Imagine you wake up to a day that will have temperatures in the 40o C and that is only in the morning. The smell of smoke is everywhere as 80+ fires roll across the state, the largest one with a…
Disaster and Emergency Management Conference – Stands are selling fast
Stands are selling fast for the 2017 Australian & New Zealand Disaster and Emergency Management Conference, held 22 – 23 May at Jupiters Gold Coast. If you have a product or service that you would like to promote to 500+…
What’s new in the world of standards?
Standards Australia develops and adopts voluntary standards for use in Australia. We do this to support the needs of industry, government and the wider community and help make Australia more efficient, productive and safe. In the fire protection and firefighting…
Australia’s unique approach to understanding natural disaster risks
Five of Australia’s six most costly natural hazard events have come from different perils: a tropical cyclone, an earthquake, a flood, bushfire and a convective storm. Over the last 20 years, a unique approach to understanding these risks has developed…
Economic impact of bushfires in NSW, ACT to double by 2050
The Climate Council, one of Australia’s leading authorities on climate change has said the cost of bushfires to New South Wales and the ACT is likely to more than double by 2050, adding an extra $100m per year to the…
New research will look at the delivery of aid to disaster zones by drones?
A research team funded by the Australian Red Cross and the Department of Foreign Affairs in Australia will examine how drones could help in relief efforts. The aim is to find out, is this a way to get humanitarian aid…
More hot weather predicted for Australia
Bureau of Meteorology’s summer outlook says 80% chance of December being hotter than normal in QLD, NSW, SA and Victoria. This will stretch volunteer resources that have already fought many bushfires already this season. Dozens of bushfires are currently still burning…
You don’t know what a big fire is
Unless you live in the Australian outback it is very hard to understand what a large fire is. One million hectares has now been razed by the bushfire after it was sparked by a lightning strike at Ellenbrae Station in…
A heatwave classification for heat related fatality risk
Research undertaken by Risk Frontiers shows that heatwaves are responsible for the largest number of deaths in Australia from natural disasters (Coates et al. 2014). In particular the South East Australia Region has been affected by 6 of the top…
Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services rescue tourists stuck on Uluru
Uluru, the popular tourist destination in the centre of Australia was the scene of a rescue when three tourist left the designated path and became stuck in a crevice. While climbing Uluru is not prohibited, the traditional owners of the…
Australian Fire & Rescue NSW Commissioner Greg Mullins announces retirement
The longest serving NSW urban fire chief in more than 100 years is set to retire, with Greg Mullins pulling the pin on his professional career which has spanned almost 40 years – in January 2017. Mr Mullins said he…
Exova Warringtonfire at the forefront of façade testing in Australia
Exova Warringtonfire, the leading fire testing and fire engineering organisation, has invested in new external fire cladding testing capabilities at its laboratory in Dandenong, Australia. The investment has introduced a new façade support rig and additional instrumentation to expand Exova’s…
Australian Fire Authorities’ world class exhibition shows off new technology
AFAC16 – Fire and Emergency Management Conference had 2300 delegates from all walks of the emergency services industry, from researchers to practitioner and suppliers at this week’s 2016 conference in Brisbane, Australia. Not only were the delegate numbers at record…
Will Australia have to cope with a tsunami?
Australians has a number of homegrown natural hazards, from bushfires in summer to storms in winter, cyclones up north and flooding along our rivers. But it doesn’t often stop to consider the threat posed by tsunamis. The vast majority of…
Australian town hit by 33 earthquakes in 30 days
What a headline, for the small town of Norseman, located 720 km east of Perth in western Australia. The tremors have ranged in intensity from 2.7 to 4.2 in magnitude with the exception of a 5.6 earthquake earlier this month.…
Fire fighter recruits ready for their next chapter at airports
Sixteen highly trained aviation rescue fire fighters have completed an elite 11-week training course at Airservices Learning Academy at Melbourne Airport, preparing them to respond to any incident on or around the airport within a matter of minutes. Graduating at…
Hainsworth Appoints New Consultant for Australian Fire Market
Leading protective textile manufacturer A.W.Hainsworth & Sons Ltd is pleased to introduce consultant Keith Ward who has joined the team to represent Hainsworth Technology in the Australian and New Zealand fire market. Keith has many years’ experience working in the…
Australian east coast storm event
The Australian east coast storm event of 4 –5 the June affected the entire eastern seaboard region producing heavy rain, strong winds and powerful surf. In particular, the coastal zone was impacted by an uncommon combination of large wave heights…
Woman on the second story urged to jump from burning Bondi apartment
In the Sydney beach side suburb of Bondi, a women was urged to jump from a second story window when fire broke out in a block of apartments yesterday. Although not in immediate danger the crowd below found some old…
Sydney’s hazard reduction burns cause discomfort
Sydneysiders woke to a blanket of smoke, with several taking to social media to share photographs of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House disappearing into the choking cloud of smoke. NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) has confirmed that smoke…
Emergency workers attacked while protecting the community
This is becoming a too familiar story for emergency services worker and it is increasing around the world. This week alone in Melbourne, Australia, firefighters and paramedics where attacked while attending emergency calls. In one event firefighters had a man…
Both sides of the Pacific facing wildfire at the same time
It had to happen, where once it was a clear demarcation between wildfire seasons on the east coast of Australia and the West Coast of the USA, they are now overlapping. It is only the start of the fire season…