Topography, vegetation and climate combine in many parts of southern Australia to produce one of the most severe fire prone areas on Earth.
Agencies and indeed the wider community rely on appropriately trained personnel with a variety of skill levels for the safe and effective use of prescribed fire and for a rapid, safe and thorough response to wildfire.

All firefighters must be adequately trained and equipped and have their competency recognised prior to their involvement in firefighting operations. Several research projects have explored factors that have an influence on the health and safety of fire
fighters. The key occupational health and safety research of the Bushfire CRC has explored fire-ground fitness, hydration and the impact of air toxics (from burning vegetation) on fire fighters.

Other research has focussed fatigue while fighting bushfire – this research has published an overview of factors contributing to firefighter fatigue during bushfire suppression work. The research in this area is determining the effect of fatigue, stress, fitness and crew management on the health and safety of firefighters and identifying how this impacts on decision-making ability.

Researchers have also been investigating safe behaviour and decision making – what are the human factors that influence decision making on the fire-ground – such as physical and mental stress, group pressures at crew and management level, and the individuals on thought processes?

And volunteers - around 250,000 volunteers across Australia along with paid fire agency staff carry out bushfire mitigation and suppression operations each year. This volunteer effort is estimated to be worth about $1.2 billion to the community annually. Bushfire CRC researchers have been examining how agencies can best recruit and retain their volunteer workforce.

Proposed Seminars/Forums, Workshops and Specialist Courses

1. Seminars / Forums

1.1 Enhancing Volunteerism - TBA
This invitation only forum will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to be involved in a preliminary impact assessment of the research outcomes on the recruitment and retention of volunteer fire fighters.

1.2 Safe Decision Making - May 2009
This invitation only forum will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to be involved in a preliminary impact assessment of the research outcomes.

2. Workshops

2.1 Protecting Fire-fighters - September 2009
This pre-conference workshop at the Bushfire CRC Annual Conference will synthesise research outcomes from the research projects:

• Safe Decision-Making
• Fire-fighter Health and Safety
• Enhancing Incident Management Teamwork

Participants will be provided with an update on the research to date and have the
opportunity to discuss what the implications mean and the likely changes needed in organisational policy and practice.

2.2 Enhancing Volunteerism – September 2009
Rural fire services rely heavily on volunteers. This pre conference workshop will provide participants with information to help them develop agency strategic plans and develop policy concerning new ways to recruit and retain the volunteer workforce.

3. Specialist Courses

3.1 Protecting fire-fighters - TBA
In this three-day course participants will gain a richer understanding of the research conducted to date in the areas of safe decision-making; fire-fighter health and safety and enhancing incident management teamwork.

Participants will have the opportunity (where appropriate) of considering data pertinent to their agency context and to discuss the implications for changes that might be needed. Participants will gain an understanding of what factors lead to fire-fighters making unsafe decision and what can be done to assist. Participants will also learn about how they can determine and monitor the effects of fitness, stress, fatigue and what this means for crew management. Participants will consider how effective teamwork and organisational support has been measured and where agencies may look to improve teamwork and incident management.

3.2 Protecting Fire fighters – Building trainer expertise - TBA
In this three day course participants will review their current training strategies in relation to the research content provided in SC1–PFF ’Protecting fire-fighters‘ and plan and develop new training delivery approaches. Some time will be spent on reviewing the latest approaches to adult learning and training and on participants gaining experience in micro-teaching and/or developing curricula in selected research content.

4. Fire Notes

Eleven Fire Notes have been published. A further 19 Fire Notes have been identified for development.

5. Postgraduate Theses

One postgraduate thesis has been completed and a further ten are currently being completed. A list of students and thesis topics are on the BCRC website.

6. Specific Products

• A ‘risk based’ toolkit to assist with the management of exposure to Air Toxics is being developed. It should be available by mid 2009.
• ‘Good Practice’ guidelines for the retention and recruitment of volunteers are in preparation. They should be available by mid 2009.