FIRE MANAGEMENT: Bushfire resources – arson & bushfires, bushfires & nature conservation, development in bushfire prone areas, bushfires & climate

Arson and bushfires

The Australian Institute of Criminology has published and catalogued a wide range of research on arson and bushfires including crime prevention.

Bushfires and nature conservation

The role of the South East Queensland Fire and Biodiversity Consortium (FaBCon) is to address the issues of fire and biodiversity within the imperatives of life and property protection. It does this by disseminating knowledge, investigating and implementing research and providing information to assist with fire management decision-making. FaBCon has produced and continues to develop a range of fire ecology research reports and guidelines, strategic fire management reports, landholder bushfire preparation materials and educational materials.
The NSW Nature Conservation Council (NCC) Hotspots Fire Project looks at how fire can be managed to conserve native plants and animals (biodiversity) and other natural assets – as well as the lifestyle and land uses we value. Through a coordinated program of research, training and education initiatives, Hotspots bundles up the latest developments in ecological fire management and puts them into a management framework for land managers and regional communities. Hotspots is trialling its approach in four regions of New South Wales – the Northern Rivers, Southern Rivers, Hawkesbury-Nepean and Central West.

Development in bushfire prone areas

Australian Standard AS 3959-1999 Construction of buildings in bushfire prone areas sets out requirements for the design and construction of buildings in bushfire-prone areas in order to improve their performance when they are subjected to burning debris, radiant heat or flame contact generated from a bushfire. Also includes a methodology for assessing categories of bushfire attack in respect of a site situated in an area that has been designated by a relevant authority as bushfire-prone.
The NSW Rural Fire Service Building in a Bush Fire Prone Area resources contain information that promotes an understanding of bush fire behaviour, bush fire assessment reports and the legal frame work that governs the planning process for proposed developments on bush fire prone land. The information would be relevant to current and future home owners, developers, planners, councils, fire authorities and other government organisations.
An example local government planning scheme bushfire risk code and policy can be found in pages 135-143 and 328-329 of the Gatton Planning Scheme.

Bushfires and climate