Research Events: 2004-2009

The Bushfire CRC has organised numerous research, training, and forum events over the years. You can access many of the presentations from these events below.

Gold Coast 2009: Meeting Expectations

A total of 1173 fire industry staff and fire researchers mixed at the annual conference of the Bushfire CRC on the Gold Coast. The conference participants discussed the latest innovations in fire science over the two day program, while many others also gained a more in-depth understanding at pre-conference workshops on community safety and protecting fire fighters and a seminar on fire, fuel and weather.

Professor Domingos Xavier Viegas has provided an overview of a research program on forest fires propagation carried out at the University of Coimbra, in Portugal, at a Bushfire CRC seminar.

The Bushfire CRC participated in the Australian Science Festival alongside the annual CRC Innovations Conference at the National Convention Centre in Canberra in late May 2009.

In September, 1130 delegates participated in the combined International Bushfire Research Conference 2008 and 15th Annual AFAC Conference. The event was held over three days at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

The 2007 Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre and Australasian Fire Authorities Council Annual Conference attracted almost 900 delegates from across Australia’s fire and emergency management industry and the fire research community to a waterfront venue in Hobart, Tasmania.

More than 60 residents, land owners and fire and land management staff have heard an update on the latest bushfire research at Stawell in western Victoria. The Bushfire CRC hosted a community forum at the historic Stawell Entertainment Centre on 28 August 2007. The Federal Member for Wannon, The Hon David Hawker, and the Mayor of the Northern Grampians Shire, Cr Robyn Smith, were invited to speak about the importance of ongoing bushfire research in the region.

A visit to the bushfire affected areas around Anakie and the Brisbane Ranges in Victoria brought a week long conference for science journalists to a close. More than 500 journalists from around the world attended the World Science Journalists Conference in Melbourne (16-20 April). In addition to the day tour on the final day, the Bushfire CRC coordinated a session on "Wildfire: Friend or Foe" and an exhibition stand shared with other Cooperative Research Centres.

Cooma residents have heard about a range of bushfire research projects underway in the region that are likely to influence future land management practices, in Australia and possibly internationally. The NSW Rural Fire Service hosted the session for the Bushfire CRC at the Cooma Fire Control Centre on the evening of 12 April 2007.

During March, 2007 a series of Fire Knowledge Network Executive Briefings were held in Brisbane, Hobart and Adelaide.

More than 150 invited guests from industry and government gathered for the first National Bushfire Forum at Parliament House in Canberra. A full day of discussion covered many topics but centred on the need for ongoing funding for research into bushfire management in Australia and New Zealand.

Mega-fires are extraordinary wildfires, in terms of their size, complexity, and resistance to control. Few in number they exhibit fire behaviour characteristics that exceed all efforts at control, regardless of the type, kind, or number of firefighting assets that are brought to bear. The Bushfire CRC, in conjunction with AFAC, arranged for Jerry Williams from USA to conduct a series of workshops with fire and land agencies on this mega-fire phenomenon.

The annual Bushfire CRC conference is run jointly with the conference of the Australasian Fire Authorities Council and attracted almost 1400 delegates in 2006.

The fire managers research meeting took place in July 2006 at the University of Wollongong.

The Bushfire CRC / AFAC 2005 Conference was a huge success, with over 600 delegates from Australia, New Zealand and international guests from Asia and the Pacific.

The first annual Bushfire CRC conference provided an excellent opportunity for delegates to become involved and engaged with the research at its early stages. There were already significant outcomes from some of the projects, and researchers and students used the occasion to network and establish new contacts.