Safe Prevention, Preparation and Suppression

Program A

Bushfire management has four related goals – to prevent an uncontrolled bushfire occurring, to prepare in case it does, to suppress it if it arrives, and to enable rapid recovery after the event.

Fire managers need reliable tools that make the best use of emerging technologies to support their decisions in how best to manage the landscape, before, during and after a bushfire.

This program provided a better understanding of key issues such as fire behaviour, fire weather, bushfire danger rating, and strategies for aerial and ground suppression.

Bushfire CRC scientists conducted field experiments in Australia and New Zealand in partnership with the fire and land agencies to generate better fire spread models and enhanced systems to evaluate the fuel characteristics. Meteorologists worked with international colleagues and end-users across Australia and New Zealand to better predict the potential for bad fire weather. Hundreds of field reports from real bushfires were collected from aerial suppression supervisors and ground crews to find out exactly how effective it is to fight bushfires from the air.

End User Leaders in this Program included Phil Koperberg (NSW RFS), Tony Howe (NSW RFS), Bob Conroy (NSW Dept of Environment and Climate Change) and Steve Rothwell (QFRS).

Program Leader