Authors
Neal J. McCloskey, Robert J. Connick, Barton Phinney
Sponsor
Australasian Fire Authorities Council
Advisors
Peter R. Christopher, Lauren M. Mathews
Term
March – May 2010
Abstract
For most of Australia’s recent history of bushfire management the ‘Stay or Go’ policy was the generally accepted response system to wildfire emergencies throughout the country. However, the devastation incurred by the “Black Saturday” fires of February 2009 has established an urgent need to revise the Fire Danger Rating Scale (FDRS), and national response policies. This project has been commissioned by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council (AFAC), to assess the efficacy with which changes to the FDRS and warning systems have been adopted by state and territory fire authorities. Research conducted by this project has enabled us to provide recommendations to AFAC and these fire authorities as a means of establishing more effective fire response policy.
Final Report