Predicting the dynamic spatial patterns of fire front progress and fire destruction in the rural-urban interface zone

Living in the urban interface provides an idyllic lifestyle for many people.  However the environment which draws people to these locations also presents a potential threat to lives and property.  Proposed developments in Bushfire Prone Areas are subject to certain requirements.  These are detailed in documents such as the Australian Standard: Construction of Buildings in Bushfire Prone Areas (Standards Australia, 2001) and Planning for Bushfire Protection (RFS, 2006) and other equivalent state based documents.  These outline the requirements which need to be satisfied before development takes place.  They also provide existing home owners with options they can implement to improve the likelihood of their house surviving a bushfire event.  This research will look at quantifying the benefit of implementing these measures at a neighbourhood scale. 

 As part of this research an analysis tool will be developed which will allow various neighbourhood scenarios to be developed by a user.  These scenarios are then evaluated by a neighbourhood-scale risk assessment model.  This will allow a user to:

1)      Assess the benefit of developing a residential area which is compliant with BPM’s

2)      Asses the benefit of implementing building and construction standards across a neighbourhood of houses, and

3)      Assess the merit of an alternative strategy to reach a satisfactory outcome (eg. reduction in APZ offset by higher construction standard)