A group of researchers from various state fire
agencies and research organisations was 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 was 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 has assisted the
Royal Commission and other investigations and inquiries.
The research considered which fires were ordinary
or extreme and which were extraordinary; that is, exhibiting fire
behaviour outside known experience. Three research teams looked at
the impacts of a selected sample of fires in order to gain a
broader understanding of all the fires.
The Taskforce assessed more than 1300 homes,
interviewed more than 600 residents and took more than 21,000
photographs. The Taskforce assembled researchers from state fire
agencies and research organisations to examine the key issues in
the bushfires. Teams of researchers have now completed their work
in the field including at Strathewen, pictured.
The research teams were comprised 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 examined the following areas
1.
Fire
Behaviour
Focussed on strategic fire behaviour –
how the fires moved across different landscapes, different
vegetation, and under variable weather conditions.
2. Human Behaviour and Community Safety
Issues
This area examined:
- Behaviour and decision making by residents
- Community responses to bushfire warnings messages
- The implications of these events on policy.
3. Building (Infrastructure) and Planning
Issues
Researchers examined:
- Patterns of loss and patterns of survival of buildings and
structures
- The notion of defendable space
- Planning and building controls and their impact on patterns of
building losses.
