This bloke had to turn around and go away again because his bulldozer blade didn't suit the spec. God knows whether that changed in the next 48 hours or not, but that was the status at the time.
Mr McARTHUR —Did they measure the blade to make sure?
Mr S. Paton —Yes; they ran a tape over it and looked at it from different angles.
As (also) was related to me by my cousin...the blade was too big. Anything bigger than a D4 blade is not allowed. My Dads day they were using D9s!