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In September 2004, some fourteen months after the establishment of Australia’s Bushfire CRC, the then Prime Minister announced the allocation of an additional three million dollars for fire-related research in the high country regions of south-eastern NSW and north-eastern Victoria.
The findings of Australia’s most extensive study to date of the behaviour of high-intensity bushfires in eucalypt forests – Project Vesta – provide valuable new tools and information for fire managers across Australia.
Bushfire fatalities have long been a major concern for fire agencies and it has been the death of people in vehicles that has come under particular attention in recent years.
Fuel assessment and fire behaviour prediction training has been carried out with fire and land management agencies across Australia in recent months under the roll out of Project Vesta.
With 1325 delegates from 26 countries, and a trade exhibition of 110 stands, the joint Bushfire CRC and AFAC/International Fire Chiefs’ Association of Asia (IFCAA) Conference 2006 in Melbourne in August has been hailed as an event which exceeded all expectations.
Wind change matters to fire managers. It can change bushfire activity in a moment, shifting the flank of the fire to the fire front, suddenly putting fire fighters and communities at risk. A change in wind can also change the rate of fire spread, increase the quantity, distance and direction of downstream spotting, and change the safety status of residents and townships in a flash.
For Justin Leonard, studying water tanks, fences, windows and timber decks is not an indiscriminate or arbitrary choice. It is all part of one methodical scientific investigation – one compelling narrative.
As bushfires burn throughout Australia virtually all year round, the role of the firefighter remains a difficult one. With an ever expanding rural-urban interface, firefighters are often involved in protecting property and apart from the intense heat and physical demands, firefighters may also be exposed to bushfire smoke that contains a cocktail of volatile compounds.

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Posted: 10 years 4 months ago

After 11 years, we are about to enter the last month of your Bushfire CRC. It has been an incredible journey since 2003.

For me, what has stood out the most, notwithstanding the ground breaking research, is the culture change the industry has undertaken throughout this period. At the heart of this has been the close partnership between the Bushfire CRC and AFAC. The...

Posted: 10 years 4 months ago

There is only a month left of the Bushfire CRC, but there is plenty of activity going on. The Research to Drive Change series has been launched, with two successful online forums held. Keep your eyes peeled to the...

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