A group of researchers from various state fire agencies and research organisations has been assembled by the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre to look at key issues arising out of the February 2009 Victorian bushfires. 

The purpose of the research is to provide the Australian fire and land management agencies with an independent analysis of the factors surrounding these series of fires. This knowledge will be shared across Australia and internationally and will assist with the Royal Commission and other investigations and inquiries.

The research is considering which fires were ordinary or extreme and which were extraordinary; that is, exhibiting fire behaviour outside known experience. Three research teams are looking at the impacts of a selected sample of fires in order to gain a broader understanding of all the fires.

The research teams are made up of people with a mix of expertise in building analysis, human behaviour, community education, bushfire behaviour, fire weather, and fire investigation.

The Bushfire CRC has conducted similar research on behalf of fire and land management agencies after tragic fires in Canberra in 2003 and on the Eyre Peninsula in 2005.

Research teams are looking at the following areas:

1. Fire Behaviour

The focus is on strategic fire behaviour – how the fires moved across different landscapes, different vegetation, and under variable weather conditions.

2. Human Behaviour and Community Safety

This is focusing on behaviour and decision making by residents, community responses to bushfire warning messages and the implication of these events on policy.

3. Building (Infrastructure) and Planning Issues

The researchers are looking at patterns of loss and patterns of survival of buildings and structures, the notion of defendable space and planning and building controls and their impact on patterns of building losses.

Multi agency crew deployment into fire impacted areas commenced on 12 February 2009. The research crews deployed to the field have been rotated every five days with fresh crews. All rotations have been coordinated through the Bushfire CRC office to ensure a coordinated managed process and comprehensive briefing and debriefing of teams.

Research Teams have been deployed to the localities of St Andrews, Kinglake, Kinglake West, Clonbinane, Bendigo Murrindindi, Strathewen, Churchill, Jeeralang, Callignee, Koornalla and Wandong.

PARTICIPATING AGENCIES and ORGANISTATIONS:

• NSW Rural Fire Service
• Tasmania Fire Service
• NSW Fire Brigades
• CSIRO
• Metropolitan Fire Brigade
• Terramatrix
• AFAC
• Country Fire Authority
• Bushfire CRC
• NZ Scion
• GeoScience Australia
• RMIT University
• Department of Environment and Conservation WA
• Bodycote Warringtonfire (Aust)

(This article first appeared in the Autumn 2009 issue of Fire Australia magazine.)