Why fly? How do we know that aerial firefighting operations are effective and efficient?

The goal of this study is to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of aerial firefighting operations in Australia, using both data analysis from the ARENA database and case study analyses of specific aerial fire-fighting incident responses. 

With better information, fire authorities can obtain and deploy the most suitable aerial firefighting aircraft based on the operating environment and the task at hand.

In partnership with the AFAC's National Aerial Firefighting Centre, this study will apply a statistical and geospatial analysis over the data contained within the Arena database, where over 10 years of data can be analysed. This analysis should describe aerial platforms in this data according to their efficacy (the ability of a system to meet the particular objective), and reliability (the probability that the system performs as required) for the different contexts.

This will be enhanced by the insights gained through carefully chosen case studies that will demonstrate complexities that are not apparent at the larger scale.

Through building these profiles of use, and assessing the effectiveness where the data is available, agencies will have the information they need to select the optimal mix of aircraft according to objective and cost.

The analysis of the data will also reveal information gaps in reporting, and how SOPs might be improved as a consequence. This will help to create a lasting national database that can be applied to risk mitigation models.