Recent efforts to combat bushfires in Bullsbrook showed a "lack of coordination" says agricultural group, the Western Australian Farmers Federation.
It took two days to bring the fire under control after flames and smoke forced residents to evacuate from their homes on Thursday and the blaze burnt through 1,460 hectares of land.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services was questioned over its handling of the fire by the WAFarmers on Tuesday.
WAFarmers President, Dale Park, said while he recognises the difficult role DFES plays, the local knowledge of community firefighters should be used in dealing with bushfires.
"Recent fires in the Bullsbrook area highlighted the lack of coordination between DFES and local fire fighting branches," he said.
"Local firefighters have a vast knowledge of their regions and to combine this knowledge with the expertise of DFES would result in better responses to fire emergencies," Mr Park said.
Mr Park said while DFES has an overriding responsibility, they must also utilise all available resources, including the local knowledge of fire fighters.
"Fighting fires is a complicated and dangerous task so it makes sense to use all our resources to ensure a positive outcome and to limit inconvenience to road users as well as local industry," Mr Park concluded.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services have been contacted for comment.
