Enhancing resilience and safety in bush and grass firefighting: adapting interdisciplinary and international frameworks for Australian contexts

There has been significant progress in understanding the effectiveness of suppressing bush and grass fires in recent years. However, safety, economic impacts, and firefighting efficiency play a complex role alongside this scientific advancement. The sporadic nature of data availability within fire agencies poses a challenge, affecting operational strategies and broader responses. To address these issues, innovative frameworks and interdisciplinary approaches are imperative.

This Fellowship will investigate ways to adapt interdisciplinary and international frameworks in bushfire suppression for Australian contexts. Dr Nick McCarthy will visit the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand and the U.S. Forest Service, to explore how to incorporate resilience engineering into firefighting and adapt U.S. fire suppression risk management to Australian contexts.