A document titled “Potential opportunities for improved town and city bushfire protection across Australia” dated August 2020 has been prepared by John O’Donnell who is a former forester with the then NSW Forestry Commission. Source: Timberbiz
After the large bushfires impacting on many towns and cities in recent years, Mr O’Donnell considered it opportune to review potential bushfire protection opportunities for towns and cities across Australia.
He cited the following reasons:
- There is not a lot of information available focussed on town and city bushfire protection planning, organisation and opportunities, including guidelines, and there is some information scattered in bushfire inquiries and royal commissions;
- There have been large bushfire impacts on a large number of towns and cities;
- There have been a number of learnings from town and city bushfire disasters;
- There have been a number of learnings in regard to house and surrounds protection measures; and
- In some cases, town and city bushfire risk assessments have underestimated the potential risks, hazards and threats.
Mr O’Donnell said that it would be good to tease out this information into one focussed document, thereby teasing out potential bushfire protection opportunities for towns and cities across Australia.
The focus of this document is on exploring all opportunities to best protect towns and cities from bushfires, optimising resident safety and optimising firefighter safety. It is up to each town, city and local government area to develop strategies to best protect from bushfires, explore opportunities and to best protect personnel involved in fighting bushfires within towns and cities, addressing applicable state requirements.
This document will assist in exploring and teasing out potential bushfire protection opportunities for towns and cities across Australia.
The document has been issued in good faith in order to aid progression of this important issue.
The contents of the document include:
- Introduction and background information.
- Impacts of bushfires on people, towns and cities.
- Reducing bushfire risks, hazards and threats to towns and cities.
- Town and city bushfire protection guidelines and information documents.
- Potential bushfire protection opportunities and measures to reduce bushfire risks, hazards and threats to towns and cities.
- Town/city bushfire management plans and review.
- Comment and further input.
- Appendix 1. Town and city bushfire case studies.
- Appendix 2. Specific at residence bushfire risk, hazard and threat management prior to bushfires.
Additional ideas, opportunities, comments and input will be considered, and where feasible, can be added in into this document.
The contact email address is: [email protected]
The draft document can be downloaded here: Potential opportunities for town protection across Australia vs 3
