The Inala Road On-site Learning Field Ride Final Report

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BushfireTopic: 
Fire Behaviour
Fire Management
Human Resources
Risk Management
Project Reference: 
TitleThe Inala Road On-site Learning Field Ride Final Report
Publication TypeReport
Year of Publication2014
AuthorsStack, S, Owen, C
AbstractOn 9th and 10th July 2013, six months after the devastating Inala Road Fire, the Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) conducted an on-site learning field ride (The Ride) for 40 participants from TFS, Forestry Tasmania and Parks and Wildlife, to hear the stories of key fireground personnel who were on the fire-ground during the 3rd and 4th January when the Inala Rd fire escalated and took its run. The purpose of the Field Ride was to better understand what fire ground personnel faced, their experiences, challenges and decisions in order to draw out key lessons that would strengthen organisational capacity to deal with future large scale and catastrophic events. The Ride involved a process of working with the original fire- ground personnel to draw out their stories while, at the same time, remaining sensitive to the ongoing psychological impacts of this process, given the extraordinary nature of the event in their lives. This report summarises: the process of the Field Ride including the objectives for TFS; the lessons captured from the two stages of the Ride program – both from the fire ground personnel and the participants of the second Ride; and the insights gained and resources required for running a program of this nature to help in the development of future Field Ride events.