Editor's note: The recordings from the event can be found on the AMOS Youtube channel
using the tag "Fire Weather". Hyperlinks to the recordings referenced are provided
throughout the article.
of variation to cover other inputs as well as another layer that
has 300 types of global variations that cover different fuel
characteristics across Australia.
In terms of fuel, there is now a single national map, instead of
individual ones. Also, there have been improvements made to
develop a more comprehensive fire code. However, incidence
and growth of fires will be addressed over the next couple of
years through research projects in order to produce an ignition
index, a suppression index and an impact module. After Black
Saturday, all these improvisations have been made to better
represent fire of the landscape and protect communities into
the future.
Paul’s take-home message was that the new FDRS being
developed will be more representative of the Australian
landscape. While bushfires are inevitable, there will be an
improvement in response strategies.
Alen Slijepcevic (Country Fire Authority (CFA)) spoke about
curing and how it is used to produce fire danger ratings. While
much has been done on grasses and fuels for decades, there
are still gaps to overcome. As a result, field observations that
were created to learn about different conditions of curing on
grassland showed grassfires spread. Also, crops were observed
as another potential fuel target for the FDRS.
Furthermore, much work has been done with grass and fuels
in relation to protection for crews battling fire after the loss of
five firefighters in 1998. Depending on the water capacity that
a unit can hold, different mechanisms have been tested and
implemented such as a water deluge system for units with
1000 litre capacity and compressed air foam system (CAFS) and
polymer based gels for the units holding less than 1000 litres.
Testing on unburnt forests in a bushfire scenario was done. One
unit relied on water deluge, the second unit had the polymer
BAMOS
Mar 2019
gel system and the third, CAFS. All vehicles and the conditions
inside were such that the crews could survive.
The CFA is now using a system called Phoenix to simulate
current fire, fire propagation and determine where to use
wildfire treatments to prevent fire spread.
Alen’s take-home message was that we all have a shared
responsibility when it comes to bushfires. We all need to
make decisions and be accountable whether as governments,
agencies or communities.
Dr Richard Thornton (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC) and his
colleagues undertook a major project focussing on community
awareness of Black Saturday, exploring why some dwellings
survived while others perished and trying to capture ground
fire indicators.
Since then, much research has been conducted covering topics
from how fires affect runoff and water quality, to the impact of
forest regrowth on water supply, and how firefighters work in
severe conditions.
In terms of community perceptions, many still overlook fire
preparation, so it is up to practitioners to work with stakeholders
to manage risk. Yet with the use of text and social media
channels, real-time messaging and warnings can be relayed
across networks.
In terms of fire seasons, they are becoming lengthier than
usual and globally, events are happening outside the typical
fire season. Furthermore, there is the danger of relating fires to
climate change yet in reality, it is up to communities to decide
where to live and the environment they choose to stay in.
Richard’s take-home message was the need to be ready for the
inevitable and how to reduce the impact of those conditions.
Also, there is the need to build resilience into communities to
live through such events.
Event speakers (from left to right) Michael Reeder, Alen Slijepcevic, Richard Thornton, Mika Peace and Paul Fox-Hughes,
gather with Andrew Marshall, AMOS President and MC, Tanya Ha. Image: Priya Mohandoss
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