- Title:
-
Fiery Women: Consulting, designing, delivering and evaluating pilot women's bushfire safety skills workshops
- Date:
- September 2008
- Organisations
- BCRC
- Authors:
- D.A DeLaine, J. Probert, T. Pedler, H. Goodman, C.M Rowe.
- Location:
- Australia, Australia
Overview
The International Bushfire Research Conference 2008 - incorporating The 15th annual AFAC Conference, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
The number of women dying in bushfires has increased over the last 30 years (Haynes 2007). In relation to the Wangary Fire, Researcher Mae Proudly (2006 pers comm.) noted that the absense of men from the home at the time of the fire and a knowledge gap of women with regards to fire fighting skills. Nine people perished in that fire, seven of them were women and children.
Gilbert (2004) also noted that in two communities he studied near Melbourne, that in many cases women recounted they relied on the knowledge of their partners. If household members with more bushfire knowledge and experience are away at the time of the fire, women are left to face the incident not knowing what to do or how to operate equipment. Women are more likely than men to want to evacuate, but will not leave without their families, especially children.
A unique opportunity was provided to gain first hand experiences and thoughts of a significant number of women directly or indirectly affected by the Wangary Fire through Local Grants Scheme funding by Emergency Management Australia. Women have been consulted to assist in determining knowledge and skills gaps and to indicate what they would like to see in future education programs. The input and insights gained from this consultation have been used to determine the resources and expertise required to deliver pilot workshops specifically designed for women.
