Melbourne 2013: Annual Conference

The Bushfire CRC and AFAC Conference is Australasia’s Premier Emergency Management Conference, staged by the industry, for the broader emergency management community.

The 2013 conference was the 10th Bushfire CRC and the 20th AFAC Conference conference, marking a significant milestone for the industry.

The conference theme for 2013 was Shaping Tomorrow Together, reflecting that emergency services will need to work together collaboratively with the community and other partners from the education, health, business and research sectors, and all levels of government, to shape our future.

More details on the program and the week of activities here: www.afac2013.org

News from the Event

Largest conference yet draws 1900 delegates

This years conference was the largest yet

The final Bushfire CRC conference, held in conjunction with the AFAC annual conference, was full of highlights in Melbourne last week. Key aspects of the week included the full day Research Forum, as well as both the research utilisation and outstanding contribution awards.

Knowledge shared to strengthen emergency management

More than 1700 fire, emergency service, and land management staff will meet with fire researchers at the milestone 20th annual Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC) and 10th annual Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) conference at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre next week (2-5 September).

See you at the conference!

The 10th and final Bushfire CRC conference is almost upon us. This year the joint event with AFAC is at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 2-5 September.

Collaborative program launched

CFA Chief Officer Euan Ferguson launched the conference

More than 1400 delegates will come together in Melbourne from 2-5 September to discuss the latest challenges and trends in emergency management at the biggest and most important all hazards conference of its kind in Australasia, the 20th AFAC and 10th Bushfire CRC conference.

Other Resources

Moving Beyond “women are the problem”: How Can We Better Understand the Gendered Nature of Bushfire in Australia?

Emergency management in Australia is noticeably male-dominated. Recent research into rural fire services
in Australia has shown that women make up less than a quarter of volunteers and that many are placed in
non-operational or administrative roles.
This situation is not unique to Australia and many emergency and disaster management organisations
around the world still lack significant female...

Photo Gallery

Research Forum

Politics, Policies and Paradigms: Challenges of Change in Future Emergency Management

Senior fire and emergency services personnel have to manage many complex challenges and
these demands are going to increase in the future. Part of that complexity comes from a range of
interdependencies of social, technical and infrastructure systems. A core challenge for the emergency
management sector is that the number and intensity of adverse events is increasing, while factors driving
...

Water Quality Risk Due to Fire Disturbance: Tools for Quantifying

Damaging debris flows and other large erosion events are hazards that often emerge in mountainous
landscapes due to the combination of fire disturbance and intense rainfall. Quantifying the water quality
risk associated with these hazards is a complex task requiring deterministic catchment response models
in combination with models that represent the stochastic conditioning by fire disturbance and...

Research Posters

Communicating Risk
Author	Title
Sondra Dickinson	A Cautionary Tale: Why Multiple, Distinctive Approaches Are Necessary When Communicating Bushfire Risk
Ilona (Illy) McNeill Patrick Dunlop Prof Timothy Skinner Prof David Morrison	Are You Ready? Ready For What? – Preparedness In Relation To Intended Response To A Bushfire Threat
Marco DeSisto Prof Peter Fairbrother Prof John Handmer	Bushfire Investigation: An All-Agencies Integrated Approach
Jessica Boylan Prof Carmen Lawrence Prof David Morrison Prof Colin MacLeod	Bushfire Preparedness: The Development And Validation Of A Psychological Preparedness Scale
Prof Carmen Lawrence	Community Level Influences On Individual Bushfire Preparedness
Mary Cadeddu Dr Meagan Tyler Prof Jim McLennan	Couple’s Decision-Making Processes Involved In The Formulation Of A Long Term Household Bushfire Plan
	Determining Effective Wildfire Communication In New Zealand
David Barton	Disaster In Relation To Attachment, To Community, And To Place: The Marysville Experience
Cathy Yinghui Cao Ilona (Illy) McNeill	Effective Communication Of Household Bushfire Risk Through Web-Based Geovisualisation
Erin Doolan Prof Jim McLennan	Human Vulnerability And Residential Fire Death Risk Factors In Residential Fire Fatalities For The Mentally Ill And Socially Disadvantaged
Ben Reynolds	Legislation Or Cooperation? Bushfire Governance Structures In Victoria And Greece
Brenda Mackie	Operationalising Warning Fatigue
Prof Carmen Lawrence	Place Attachment: A Predictor Of Bushfire Preparedness In Regional Communities
Prof Douglas Paton	Promoting Community Bushfire Readiness Using A Community Engagement Approach
Dr Richard Phillips	R.A.R.E Or Well Done: Thinking About How The State Responds To Bushfire
Andrew Chapman Patrick Dunlop Ilona (Illy) McNeill Prof David Morrison	Understanding Community And Preparedness: Building Towards Bushfire Prepared Individuals

Contract Research - Department of Environment and Primary Industries
Author	Title
Anjali Haikerwal Dr Mick Meyer	Cardiorespiratory Health Effects Of 2006/2007 Bushfire Smoke In Victoria
Dr Peter Ellis Raphaele Blanchi Justin Leonard Dr Matt Plucinski Dr Andrew Sullivan	Fire Transitions Across Urban Boundaries
Dr Fiona Christie Dr Alan York	Foothills Fire And Biota Project: Providing Biodiversity Inputs For Fire Management Planning
	Forecasting Fire Activity In Victoria, Using Antecedent Climate Variables And Enso Indices
Dr Stephen Roxburgh	Measuring Spatial Variation In Fuel Moisture: From Daily To Seasonal Scales
James Minas	Probability Of Fire Ignition And Escalation
Dr Mick Meyer Dr Alan Wain Dr Andrew Sullivan Dr Kevin Tolhurst Dr Chris Weston	Smoke Emission And Transport Modelling: An Aide For The Management Of Planned Burns
Dr Fabienne Reisen Anjali Haikerwal	Smoke Impacts On Community Health And Social Perceptions
Dr Lachlan McCaw	Testing The Performance Of Australian Grassland And Forest Fire Spread Models
Prof Ross Bradstock Dr Matthias Boer Dr Trent Penman	Using Satellite Imagery And Flux Tower Measurements To Monitor Fuel Moisture Content: 2009 Black Saturday And Other Large Fire Events – Moisture Conditions Project

Economics and Future Scenarios
Author	Title
Dr Helena Clayton Prof Stephen Dovers Dr Geoff Cary Andrew Stark	Bushfire Management & Economics – What’s The Connection? “Understanding The Use And Usefulness Of Economic Evaluation In Bushfire Management Decision-Making”
Veronique Florec Prof David Pannell Prof George Milne	Economic Analysis Of Prescribed Burning For Wildfire Management In The South-West Of Western Australia
Dr Geoff Cary Dr Malcolm Gill Prof Ross Bradstock Prof Stephen Dovers Andrew Stark	Future Scenarios For Australian Bushfires: Providing Insights Into Future Fire Regimes And Their Implications For People, Property And The Environment

Managing the Threat
Author	Title
Cara Lord Dr Brad Aisbett	A Task-Based Physical Selection Test Prototype For Tanker-Based Firefighters
James Minas Prof John Handmer	Applying Operations Research Methods To Bushfire Management
Dr Michelle Short Robyn Pearce Stephanie Centofanti Cassie Hilditch	Beyond Endurance Sustaining Operations: Do Shorter Shifts Mitigate Fatigue Risk?
Dr Bradley Smith Dr Sarah Jay Dr Brad Aisbett Associate Professor Sally Ferguson	Can Volunteer Rural Fire-Fighters Accurately Self-Monitor Their Cognitive Performance?
Felipe Aires Dr Tina Bell Stuart Matthews	Can Woody Weeds Change Fire Intensity And Behaviour?
Anastasi Kosmadopoulos David Darwent Associate Professor Sally Ferguson	Comparing Performance During Split Consolidated Sleep / Wake Schedules
Hari Ram Shrestha Dr Kevin Tolhurst Dr Chris Weston	Effects Of Long-Term Repeated Prescribed Fire On Litter And Soil Carbon And Nitrogen In A Mixed Eucalypt Forest
Steve Curnin Dr Christine Owen	Emergency Management Liaison Officers (EMLO): How Do They Do It?
Grace Vincent Dr Brad Aisbett Associate Professor Sally Ferguson	Fighting Fires While Fighting Fatigue How Do Firefighters Sleep During Wildfire Suppression?
Dr Tina Bell Neil Cooper	Fire In The Landscape
Colin Simpson Dr Grant Pearce	Fire Weather Associated With A Foehn Event In The South Island, New Zealand
Tarryn Turnbull Prof Mark Adams	Fires And Hydrology Of South-East Australian Mixed Species Forests
Dr Liubov Volkova Dr Chris Weston	Forest Carbon Balance And Emission Management
Dr Malcolm Possell Meaghan Jenkins Dr Tina Bell	Greenhouse gas emissions from fire and their environmental effects
Dr Will Thurston Dr Kevin Tory Dr Robert Fawcett Dr Jeff Kepert	Idealised Numerical Modelling Of Bushfire Plumes And Their Potential For Firebrand Lofting
Jared Grunwald Dr Chris Bearman	Identifying and resolving breakdowns at the regional management level
Dr Roshan Bhakta Bhandari Dr Christine Owen	Influence Of Organisational Features In The Perceived Performance Of Emergency Management Organisations
Lai (Cheryl) Poon Dr Tina Bell Meaghan Jenkins	Is Charcoal Immortal? Microbial Decomposition Of Black Carbon Produced From Forest Fires
Dr Will Thurston Dr Kevin Tory Dr Robert Fawcett Dr Jeff Kepert	Large-Eddy Simulations Of Bushfire Plumes In The Turbulent Atmospheric Boundary Layer
Martijn Van Der Merwe James Minas	Modelling The Assignment Of Resources During Large Wildfires To Protect Assets
Dr Christine Owen Prof Douglas Paton Dr Roshan Bhakta Bhandari Steve Curnin Dr Chris Bearman	Multi - Agency Emergency Management And Coordination Above The Incident Management Team
Dr Fabienne Reisen	Particle emissions from bushfires extending into the rural-urban interface
Stephanie Centofanti Dr Michelle Short Cassie Hilditch	Recovery Of Cognitive Function Following Simulated Split Sleep Schedules
Alex Wolkow Dr Brad Aisbett Associate Professor Sally Ferguson Luana Main	Sleep Deprivation & Stress Responses: Could Emergency Work Have A Negative Impact On Your Health?
Cassie Hilditch Dr Michelle Short Stephanie Centofanti	Sleep Inertia In Sustained Operations
Dr Sarah Jay Dr Brad Aisbett Dr Bradley Smith Associate Professor Sally Ferguson	Sleeping On The Fireground
Jessica Heath	Soil Carbon And Water Repellency Response Post-Wildfire
Dr Peter Ellis Simon Heemstra Dr Andrew Sullivan	Spotfire Initiation By Firebrands
Brianna Larsen Dr Brad Aisbett	The Effect Of Extreme Heat On The Performance Of A Simulated Firefighting Task
Darryl Dixon	The Exposure of Emergency Service Personnel to Asbestos
Vicky Aerts Dr Tina Bell Prof Mark Adams	There’s Something In The Air: The Effect Of Bushfire Smoke On Plants
Rene Van Der Sant Dr Gary Sheridan Petter Nyman Dr Patrick Lane	Using Landscape Aridity To Assess Potential Risk Of Extreme Post-Fire Erosion Events
Dr Miguel Cruz Dr Andrew Sullivan	Vertical Fire Transitions And Propagation Mechanisms In Eucalypt Forests
Valerie Densmore Dr Tina Bell Prof Mark Adams	Wattle-It-Be? Key Factors Influencing Regeneration Of Acacia After Bushfire
Mika Peace	What Is A Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Model? … And Why Are Coupled Models So Great?

Understanding Risk
Author	Title
Justin Leonard	3D Ray Tracing For Modelling Bushfire House Exposure Fire Impact & Risk Evaluation from case studies- FIRE-DST
Tarnya Kruger Dr Ruth Beilin Prof Rod Keenan	A ‘Responsibility To Place’ – Firefighter Deployment, Local Knowledge And Risk
Alex Sims	Activity Modelling For Risk Assessment And EM Applications Focusing On Peri-Urban Regions
Dr Jessica Weir	Bushfire Aware Planning: Preliminary Focus Group Results From Four Jurisdictions
Rachel Carter	Catastrophic Risk Insurance In Australia…With The G20 Australian Presidency In 2014 Now Is Our Chance To Shine
Christine Eriksen Dr Nicholas Gill Dr Trent Penman Prof Ross Bradstock	Co-Existing With Fire: Managing Risk And Amenity At The Rural-Urban Interface
Amanda Edwards	Diverse Values, Shared Vision? Changing Human / Fire / Land Relationships In New South Wales
Raphaele Blanchi Justin Leonard Dr Katharine Haynes	Exploring the spatial, temporal and localised context of bushfire fatalities and house loss in Australia
Grahame Douglas	Extreme Value Analysis In Determining Annual Probability Of Exceedance For Bushfire Protection
Ian French Bob Cechet	FIREDST: Building Community Resilience By Simulating The Uncertainty In Bushfires.
Dr Mick Meyer	How Big Is The Bushfire Smoke Problem? Emission To Impact
Douglas Brown	How Do Residents in Bushfire Prone Areas View the Risk of their Homes?
Dr Michael Eburn Prof Stephen Dovers	Mainstreaming Fire And Emergency Management: Law And Policy Learning
Dr Robert Fawcett Dr Will Thurston Dr Jeff Kepert Dr Kevin Tory	Modelling The Fire Weather Of The Coonabarabran Fire Of 13 January 2013
Kangmin Moon Dr. Thomas Duff Dr Kevin Tolhurst	Relating Vertical Wind Profiles To Vegetation Structure For Fire Behaviour Prediction
Sandra Lauer	Volunteer Rural Fire Brigades: The Meat In The Sandwich. A Study Of The Rural Fire Service In The Monaro Region Of South-East New South Wales
Dr Blythe McLennan Prof John Handmer	What Is Shared Responsibility And How Do We Do It?

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