Highlighting our international role

Recently I have attended a number of important meetings in Europe, highlighting the important role the Bushfire CRC plays not just in Australia, but internationally.

The Bushfire CRC and AFAC research partnership with the Bouches-du-Rhône Fire Brigade in Marseille is a fantastic opportunity for ongoing collaboration. I would like to thank all personal who attended: Dr Christine Owen, Andrew Lawson, John Hayes, Bryan McCarthy, Dr Claire Johnson, Reegan Key, Steve Yorke, Paul Turner and Bob Evans. The research collaboration would not have been possible without the hard work of Christine and Claire, as well as the Bushfire CRC’s Dr Noreen Krusel, who pulled together the trip whilst undertaking the very successful Human Factors workshops around Australia. Thanks too must go to Board member Murray Dudfield for his participation and support.

Joining us in Marseille was Dale Dague from the US Forest Service; partnerships such as this between some of the areas most at risk of bushfire in the world are incredibly important for shared learning.

I also attended meetings of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Wildland Fire Advisory committee and the International Liaison Committee meeting for the 6th International Wildland Fire Conference (Korea 2015) in Germany, as well as the Fire Management Actions Alliance Advisory Group meeting in Italy.

These opportunities reinforced the global recognition that the Bushfire CRC is the leading fire and emergency management research organisation in Australasia, as well as emphasising the Bushfire CRC’s significant global leadership role in promoting sound fire management based on scientific research.