- Title:
-
100 Years of Australian Civilian Bushfire Fatalities: Exploring the trends in relation to the 'stay or go policy'
- Date:
- May 2008
- Organisations
- BCRC
- Authors:
- Katharine Haynes, Amalie Tibbits, Lucinda Coates, Gaminda Ganewatta, John Handmer and John McAneney
-
Location:
-
Australia,
Australia
Overview
Australian bushfire policy for community safety is unique. Rather than attempting to evacuate all those who may be in the path of a bushfire, fire authorities in all States allow the public to make a choice: either get out of the area early, or prepare to stay and defend homes and property from the fire. However, apart from a handful of postfire investigations, no detailed research has ever been carried out into the circumstances of all recorded bushfire deaths in Australia. A detailed database of Australian bushfire fatalities has been created by Risk Frontiers as part of a larger database of Australian natural hazards. This was augmented through a thorough documentary analysis of forensic, witness and police statements within coronial inquest reports. The database includes details of 552 civilian fatalities over the last 100 years. It provides a unique opportunity to assess the circumstances in which people perished and the suitability of the ‘stay and defend or leave early’ policy.
