Fire Australia Autumn 2014

Autumn

2014

PRODUCING A CLEARER PICTURE OF SMOKE TOXINS BEST PRACTICE PLANNING AND ADVICE IN BUSHFIRE-PRONE AREAS STRENGTHENING EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN THE PACIFIC

FUELLING THE FIRE NEW BUSHFIRE FUEL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

Analogue Addressable Automatic Fire Alarm Systems F100A Analogue Addressable System 2-4 Loops up to (99 detectors and 99 modules per loop)

F120A Analogue Addressable System 2-20 Loops up to (159 detectors and 99 modules per loop)

Extinguishing Agent Release Systems

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Thermal Fixed Temp

Thermal Fixed + ROR

Linear Beam Detector

Manual Callpoint

Multiple Input/ Output Modules

Alarm Acknowledge Facility Module

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Joint editors Joseph Keller (FPa australia) tel +61 3 8892 3131 email joseph.keller@fpaa.com.au nathan maddock (Bushfire CRC) tel +61 3 9412 9605 email nathan.maddock@bushfirecrc.com mandy Cant (aFaC) tel +61 3 9419 2388 email mandy.cant@afac.com.au Fire Protection association australia (FPa australia) ABn 30 005 366 576 editoriAl PAnel Barry lee oam, Peter Johnson nAtionAl President trevor Voevodin chieF executiVe oFFicer scott Williams Po Box 1049, Box hill Vic 3128, Australia tel +61 3 8892 3131 FAx +61 3 8892 3132 emAil fpaa@fpaa.com.au WeBsite www.fpaa.com.au

australasian Fire and emergency Service authorities Council (aFaC) ABn 52 060 049 327

President Greg mullins afsm Vice President Paul Baxter chieF executiVe oFFicer stuart ellis am level 5, 340 Albert street, east melbourne Vic 3002, Australia tel +61 3 9419 2388 FAx +61 3 9419 2389 emAil afac@afac.com.au WeBsite www.afac.com.au

Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre (Bushfire CRC) ABn 71 103 943 755 chAirmAn len Foster ao chieF executiVe oFFicer Gary morgan afsm level 5, 340 Albert street, east melbourne Vic 3002, Australia tel +61 3 9412 9600 emAil info@bushfirecrc.com WeBsite www.bushfirecrc.com

Production And desiGn coretext tel +61 3 9670 1168 WeBsite www.coretext.com.au

Fire Australia magazine is printed by a printer with iso14001 environmental management system Accreditation using vegetable-based inks onto Fsc-certified paper. issn 1032-6529 (Print) issn 2200-9221 (online)

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autumn 2014 In thIs Issue 14 30 32 16 34 18 36 20 40 24 44 28 RegulaR featuRes 2014 AFAC and Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC Conference—After disaster strikes, learning from adversity

Sharing responsibility— more than a slogan Fire protection at mine sites

More companies take up FPAS

Fire Protection Industry (ODS & SGG) Board update

Producing a clearer picture of smoke toxins

Strengthening emergency management in the Pacific

Student success

Fire safety in churches and cathedrals

Bushfire Planning and Design Scheme launches in Victoria

Fire science at the extremes

Fuelling the fire—new Bushfire Fuel Classification System

About Fire Australia

Fire Australia is a joint publication of the Fire Protection Association Australia (FPA Australia), the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC) and the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre (Bushfire CRC).

We aim to bring the latest news, developments and technical information to the fire protection industry, emergency services and fire research organisations.

Fire Australia is produced quarterly and distributed throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Editorial submissions are welcome and can be sent to joseph.keller@fpaa.com.au.

For more details on submitting a contribution, please contact the editors.

If you would like to advertise in Fire Australia, please contact: Joseph Keller, FPA Australia, PO Box 1049, Box Hill VIC 3128, Australia Tel 1300 731 922 Email joseph.keller@fpaa.com.au

5 6 46 48 49 50

In this edition News Blast from the past Calendar of events FPA Australia TAC and SIG update Standards Australia update

adveRtIseR lIstIng 2 4 9 10 12 13 17 23 26 35 39 43 47 50 51 52

Pertronic Fire Factory Alan Wilson Insurance Brokers Fusion Advanced Lorient Firesense Fire Protection Technologies Bulbeck Reliable Fire Sprinklers Victaulic FLIR Xtralis Lubrizol Archer Testing Firebox Viking

Our cover: the national Burning Project aims to improve the national performance of bushfire fuel management.

PhOtO: the ViCtORian dePaRtment OF enViROnment and PRimaRy induStRieS Disclaimer n the views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of FPa australia, aFaC or the Bushfire CRC. articles and advertisements are published in good faith but Fire australia magazine and its agents do not warrant the accuracy or currency of any information or data contained herein. Fire australia magazine and its agents do not accept any responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to the material in this publication. n it is not possible for FPa australia to ensure that advertisements published in this magazine comply in all respects with the Competition and Consumer act 2010 and the provisions which apply to advertising. Responsibility lies with the person, company or agency submitting the advertisement for publication. n material in Fire australia magazine is subject to copyright. this publication may not be reproduced in printed or electronic form without permission. Contact 1300 731 922.

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in this edition in this edition benefits from a decade of fire research

M

ore than a decade ago, Australia and New Zealand embarked on a coordinated fire science program through

By Gary the Bushfire Morgan Cooperative Chief Executive Research Centre Officer, (CRC)—the Bushfire CRC first such effort to include a broad scope of scientific disciplines.

Covering two large research programs (2003–10 and 2010–14) and supported by all fire and land management agencies on both sides of the Tasman, along with more than 20 research organisations, bushfire knowledge has been significantly enhanced through the Bushfire CRC. Research has been successfully integrated into agency culture and our partners have applied, and will continue to apply, research findings to benefit communities and the environment.

The tragedies of 2009’s devastating Black Saturday bushfires are well known. The effects are still felt today and will continue for decades to come. The way in which we approach fire management in this country has been changed forever. Bushfires of the scale experienced on that fateful day raise

many research questions for agencies. It was on this foundation that the second phase of Bushfire CRC research was built. So what has the science taught us since 2009?

Bushfire CRC researchers completed a thorough investigation of the 2009 fires—what people did or didn’t do, how houses burnt or didn’t burn, how the fire behaved in different areas. The Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission relied on our science for its recommendations, which have changed the way we deal with the threat of bushfire, not just in Victoria but around Australia and New Zealand. This has been built on, with similar research carried out on other major fires in Western Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales.

These include last October’s major blazes in the New South Wales Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands and Port Stephens areas. This vast body of research benefits every fire agency. Based on the science, agencies can refine their community preparedness and warning messages, giving a more detailed understanding of what it means to be prepared, and issue more targeted and timely warnings.

But it’s not just community safety.

Firefighters have benefitted and we now know so much more about how to keep them safer. Just like elite athletes, firefighters need proper hydration, nutrition and rest to ensure they can perform at their peak.

Our understanding of extreme fire weather is now more advanced. We know more about how weather affects fire behaviour, including the interaction of wind and temperature on varied topography and vegetation types. Our knowledge of fire-spread across the grasslands that adjoin the urban–rural interface of our major cities and towns, as well as the forests and alpine areas, is now more advanced thanks to Bushfire CRC science.

The change in the way that bushfires, and indeed other hazards, are managed has been strengthened by the extensive and concerted research efforts. We know more.

But we do not know all the answers, and we never will. But we must seek to learn more, as our population grows and becomes exposed to not just more fire, but cyclones, floods and other natural disasters too. This is why the research is now transitioning logically to an all-hazards approach, through the new Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC. Readers of Fire Australia magazine will be aware of the new CRC through previous issues. From the next issue (Winter 2014), the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC will join the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council and the Fire Protection Association Australia as partners in the publication.

In the coming months, the Bushfire CRC will be running a series of events to inform all partners of the research outcomes. See page 8 for more details.

We need to ensure lessons are learnt from each emergency event, and that policies and practices are changed, based on sound scientific research, to safeguard the community. There is still a lot more to do. I look forward to following the next phase of fire and natural hazards research.

Research following major fires has allowed fire agencies to refine their community preparedness and warning messages.

We now know more about keeping firefighters safe and healthy, thanks to the science.

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Gas pipeline explosion at GhislenGhien, BelGium, July 2004— lessons learned Motorola Solutions—AFAC Knowledge Event Series

Kapitein Commandant Jan Jorissen completed his studies in civil engineering at the University of Brussels (VUB) in 1991 and commenced his career in the fire services. In 1997 he was appointed as the Fire Chief of the Lommel Fire Brigade in Belgium. Over the years Kpt. Cmdt Jorissen has developed a passion for the fire services and is committed to the continuing education and training of firefighters.

Jorissen is a member of various education committees and workgroups such as the Board of BrandweerVereniging Vlaanderen (the Association of Flemish Firefighters) and President of the Koninklijke Limburgse Brandweerbond. He represents Belgium at the European Fire Officers Association (FEU). He has assignments with the Centre of Knowledge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and is President of the workgroup ‘Incidents with Subterranean Pipelines’.

After the July 2004 Ghislenghien gas pipeline explosion, in which five firefighters died, including the Fire Chief of the local fire brigade, Kpt. Cmdt. Jorissen led the commission into the investigation on how the disaster occurred.

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AFAC, with the support of Motorola Solutions, is pleased to be bringing Kaptein Commandment Jan Jorissen of the Lommel Fire Brigade, Belgium, to Australia in April to present on the lessons learned from a gas pipeline explosion at Ghislenghien, Belgium, in July 2004.

When a high-pressure natural gas pipeline ruptured in the town of Ghislenghien, 29 people died and more than 122 were injured. The disaster was the first of its kind to claim the lives of local residents and, due to ongoing legal proceedings in Belgium, many lessons have not been well circulated. Australia, as a major producer of natural gas with a number of highpressure gas pipelines, has much to learn from this incident.

AFAC is delighted that Motorola Solutions is once again sponsoring the Knowledge Event Series. This year marks the fifth year of Motorola Solutions’ support for AFAC, and has allowed this exciting professional development opportunity for the sector to take place. AFAC is proud to be aligned with the principles of Motorola Solutions Foundation and together both organisations can help increase the capacity of fire and emergency service personnel by sharing national and international best practice.

For more information about the event in your jurisdiction contact Mandy Cant, AFAC Communications & Events Coordinator, by email at mandy.cant@afac.com.au.

Motorola Solutions—partnering with AFAC to bring knowledge to the emergency services.

about motorola solutions

Motorola Solutions is a leading provider of mission-critical communication products and services for public safety, government and enterprise customers.

Through cutting-edge innovation and communications technology, Motorola Solutions enables its customers to be their best in the moments that matter. It is a worldwide leader in nearly all of the markets it serves, with a highly diversified customer base, operations in more than 65 countries and an unmatched portfolio of innovative technology offerings. Motorola Solutions meets a wide range of customer needs through its public safety solutions, mobile computing technology, data capture, integrated command and control communications, WLAN solutions and life cycle approach to services.

presentation dates perth, Western Australia – 8 April 2014 adelaide, South Australia – 10 April 2014 melBourne, Victoria – 14 April 2014 hoBart, Tasmania – 15 April 2014 sydney, New South Wales – 16 April 2014 BrisBane, Queensland – 23 April 2014 darwin, Northern Territory – 29 April 2014

industry strateGiC direCtions

More than ever before, agencies are responding within an ‘all-agency, all-hazard environment, all of the time’ framework, resulting in an increasing need for strategic direction to be articulated in a single, collective, national document. In an effort to align a national approach to service provision, AFAC has developed a new strategic document to guide fire and emergency services. Strategic Directions for Fire and Emergency Services in Australia and New Zealand 2014–2016 was endorsed at the Standing Council on Police and Emergency Management (SCPEM) , a sub-committee of The Council of Australian Governments (COAG), on 8 November 2013. This strategy was prepared to inform, clarify intent and lead to a shared national vision, while also encouraging joint commitment across AFAC agencies, high-level officials and Ministers.

The following four principles, fundamental to the work of fire and emergency services, underpin the document: 1. primacy of life—As the major motivation for the industry, saving life dominates all aspects of fire and emergency work, including equipping, training and planning deployment.

2. trust—Fire and emergency services depend on a high level of trust not only within crews, teams, units and brigades, but also with key stakeholders such as local government and communities.

3. interoperability—Most emergency incidents generate a response from a variety of agencies, thus requiring sharing of information, approaches and philosophies, as well as interoperable equipment, procedures and a clear understanding of command and control.

4. accountability—As publicly funded services, fire and emergency services must be accountable to communities, governments and their stakeholders.

services to focus on information as an operational capability, to commit resources and actively share information to enable individuals to make appropriate and informed decisions during emergencies.

4. effective governance and resource management—Managing the substantive resources of the industry, while meeting the legislative, policy and reporting requirements.

5. informed by research—By contributing to an industry-based national research capability and maximising use of research, fire and emergency services can ensure evidence-based best practice and decision-making is implemented in the industry.

This is the first occasion where a nationally endorsed direction for fire and emergency services has been produced. It provides an endorsed strategic alignment from COAG, through jurisdictions to AFAC agencies.

Strategic Directions for Fire and Emergency Services in Australia and New Zealand 2014–2016 is now available for download on the AFAC website at www.afac.com.au.

Subscribe to AFAC Keep up with the latest thinking on incident and emergency management

AFAC – the peak body for all fire, land management and emergency service agencies in Australasia has launched a subscription service; • Latest research, reports and insights • Industry data and news • Standards Updates • Industry doctrine including positions and guidelines • Information on AFAC work groups, networks and projects • Fire Australia magazine • AFAC e-newsletter

Subscribe at afac.com.au to access a wealth of industry information.

Annual subscription AU$245

Established in conjunction with the national principles, five key directions were developed to achieve the strategy’s overarching objectives. These directions are: 1. supporting resilient communities through risk reduction—Communities are being increasingly supported in risk mitigation through risk identification and the provision of advice, education and information sharing. When necessary, mitigation measures such as relocation or sheltering are also implemented.

2. providing trusted response—Through training, planning and safely responding to incidents, fire and emergency services can be trusted and relied on by their communities.

3. the source of credible and timely information—It is essential for fire and emergency

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO PUT RESEARCH TO GOOD USE The major event marking the end of the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) will be conducted as a series of online, interactive forums that require your participation. The Putting Research to Good Use forum series will be conducted online in May, June and July 2014 on specific areas of bushfire science.

This approach will be very practical for most partners to enable as many of their staff, volunteers and researchers as possible to participate. Your participation is the essential first step to using the research. The Bushfire CRC has an obligation to ensure the research findings are widely available to all partners and to the wider community. These series of

sCientists in the media

With southern Australia experiencing a hot dry summer, Bushfire CRC experts were in high demand from the media.

In January, the Australian Science Media Centre ran a media briefing for journalists on bushfires. Economics and Future Scenarios Project leader Geoff Cary, from the Australian National University, and Human Behaviour Under Stress Project leader Jim McLennan, from La Trobe University, discussed what bushfires may look like in Australia’s future climate and why people do or don’t prepare for bushfire.

Listen to the briefing at www.smc.org.au.

Researchers have also been involved with the Australian Science Media Centre’s scientist-in-residence program. Principal Scientific Advisor Drew Dawson, from Central Queensland University, spent time at the Adelaide Advertiser, while former Bushfire CRC researcher Trent Penman, from the University of Wollongong, advised the Sydney Morning Herald.

Read their news under ‘In The Media’ at www.bushfirecrc.com/ news. Many other researchers have featured on the radio and in print.

You can listen to and read all the media reports through this link.

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events will be interactive, with attendees able to watch and listen online to presentations. Attendees will be able to ask questions of the speakers and download key publications in advance to help them prepare. Importantly, each session will be recorded and made available online, leaving a strong legacy for the future and for the general public.

The research is progressively concluding in coming months. Outputs are becoming available, with the focus now on widely communicating the key findings of the research to partners and the community.

The online Putting Research to Good Use forums will be a new, exciting way for the Bushfire CRC to communicate findings.

Your participation in the final phase of the Bushfire CRC research will allow the outcomes to be made available to all.

researCh now aVailaBle Bushfire CRC research is now being finalised and final research reports are becoming available.

The Operational Readiness of Rural Firefighters (Air Toxins) Project identified, measured and modelled toxic emissions that firefighters could be exposed to while fighting fires at the urban–rural interface, see page 18.

Read the final report at www.bushfirecrc.com/publications/ citation/bf-4326.

The Sharing Responsibility Project sought to open up a process of the widely supported principle of shared responsibility.

Undertaken by John Handmer and Blythe McLennan from RMIT, the research supports decisions about how to pursue a vision of shared responsibility in emergency management, see page 30.

Bushfire CRC science has determined what toxins firefighters could be exposed to in urban–rural interface bushfires.

View the final report at www.bushfirecrc.com/publications/ citation/bf-4290.

The Social Construction of Fuels in the Interface 2 Project was a pilot research project. The University of Melbourne’s

Ruth Beilin and Karen Reid applied the process of ‘place mapping’, new to the sector, to gain a better understanding of how communities in rural–urban areas perceive native vegetation in the context of their landscape.

Results showed the place-mapping process can provide community members with a mechanism through which to communicate their perspectives on the landscape.

View the final report at www.bushfirecrc.com/publications/ citation/bf-4308.

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response to Queensland draFt poliCy on the manaGement oF FireFiGhtinG Foams

FPA Australia has tabled its response to the Queensland Government regarding its Draft Policy on the Management of Firefighting Foams. The draft policy from the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection proposes to place significant restrictions on the use of foam in current and future foam firefighting systems (including vehicle fire-suppression systems) and extinguishers in Queensland.

If implemented, these restrictions will have a detrimental effect on the fire protection industry in Queensland by immediately banning the use of most Class B foam products and requiring almost all existing Class B foam concentrate in Queensland to be removed from service.

FPA Australia has concerns about the accuracy of the environmental information relied on to support this draft policy and that this information has not been applied holistically, taking into consideration the firefighting performance of certain foams.

This draft policy will potentially result in a reduction in overall fire protection of facilities, assets and personnel that are currently being protected by foam-based systems and extinguishers.

The Association agrees that the fire protection industry should promote and use environmentally friendly products

CorreCtion

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wherever possible. It also understands that firefighting foams have varying levels of environmental impact that need to be considered and managed appropriately.

However, the Association is concerned about the potential for significant safety consequences should these products be banned outright without consideration of suitable alternative provisions available to deliver equivalent fire protection, and an appropriate transitional period for implementation, in partnership with industry.

Any policy relating to the banning of firefighting foams should not only take into account their environmental impact but also the firefighting performance of a given foam and quantities required in order to achieve extinguishment. It is the view of the Association that any future policy relating to firefighting foams needs to consider these aspects holistically and in consultation with industry.

FPA Australia has highlighted its concerns with the current draft policy and has urged the Queensland Government to facilitate industry consultation, offering to host such a discussion.

The Association looks forward to working closely with the Queensland Government to ensure a positive outcome that is beneficial for all stakeholders and achieves the required fire protection outcomes for the community.

To view FPA Australia’s full submission to the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection visit http://bit.ly/1i7AIJ4.

The ‘Fire in the landscape – lessons learned’ article in Fire Australia Summer 2013-2014 should have acknowledged the role of Dr Mick Meyer of CSIRO in assisting in the forest carbon management and bushfire emissions research.

Apologies to Dr Meyer.

sprinKlers in nsw aGed Care FaCilities—an update From the minister The Hon. Mr Brad Hazzard, NSW Minister for Planning and Infrastructure, has recently released an update on the progress of the aged care industry in ensuring all nursing homes in the state are fitted with fire sprinklers. New laws that came into effect 12 months ago require all nursing homes in NSW to have sprinklers installed.

The Minister’s update states that almost half of the 885 Commonwealth-accredited nursing homes registered with the NSW Government are already fully fitted with fire sprinkler systems. The NSW Government has also made the implementation of fire sprinkler safety systems in aged care facilities simpler and more effective with a set of amendments to the life-protecting regulations. The changes, which have approval from Fire and Rescue NSW, still require all residential living quarters to be fire sprinkler protected, but operators now have more flexibility to meet high fire safety standards in some other areas of their facilities.

important ChanGes to the BuildinG Code

Every year changes are made to the Building Code of Australia (BCA) as part of the normal process of amendments to the National Construction Code. In 2014 a significant number of fire-related changes will be made to the BCA, including several that directly relate to fire protection systems and equipment.

These changes include improving early response to residential fires through the interconnection of alarms, expanding the options available for exit signs (including the use of photoluminescent exit signs).

To view the full 2014 NCC overview, visit http://bit.ly/1fl5MRh.

To view the press release regarding the amendments visit http://bit. ly/1dp4k3i. To view the FPA Australia NSW fire sprinkler provider list, visit www.fpaa.com.au and select the list under the ‘Providers of Choice’ tab.

Fpa australia VouChers now redeemaBle on Fpas appliCations FPA Australia members can take further advantage of their $50 vouchers, which are now redeemable for new FPAS applications for individual accreditation and business recognition. Voucher use is limited to one per new individual accreditation application and one per $500 spent on new business recognition applications.

Some conditions apply.

For more information about using your FPA Australia vouchers please contact Membership Services on 1300 731 922 or email member@fpaa.com.au.

Fpa australia welComes the disBandinG oF nola FPA Australia has welcomed the recent announcement by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) that the National Occupational Licensing Authority (NOLA) will be disbanded, along with its associated licensing scheme, NOLS. Despite this development, FPA Australia remains a strong supporter of national licensing and regulatory harmonisation in the building and construction industry.

Association CEO Scott Williams said he hoped the disbanding of NOLA would signal a fresh approach to national licensing that would deliver better outcomes for industry and the community.

“While we are pleased that COAG has seen fit to disband NOLA, we hope that its important intentions, of increasing labour mobility, enhancing productivity and improving overall business efficiency, are continued via the new process to be established under the Council for the Australian Federation (CAF).

“National licensing remains one of the most critical issues for fire protection and for the building and construction sector in Australia generally. Future national licensing must recognise fire protection industry occupations and expertise and we hope that the new process to be established by the CAF will view the critical nature of fire protection occupations as a separate and defined trade with unique skills and requirements.

“We look forward to a new agenda for reform focused on delivering the highest possible levels of competency and training, rather than the low conditions of entry previously proposed under NOLS. “FPA Australia looks forward to continuing to work with all governments to deliver high levels of professionalism and competency within the fire protection industry via national licensing supported by accreditation schemes, such as those delivered by FPA Australia, that will ultimately benefit all stakeholders and assist in creating a safer community,” Mr Williams said.

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new nFpa president announCed —mr Jim pauley

Mr Jim Pauley, of Lexington, Kentucky, has been named as the next President of the US National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Mr Pauley is the current Senior Vice President of External Affairs and Government Relations at Schneider Electric and will take up the new role at NFPA in July.

Mr Pauley succeeds Mr James M Shannon, who has served as NFPA President since 2002 and has been at NFPA for 23 years. FPA Australia congratulates Mr Pauley on his new role and Mr Shannon for his outstanding and dedicated service to his association and the global fire protection and electrical industries. FPA Australia looks forward to continuing its strong relationship with NFPA under Mr Pauley’s leadership.

Fire proteCtion aCCreditation sCheme searCh systems now online— Fpas explained Video

After significant work over the past year, online tools for searching for FPASrecognised businesses and validating licences for individual accredited technicians are now live on the FPA Australia website. Recognised businesses can now be found by selecting the ‘Providers of Choice’ search tool and then selecting the ‘Inspect & test’ speciality. Once an FPASrecognised business has been located, website visitors can select the business to view an additional details page featuring the specific categories of work the business is recognised for under the scheme.

Individual accredited persons are also now viewable online through the accredited individual register. Users can search by either name or accreditation number and results show names, accreditation numbers, ‘valid to’ dates and the types of work categories each individual is accredited for.

Meanwhile, a new short video has been created to quickly and simply explain the pathways into FPAS (inspect & test) for individuals and businesses as well as the benefits.

Visit www.fpaa.com.au/fpas to find accredited individuals and recognised businesses, or to view the FPAS Explained video.

To apply for FPAS business recognition or individual accreditation, call us today on 1300 731 922.

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AFAC CONFERENCE 2014

AFTER DISASTER STRIKES—LEARNING FROM ADVERSITY

Follow us on Twitter @afacnews #afac2014 or Facebook

J

oin us in Wellington, New Zealand, for Australasia’s largest and most important emergency services and public safety conference. To be held 2-5 September 2014, the theme for this year’s AFAC and Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC conference is After disaster strikes, learning from adversity.

Natural and man-made disasters strike all countries, but particularly in our region. Examining how emergency management services, land managers and communities prepared, responded to and assisted with recovery is vital to developing evidence-based policy and practice for the future.

The following key conference activities have been designed to allow delegates to holistically explore this year’s theme:  1-day, all-hazards Research Forum: 2 September  2-day conference: 3–4 September  Gala Dinner: 3 September  Four Professional Development Workshops: 5 September  Four Field Study Tours: 5 September 1. Christchurch Earthquake Recovery 2. Upper South Island 3. National Crisis Management Centre, Wellington 4. Fraser Trucks Manufacturing Facility

Sessions and themes

More than 90 sessions are scheduled over the four days (conference, research forum and professional development program). Through the sharing of agency activities, research utilisation and case studies the following themes will be explored:

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     

ird ! b y l r ea onsopen ti a r t s i g re and ions istrat rogram g e r e p Onlin ference at n o le c b ce l a l fu vail eren are a .au/conf .com .afac www

Climate, Landscape and Environment Impact of Disasters Supporting our People through Adversity Building Capacity Involvement of Emergency Services Recovery Resilience.

Trade exhibition

To be held at the TSB Bank Arena, the 2014 conference exhibition has already attracted big-name representatives from the industry, with more than 90% of the trade exhibition hall already sold. The trade exhibition is an opportunity for aligned organisations to gain maximum exposure to the lucrative emergency services market for their products and services. A number of high exposure and unique sponsorship and exhibitor packages are available.

For further details on the trade exhibition, contact Steve Robin of ASN Events at 03 5983 2400 or sr@asnevents.net.au.

Professional development workshops

The conference will feature four professional development workshops: EMSINA spatial technology— sponsored by Motorola Solutions This workshop, hosted by the Emergency Management Spatial Information Network (EMSINA), will follow the spatial information life cycle for major hazards in Australia. It will demonstrate how information captured on the ground at the incident contributes

to and feeds an information cycle that extends into the highest levels of decision support, including the National Situation Awareness Tool (NSAT), utilised within the National Crisis Coordination Centre.

This is a scenario-based workshop that will begin from first responders arriving on scene through to Executive briefings. EMSINA members will demonstrate the use of current spatial information tools and technologies used by emergency volunteers and managers to display, capture and disseminate incident and environmental information that is a critical input into creating Situational Awareness.

Mission command masterclass This program is premised on the foundational values of a mission-driven culture and mission command as the safest, most efficient and most effective command philosophy during dynamic large-scale emergencies.

Specific focus areas are strategic and critical thinking and creating intent-based operations and planning systems. The program will present the business case of mission command and case studies of mission command in action in historical and recent emergency incidents. This workshop will also highlight the principles that promote a clear and concise leader’s intent as the foundation for aligned and adaptable action during a large incident.

Establishing incident management as a profession Incident management personnel perform a vital specialist public safety role. They manage complex and high-risk events that have the potential to do significant harm not only to people, but also to property, business, economies and the environment.

This forum will outline the opportunity for AIIMS incident management personnel to be nationally certified against criteria established by the industry body so that their expertise, competence and professionalism can be officially recognised and validated.

Introduction to the emergency management industry The emergency management industry is complex and diverse. This workshop is designed to give people who are new to the industry a broad understanding of some key aspects of that diversity, some basic principles of fire behaviour (for people without a fire management background) and an overview of the various elements of ‘community safety’ and the way this has evolved over time.

The workshop will be delivered by experts from each of the fields and is particularly aimed at those who are seeking to put their research or role into a broader context.

For more information visit www.afac.com.au/conference.

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Throughout the conference delegates will hear from leading international and Australian experts, including:  Tom Harbour | National Director, Fire & Aviation Management, US Forest Service, USA (1)  Therese Walsh | Head of New Zealand ICC, Cricket World Cup 2015, NZ (2)  Professor David Johnston| Director, Joint Centre for Disaster Research—GNS Science/Massey University, NZ (3)  Neil Gibbins | President Elect, The Institution of Fire Engineers, UK (4)  Dr Rory Nathan | General Manager, Technology and Practice, Sinclair Knight Merz, Aus (5)  Peter Townsend | Chief Executive Officer, Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce, NZ (6)  Dan Neely | Manager, Community Resilience, Wellington Region Emergency Management Office, NZ (7)  Paul Fuller | Chief Fire Officer, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, UK (8)  Professor Charles Fleischmann | Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, University of Canterbury, NZ (9)  José Santiago | Fire Chief, Chicago Fire Department, USA  Deen Sanders | Chief Executive Officer, Professional Standards Council, USA  Professor Kathleen Tierney | Director, Natural Hazards Centre, University of Colorado, USA  Paul Boissoneault | Fire Chief, Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, Canada

FIRE AUSTRALIA

AUTUMN 2014 | 15

FPAS NATIONAL ACCREDITATION

MORE COMPANIES TAKE UP FIRE PROTECTION ACCREDITATION SCHEME

More companies are taking up FPAS business recognition as the scheme continues to gain momentum. Here two businesses tell us their reasons for gaining FPAS business recognition.

By Joseph Keller Communications Manager, FPA Australia

T

he Fire Protection Accreditation Scheme (FPAS) continues to gain momentum as more companies sign up to business recognition and their employees achieve the required competencies for accreditation. Recently Fire Rating Solutions (FRS) and 24:seven Maintenance Solutions formally achieved recognised business status.

Business recognition under FPAS provides confidence to customers and demonstrates to regulators and other practitioners that your business engages accredited fire protection technicians.

Fire Rating Solutions offers protection through fire-rated elements, protection of structural steel and mechanical ducts, certification of passive fire elements, essential service audits, new construction defect identifications, and schedules and identification.

24:seven Maintenance Solutions carries out all fire protection services including inspecting, testing and installing portable fire equipment, fire alarms, sprinkler systems, emergency lighting and passive fire and smoke containment products and systems.

FPA Australia sat down with FRS and 24:seven to find out about why they pursued FPAS business recognition.

Andrew Hobson—FRS

1 Why did your business apply for business recognition?

FRS sees the need for nationally harmonised professional recognition as a means of bringing the industry up to a minimum level of competence. FRS wanted to show its support by being one of the first businesses to be recognised as a reputable provider of passive fire protection installations and inspections.

2 How do you feel your business will benefit by becoming an FPASrecognised business?

We can demonstrate to new and existing customers that they are dealing with a competent, market-leading fire protection provider.

16 | FIRE AUSTRALIA

AUTUMN 2014

3 How do you think being an FPASrecognised business will set your business apart or help you stand out in the market?

We will use our recognised business status in our marketing material and although the scheme is in its infancy, we believe that as time goes by more clients and other stakeholders will recognise FPAS and the value it holds.

4 What kind of message does it send to your staff that you are a recognised business?

By being trained and recognised as a reputable service provider, staff know that their workmanship and conduct needs to be of the highest standard.

5 What do you think the impact of FPAS and recognised businesses will be for the fire protection industry in Australia?

As a result of FPAS there will be an increase in the overall knowledge and skill in the industry. Eventually we hope that the introduction of FPAS means that it becomes law, or at least accepted best practice, to only use an accredited and/ or licensed professional to supply fire protection services in Australia.

John Brennan—24:seven Maintenance Solutions

1 Why did your business apply for business recognition?

FPA Australia is the leading association for fire protection professionals in Australia, and the FPAS accreditation scheme is an important acknowledgement and marketing tool confirming to our customers that our company is committed to a high professional standard of service and continual education.

2 How do you feel your business will benefit by becoming an FPASrecognised business?

The recognition provides a strong point of difference from our competitors.

This in turn provides us with a strong marketing advantage.

3 How do you think being an FPASrecognised business will set your business apart or help you stand out in the market?

Our recognition shows a strong commitment to professional standards and continual education. Combined with a high level of service and competitive pricing, it will ensure our company’s future success.

4 How do you think your customers will feel knowing that your business is recognised by engaging fire technicians who are accredited under FPAS? FPAS is designed to ensure customers have the confidence that our fire technicians are working to the highest standards and qualifications.

5 What kind of message does it send to your staff that you are a recognised business?

It provides our staff with an expectation that the company must perform at the highest level of service and that they will be required to attended regular seminars and courses. FPAS accreditation will also assist our company in attracting the best staff in the industry.

6 What do you think the impact of FPAS and recognised businesses will be for the fire protection industry in Australia?

The FPAS accreditation program will underpin the ongoing success of the industry education process and encourage all industry-related companies to maintain a high level of ongoing education. This will ensure continued professional and high customer service levels.

FPA Australia congratulates FRS and 24:seven on achieving recognised business status and setting their companies apart as industry leaders.

air toxins research

Photo: nathan Maddock, Bushfire crc

Producing a clearer Picture of smoke toxins

Bushfire CRC research has helped to understand what is in the smoke, particularly smoke from bushfires at the rural–urban fringe.

Bushfires at the rural–urban interface are likely to emit smoke that is more dangerous than smoke from a forest fire.

By Kay Ansell

18 | Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014

i

t is a hazardous scenario that bushfire firefighters in Australia and overseas face more frequently as population growth pushes residential development into rural areas. At the rural–urban interface, bushfire firefighters are exposed to smoke from not just vegetation, but from combinations of burning houses, cars and other materials. And bushfire firefighters are less likely than city firefighters to be wearing breathing apparatus. This means they may be more vulnerable to health risks posed by burning organic compounds that have been, until now, mostly unmeasured.

Recent research by Bushfire CRC scientists is meeting the urgent need for precise information about these risks by identifying, measuring and modelling these toxic emissions more accurately than ever before. In what is believed to be a world first, the research has developed models that can assess in fine detail scenarios of multiple houses burning on the urban fringe.

Dr Fabienne Reisen leads the Operational Readiness of Rural Firefighters (Air Toxins) Project, within the Bushfire CRC Managing the Threat Program.

Dr Reisen’s rigorous simulations have identified and measured a broad range of the compounds commonly encountered at rural–urban interface fires.

Quantifying the risks they pose to health was the next challenge, resulting in an innovative modelling project that was a collaboration between Dr Michael Borgas and Dr Reisen. Both are based at CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research. Emissions characterisation and the dispersion model that determined exposure

estimates and assessed exposure risks were interlinked components of this major project.

Dr Reisen said the potential health effects of these toxic emissions to both firefighters and the community range from the relatively minor, such as nausea and respiratory irritation, to life threatening, including asphyxiation, because the emissions contain known human carcinogens.

Dr Reisen’s earlier literature review covering rural– urban interface combustible materials had found that most of the material was wood and wood-based products, followed by polymeric materials. Her recent emissions project devised laboratory-based simulations to burn samples of synthetic or constructed materials such as particleboard, medium-density fibreboard, carpet and polyurethane foam, which all contain a significant fraction of nitrogen.

“Burning these materials will produce hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, nitriles and nitrogenated hydrocarbons,” she said.

“All of these are potentially harmful to people’s health.”

Dr Reisen evaluated emissions from all materials tested against those from pine, a natural, widely used construction material.

The tests were conducted using a cone calorimeter, a small-scale fire test machine that determines the rates of heat release, mass loss and particle production, along with ignitability and gas species. Results charted the emission factors of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), particulate matter, elemental

exposure scenarios and to use in the field in emergency response situations,” she said.

Dr Reisen said the research had yielded much greater understanding of the exposure from airborne pollutants—knowledge that could be applied in a range of ways. Estimating toxic load and health risks for firefighters breathing air with intermittent high peaks of toxic emissions was one example.

“It’s also applicable for use in sensors to detect exposure concentration levels downwind and models that more accurately estimate the source emissions,” she said.

Project lead end user Robyn Pearce, Director Human Services at the Tasmania Fire Service, believed the cumulative knowledge from the research would have significant health and safety benefits for bushfire firefighters. This in turn would influence both firefighting practices and deployment of safety equipment.

“Once fire agencies have information about the actual exposures and their likely spread at rural–urban interface fires, they will be better placed to deploy firefighters more safely, as well as provide advice to the community,” she said.

“This will enable everyone to better protect themselves from the hazards of smoke.”

Access the full Operational Readiness of Rural Firefighters (Air Toxins) report, as well as Fire Notes on the research, at the Bushfire CRC website, www.bushfirecrc.com.

firefighters work in smoky conditions, and the operational readiness of rural firefighters (air toxins) Project has helped to identify potentially toxic exposures.

Photo: cfs ProMotions unit

carbon, organic carbon, and the elemental carbon to organic carbon ratio for 11 different types of combustible materials.

Interestingly—and perhaps alarmingly—the study found that ever-present domestic materials, such as polystyrene and polyester, produced some of the highest concentrations of hazardous emissions.

Carbonyls, a class of irritating volatile compounds, were one example, with polystyrene producing emission factors for total carbonyls that were 45 times higher than those for pine.

Dr Reisen drilled more deeply, analysing the relative distribution of individual carbonyls for each material. If polystyrene’s contribution were removed, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were the dominant carbonyls, contributing 43–93% to the total carbonyl emissions. Formaldehyde is a known human nasal carcinogen, while acetaldehyde is a possible human carcinogen.

“In general, burning wood-based and polymeric materials released volatile organic compounds at higher concentrations than pine,” she said.

“This means that the combustion of these products in fires at the rural–urban interface is likely to be a greater health risk than forest bushfires.”

Her toxic emissions results were used in modelling that translated the emissions into exposure estimates— to quantify the health risks that the smoke poses.

This involved developing new, detailed models of both dispersion and wind behaviour to take into account the chemical emissions from multiple and complex sources and to determine where high-risk exposure zones may be.

The risk statistics from exposure to high concentrations of toxic emissions depend on: smoke emissions from burning structures wind-flow conditions downwind of the burning structures positions downwind for likely exposure.

The exposure risks increase close to the emission sources and from short-term peaks of high concentration.

Dr Reisen said the new models allow accurate estimates of localised emissions in close to real-time.

Traditional diffusion models of atmospheric mixing only estimate exposures on time scales of hours or days. The new models provide exposure estimates measured in seconds and minutes, using local inputs of average and varying wind, and source characteristics on-site during an incident.

The models use a programmed time sequence of emissions that consists of: localised inputs of house-material combustibility localised inputs of emission characteristics burning that switches on and off at selected times and at prescribed points in a lattice model of a house.

This allows more targeted estimates of housespecific local emissions, rather than averages over the footprint of the house or suburb.

“The models of both wind and dispersion are simple and flexible enough to be useful for assessing

Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014 | 19

Bushfire CrC sCholarships

photo: Bushfire CrC

Bushfire CrC phD students at the afaC and Bushfire CrC conference in perth, 2012.

student success

The Bushfire CRC scholarship program has so far produced 45 PhD graduates—with more to graduate in the next few years—ensuring the future of Australian fire research.

By Vujan Krunic

20 | Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014

o

ne of the primary reasons for the development of the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) in 2003 was to develop the next generation of fire researchers. At the time, Australia’s fire researchers were ageing, and there was a need for succession as the existing scientists approached the later stages of their careers. It was in these circumstances that the Bushfire CRC scholarship program began, committing to having 20 qualified PhD graduates by the end of 2010. History shows this was far exceeded, with 45 PhDs successfully completed. At the time of printing, there are a further 47 students working on their PhDs, aiming to complete their studies within the next few years.

The scholarship program was established to build research capacity and capability into the future, noted Bushfire CRC CEO Gary Morgan.

“Building this research capacity, particularly through the students, was going to be very important.

The scholarship program was designed with this in mind, to give the students the opportunity to develop into the industry,” Mr Morgan said.

“We wanted to attract postgraduate students with a desire to work in the emergency services sector, and see them develop into future research leaders.

“Over the course of their studies, through their presentations at conferences and workshops, the students have been able to gain confidence within themselves about what they were doing and how this could assist the industry. With the guidance of

the Bushfire CRC, they were able to get up, full of confidence, and be seen as equals among a lot of friends and provide their sound knowledge to the industry, helping us learn from their research,” Mr Morgan said.

The key to the success of the program was access. This was provided through connections with academics, end users of the research and other industry professionals.

Bushfire CRC Research Manager Lyndsey Wright has overseen the scholarship program since 2008.

“It is the strength of the opportunities given to the students which enables them to move into the industry so much more practically on completion of their studies. We work very hard to make students feel part of the Bushfire CRC family. They can pick up the phone and talk to people in the industry. This access gives them enormous benefits which are not normally available to students,” Ms Wright said.

The support provided is also an important factor.

“Through regular student reviews, the Bushfire CRC works actively with students and their university supervisors to determine the most appropriate way to support them through to completion of their PhD. Many students have indicated this has been a tangible benefit.”

Bushfire CRC lead end user and Manager of Fire Management at the ACT Parks and Conservation Service Neil Cooper said at a recent AFAC and

Bushfire CRC conference he saw the effects of the program within the industry.

“I saw these new researchers coming through with enthusiasm, raw energy and untainted views.

They came with all this eagerness and keenness, which was so exciting that it left goosebumps on your arms.

They were really taking it on, they believed in what they were doing and they could see that they were making a difference in the industry, and I thought after that, ‘we are in a pretty good situation with this’,” recollected Mr Cooper.

A graduate of the program is Dr Briony Towers, now based at the Centre for Risk and Community Safety at RMIT and undertaking research with the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC. Dr Towers, who completed her PhD in 2011, noted that she gained plenty of benefits from her Bushfire CRC PhD. “The Bushfire CRC gave me the opportunity to do applied research and the chance to solve a practical problem,” said Dr Towers.

This led to her research being developed into an animated children’s television series and an ebook, with effects stretching internationally.

“I was provided with a unique opportunity to work with people across the emergency management sector. I was able to consult with key people across the agencies to ensure that my research remained relevant and useful.

“It was really good to present my findings to industry professionals because I was able to see that the results I was getting were really interesting to them. In the same mould, by having access to other academics in the field, I was given great feedback and this gave me the confidence that what I was doing was really worthwhile.

“This has enabled me to develop a really amazing professional network of practitioners, policy-makers and other researchers. I think that if I mapped that network, a lot of the links would lead back to the Bushfire CRC,” Dr Towers said.

Here is a snapshot of the experiences of three Bushfire CRC postgraduate students.

“The Bushfire CRC put us on numerous courses, such as media skills and how to present well, which really helped. Throughout my PhD, I presented at many conferences, including an international conference in Banff in Canada, and it was an excellent experience which the Bushfire CRC really enhanced,” Dr Morris said.

Professor Ross Bradstock of the University of Wollongong supervised Dr Morris while she undertook her research. He reiterated the importance of connecting students with the industry and the vital aspect the program played in achieving that.

“No student wants to undertake work that is irrelevant.

“Talking to people is just as critical as the formal side of things, and Rowena was very active in going to conferences and talking to the industry. She was very successful at that,” Professor Bradstock said.

Dr Rowena Morris is a Bushfire CRC PhD graduate.

Through the University of Adelaide, her research studied erosion following prescribed burning in the Mount Lofty Ranges.

Warning fatigue

New Zealander Dr Brenda Mackie completed her PhD in recent months, exploring whether warning fatigue was a reality for individuals and communities threatened by bushfires. Her research challenged previous theorists’ ideologies on warning fatigue, taking more practical approach than the previous clinical and psychological research undertaken in the 1950s and 1960s.

“Warning fatigue was, early on, assumed to be a myth, but really, any disaster theorists who have talked about it essentially just repeated what the person before them said,” Dr Mackie explained.

“I thought, what if warning fatigue is not a myth? Then what might it look like? Unless you can operationalise it, unless you can put flesh on the bones

Brenda Mackie (left) discussing interview findings with andrew Nicholls from the New south Wales rfs as part of a Bushfire CrC task force.

Like Dr Towers, former Bushfire CRC PhD student Dr Rowena Morris took full advantage of the scholarship program. Her research aimed to assess the effect of prescribed fires on sediment movement in the Mount Lofty Ranges near Adelaide. Dr Morris assessed existing erosion models to identify areas of high erosion potential following fire, completing her studies in 2013.

“Working out [whether you] can do a preventative measure to manage erosion, such as prescribed burning, was something I was looking into for my PhD,” Dr Morris explained.

She credited the support networks fostered by the Bushfire CRC in helping to alleviate some of the pressures of undertaking a PhD. “There was fantastic camaraderie between the students, so I made a lot of friends through the Bushfire CRC, and we were able to share a lot of our information and ideas on how to approach our PhDs.

photo: Bushfire CrC

Managing post-fire erosion

Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014 | 21

Bushfire CrC sCholarships

photo: Bushfire CrC

Briony towers explains the benefits of the scholarship program to chief fire officers and other Bushfire CrC stakeholders.

of this phenomenon, then it’s not helpful to anybody,” she said of her research goals.

Bushfire CRC lead end user John Schauble, from the Victorian Fire Service Commissioner, explained that Dr Mackie had gathered empirical data to challenge previous ideas on warning fatigue.

“The question she approached is one everybody has traditionally assumed happens, but there has been no actual empirical backing for it,” Mr Schauble said.

“She has done the research, found some empirical data, and developed surveys to support that data.

“My role with Brenda has been to act as a bit of a sounding board for how her research will have an impact within industry, or within government. It is about making sure her research is relevant to the needs of government, and ensuring that it can eventually become part of policy or the way in which we address policy questions.”

Looking towards the future, Dr Mackie sees working in the industry as her primary aim.

“Working practically within the industry would be my first choice, combining applied research with community engagement.

“I want to work with agencies who are really interested in how their community is responding to what they are saying,” she said.

Dr Brenda Mackie is a Bushfire CRC PhD graduate.

Through the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, she explored warning fatigue and how to recognise it, mitigate it and overcome it.

When a fire starts to burn

Dr Jaymie Norris completed his PhD in 2010 through the University of Western Australia. Since then, Dr Norris has been able to bring his fire-mapping knowledge and research on climate change issues and fire management to Victoria.

“I’d always hoped to end up working for one of the government departments, at that stage in Western Australia,” said Dr Norris.

“But I had a great opportunity to come across to

22 | Fire AustrAliA

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Victoria and work for the Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI), and bring the tools developed through my research approach to Victoria to help with the issues of climate change at that stage, but also broadly into fire management. It has been a really valuable experience,” said Dr Norris.

Gordon Friend, manager for Strategic Bushfire Risk Assessment at DEPI, observed that a specialised, deeper understanding that was developed through involvement with the Bushfire CRC was a valuable asset.

“Bushfire modelling is an emerging field. But the Bushfire CRC has done a lot of work in that area, so the students come out of that program pretty much skilled up to undertake that work,” Mr Friend explained.

Dr Jaymie Norris is a Bushfire CRC PhD graduate.

Through the University of Western Australia, he studied fire intensity and how this affects microbials in the soil.

Important outputs

So what does it all mean? The scholarship program has more than doubled the number of PhDs injected into the industry than it set out to, with plenty more on the way in the next few years. It has been one of the most beneficial aspects of the entire Bushfire CRC, according to John Schauble.

“I think that the student program has been one of the most valuable outputs of the CRC. “The fact that there is now a whole new generation of PhDs that have started their research life, or done a significant part of their research, in fire, is absolutely critical for the way in which we go forward,” said Mr Schauble.

And that, at the end of the day, is what the program set out to achieve.

Learn more about the strength and diversity of the Bushfire CRC scholarship program and the work of the students by watching three short videos at www.bushfirecrc.com/research/ event/2013-agm.

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bushfire planning & design

bushfire planning and design scheme—setting the bar for building in bushfire-prone areas The BPAD scheme is now operational in Victoria, ensuring there is a growing number of accredited bushfire consultants available to assist those people building in bushfire-prone areas, just as Victoria experienced another dangerous bushfire season.

By Joseph Keller Communications Manager, FPA Australia

and Chris Wyborn Senior Technical Officer, FPA Australia

T

he devastating effects of bushfires were once again felt across many communities around Australia over summer. More than 300 homes were destroyed and many more damaged, along with significant livestock losses and considerable impact to the environment. The fires have also once again highlighted the importance of obtaining sound, professional advice regarding construction in bushfireprone areas and the critical role that this advice plays in Australia today.

This article provides a short background to the Bushfire Planning and Design (BPAD) accreditation scheme, outlines the progress of the scheme in Victoria and sets the scene for the future.

BPAD in NSW

Before 2006, the bushfire assessment, planning and design sector in Australia had no entry requirements to practice and little in the way of frameworks for credentialing practitioners.

In the Autumn 2006 edition of Fire Australia magazine, FPA Australia announced its first five successful applicants to the NSW BPAD scheme.

This step represented the first real attempt to bring professional recognition to the bushfire planning industry. Today there are more than 50 practitioners registered in NSW. The announcement of the first Victorian BPADaccredited practitioners marks a critically important step in implementing the recommendations of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission.

In response to the royal commission, the Victorian Government introduced planning and building reforms to deliver focused community safety policies.

Successfully and appropriately navigating these new requirements can only be done by an individual with a sound understanding of the contemporary bushfire planning and design competencies.

These changes, coupled with the existing strong performance of the BPAD scheme in NSW, meant

24 | Fire AustrAliA

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FPA Australia was ideally placed to launch a similar scheme in Victoria and help to provide added protection and confidence to people building or renovating properties in urban-bush areas of one of the most bushfire-prone states in Australia.

Victorian BPAD scheme launched

The Victorian scheme closely mirrors the NSW framework. The scheme is supported by local industry and government stakeholders and is tailored to reflect the Victorian legislative landscape. The Victorian scheme is also supported by the introduction of a new Victorian tertiary bushfire course, which is now offered at the University of Melbourne. The development of this course was a direct response to Recommendation 55 of the royal commission.

Scott Williams, CEO of FPA Australia, said the first BPAD-accredited practitioners in Victoria would help to deliver enhanced fire safety in high-risk bushfire areas and their accreditation was another milestone for formal recognition of people specialising in bushfire in Australia.

“Recent bushfire events have again highlighted that Victoria is home to some of the most bushfireprone areas in Australia. These devastating bushfire incidents, both current and past, combined with a changing climate and increasing population density at the rural–urban interface, demands sound application of regulatory requirements and best-practice advice,” he said.

“We’re immensely proud to welcome the first BPAD practitioners in Victoria and we know how important it is to recognise these individuals who possess these specialised skills.”

The BPAD scheme accredits practitioners who meet criteria based on specific competency requirements, including a detailed knowledge of and ability to practically apply the relevant planning, development and building legislation in their jurisdiction, the Building Code of Australia and Australian Standard

phoTo: bushfire CrC

the first bpad-accredited practitioners in Victoria are:

hamish allan—Terramatrix Pty Ltd helen bull—Obliqua Pty Ltd david heath—Heath Design Pty Ltd maisam mirbagheri—Umow Lai Pty Ltd Kylie steele—South Coast Bushfire Consultants andrew stephens—Practical Ecology Pty Ltd sam thompson—Regional Planning & Design Pty Ltd sally Van de paverd—Yarra Valley Building Inspections/Fire Front Consultancies Several more consultants are expected to become accredited under the scheme in coming weeks.

FPA Australia sincerely congratulates all current and upcoming Victorian BPAD practitioners on their achievements.

AS 3959 Construction of buildings in bushfire prone areas (as well as holding the necessary minimum insurances).

BPAD-accredited practitioners are promoted as being capable of providing reliable and informed assessment and advice to building owners and approval authorities such as local town planning departments and building surveyors.

Andrew Andreou, Executive Manager Community Infrastructure, Country Fire Authority (CFA) Victoria, said appropriate fire mitigation design and construction practices were important to survivability of buildings and people.

“At the CFA, we are acutely aware of the danger to properties that are not appropriately designed and constructed for high-risk bushfire areas,” he said.

“That’s why we are delighted to see the BPAD scheme being rolled out in Victoria, to ensure there is confidence in those individuals employed to advise members of the public about building in these types of areas. Furthermore, as the scheme matures it will reduce CFA’s need to allocate resources to reviewing all applications referred to us and allow us to focus on more complex sites, increasing our efficiency.”

Demonstration of competency for entry into the scheme can be achieved through various pathways.

These include completion of formal tertiary-level qualifications in specific courses developed for bushfire planning and design practitioners (including the University of Melbourne and University of Western Sydney), through demonstrating attainment of comparable skills and knowledge from other courses of study, or through significant experience in the bushfire planning and design industry.

Dennis Hogan, acting Director Technical & Regulation, Victorian Building Authority, said highlighting those individuals with the appropriate skills for building design and construction in bushfireprone areas was a critical step for the building industry in Victoria.

“We want to see that appropriately skilled

individuals capable of advising on construction in bushfire-prone areas, and businesses employing those individuals, are easily recognisable and that’s precisely what this scheme delivers,” he said.

“Approval authorities need to have full confidence that proposed designs satisfy the minimum bushfire standards prescribed by legislation, while property owners should have an awareness of all design options available to ensure safety of their families and their property.

“We are delighted to see this scheme being implemented to deliver exactly these kinds of assurances for Victorians.”

In states where the scheme already operates, FPA Australia recognises Corporate members of the Association to deliver BPAD services where they engage the services of Accredited Practitioners.

Recognised Corporate members are promoted as ‘Providers of Choice’ under the category of ‘Bushfire Consultant (BPAD)’ on the FPA Australia website and on other promotional material.

The scheme provides an enhanced level of confidence for government and the community that practitioners providing bushfire planning and design services are accredited by a suitably robust scheme that is administered by the peak national body for fire safety.

FPA Australia is committed to rolling out the BPAD scheme in those states where bushfires pose a significant threat to lives and property. FPA Australia has been in active discussions with the Western Australian and South Australian governments in recent months and has held preliminary discussions with Tasmanian and Queensland stakeholders.

This season’s fires have once again highlighted the importance of obtaining sound professional advice regarding construction in bushfire-prone areas.

To find a business that provides accredited bushfire consultancy services, or to find out more about the BPAD scheme, visit www.fpaa.com.au/ bpad or email bpad@fpaa.com.au.

Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014 | 25

N252 EC

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HL-22 Specific Application ESFR Specific Application ESFR sprinkler, K-22.4, Pendent

• Early suppression, fast response sprinkler for the protection of high-piled storage • Eliminates in-rack sprinklers for 48’ high buildings • This specific application ESFR sprinkler is an industry first and is only offered

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•• Maximum deflector distance from ceiling (roof) is 14” (356mm) • Bulletin 177

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BUSHFIRE FUEL CLASSIFICATION

NEW BUSHFIRE FUEL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM A new system to classify bushfire fuels is being developed, with the aim to better model fire-spread.

By Gary Featherston

Bushfire Consultant, AFAC

T

he need for a consistent classification of fuels across Australia was recognised by AFAC Council in 2010. Fuels have been described in different ways over time and in different locations. The move towards shared systems is driving the need for better standards for describing bushfire fuels. Common language, common measurement protocols and a shared structure have been identified as the priority requirements for an Australian bushfire fuel classification system.

Vegetation provides the initial fuels for a bushfire, determining the intensity and allowing the fire to spread. Knowing and classifying the vegetation is the first step in knowing and quantifying the fuels.

Fire behaviour models have been developed for a variety of vegetation types. Initially this work concentrated on forest fuels, particularly dry eucalypt forests. Detailed work was done on grass fires and more recently on a broader range of vegetation types including moorlands, shrublands, mallee heaths, plantations and savannahs.

The project to develop the classification system has achieved several milestones, but much work remains.

AFAC and the Forest and Fire Management Group have engaged CSIRO to conduct further work. So far CSIRO has completed a fuel glossary and a standard methodology for fuel assessment. AFAC will publish these shortly as informative booklets for use by all fire practitioners. A framework for the classification has also been designed and this will be published as a scientific paper and booklet. These booklets will form part of a complete library of supporting documents that will help define the system. The framework for the classification is explained in Figure 1.

Fuel type and structural form

The fuel type classification (see Figure 1) uses three tiers to describe the components of the vegetation.

Top tier The top tier describes the vegetation structural form

28 | Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014

PHOTO: THE VICTORIAN DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND PRIMARY INDUSTRIES

FUELLING THE FIRE

Bark fuel hazards being treated as part of a targeted fuel treatment program.

depending on its height and cover. Many vegetation type classifications are based on these factors.

A common vegetation description of open forest delineates a height greater than 10 m and an open cover of 30–70%. Tall forest is greater than 30 m and closed forest has more than 70% cover. Vegetation maps for most of the continent exist using these types of classes. Vegetation in this tier can be mapped to a scale of around 10 ha. Knowing the fuel at this scale is useful to determine and describe fire danger risks, as well as simple weather parameters. Agencies can allocate resources for preparedness and strategically plan prescribed burns at this scale. This information can also be used to measure carbon balances. This tier can be mapped using remote sensing and can be modelled from environmental factors with reasonable accuracy. Confirmation of the accuracy of existing maps will need to follow if the benefits of the system are to be realised.

This tier also affects the physical environment around the fire. Dense tall vegetation has significant impact on the wind speed experienced at ground level. Wind speeds can be reduced by 60% by the tree cover, but greater variability occurs and turbulent gusts can come from a variety of directions. Forest fires can be intense but slow moving as a result, usually travelling at less than 10 km/h.

Mid tier The mid tier describes the understory vegetation by its height, cover and structure. This tier is important for the interconnectedness of fuels horizontally and vertically. It provides the ladder fuels that move fires into the crowns of trees and the fineness of the fuel can control the rate of spread.

This tier is highly variable and harder to measure remotely. It is largely reflected in the application of the Overall Fuel Hazard Guide, which has been widely adopted. Field inspection and measurements may be required to quantify these inputs to the system, although the use of LiDAR (aerial laser scanning) may provide accurate remotely sensed results.

This tier also provides information on the hazard and risk presented by fuels at a scale down to 5 ha. It identifies areas for fuel treatment and links strongly with biodiversity outcomes of both bushfire and prescribed fire. It also links to fire behaviour models that use fuel inputs at this scale. The Vesta Model largely uses fuels from this tier to calculate forward rate of spread for a line of fire.

Lower tier The lower tier is the detailed fuel type and largely depends on the time since the last fire. This represents growth and the accumulation of litter fuels in the live understory. This tier is the most dynamic and needs to be measured or modelled over time. Firefighters need to watch fuels in this tier closely as sudden changes over small distances can affect personal safety. Fires that hit a patch of long unburnt fuel can accelerate quickly or move into the crowns. This tier determines the fuel load in tonnes per hectare for input into the McArthur Forest Fire Meter, along with weather and dryness parameters to determine flame height and rate of spread.

Testing the classification The application of the three tiers is expected to provide the means by which the vegetation can be used to describe the fuel.

Work is under way in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) to test the classification and apply it to a real situation. The ACT Parks and Conservation Service compiles a comprehensive network of fuel plots that have been measured regularly in the past. The service also has access to detailed vegetation mapping in spatial databases. Together, these maps present a great resource that can be used to test the system.

Physical properties of fuel

The next stage includes more work to describe the attributes or physical properties of the fuel that affect the rate and intensity of combustion. These attributes may be directly measured, but are usually modelled.

Fire behaviour models that include fuel will become more common. The key physical properties of fuel are: Fineness—surface area to volume ratio.

The thickness of fuel components can be a measure of fineness. Fine fuels burn faster than heavier fuels and can absorb and desorb moisture from the atmosphere faster.

Horizontal continuity—connectedness between fuels across the surface. The percentage cover of fuels and the size of gaps are potential measures for horizontal continuity. Firebreaks disrupt horizontal continuity so are an important fire-suppression tool.

Vertical continuity—connectedness between fuels above the ground. Fuel layer heights are an important measure of this attribute. Gaps between the vertical continuity can make fires more predictable and safer to control. Where ladder fuels and bark fuel hazards are present, fires can rapidly access fuels higher in the canopy, leading to unpredictable fires.

Live-to-dead ratio—a determinant of fuel moisture.

The curing of grass fuels is an important measure of

this attribute. Grass fires in cured fuels can move very rapidly and be difficult to suppress. Grass fuels that are 100% cured contain very little remaining live fuel. Fires burning predominantly in live fuels, such as mallee fires and fires crowning in eucalypt forests, can be variable and difficult to suppress.

Biomass—load of fuel present and available. This is often measured as tonnes per hectare of surface fine fuels. The amount of live fuels is often not measured, but can contribute significantly to intensity when the whole fuel spectrum is involved in the fire’s combustion.

Other properties that can affect fire include the chemical composition of fuels. Volatile oils and the levels of phosphorus affect fire intensity.

Challenges and future directions

There are a number of challenges to be overcome if the Australian Bushfire Classification System is to be adopted by land managers, fire agencies, academics and the wider fire community. It is important to convey more broadly that the system is underway and that more information will be available mid-year.

People using existing systems for fuel classification and measurement will need to determine the effects of changes and plan accordingly. Training material and greater awareness of the new system could help. Gaps in the knowledge of fuels and the research needed to address these gaps will become evident as more people use the system and evaluate its performance. The system also needs a custodian to foster its development and growth. Preparation of a business case for the system will soon begin and a range of implementation options will be presented.

The National Burning Project Steering Committee, which manages the project, is coordinating a number of interrelated projects to improve the national performance of bushfire fuel management.

To find out more about the Australian Bushfire Fuel Classification or the National Burning Projects please contact Gary Featherston, Bushfire Consultant, AFAC, on 03 9419 2388.

Figure 1 Bushfire Fuel Classification System Framework.

Component 1 Fuel type and structural form State or agency specific vegetation classification

Cover/fuel types

Fuel structural form and age

Fire behaviour knowledge

Fuel dynamic drivers

National fuel parameters (essential)

Fire behaviour analysis, knowledge and prediction Fire Danger Index Fuel management

Fuel attributes Component 2 Fuel parameters and attributes

Fuel management risk Fire growth simulation Other applications

Figure 1 Bushfire Fuel Classification System Framework.

Component 1 Fuel type and structural form State or agency

Cover/fuel

Fuel structural

Fire Fuel behaviour dynamic analysis, drivers Fire AustrAliA Autumn 2014 | 29 knowledge and prediction

sharing responsibility

Sharing reSponSibility— more than a Slogan photo: CFa Communities and CommuniCation.

this research supports decisions about how to pursue a vision of shared responsibility in emergency management.

The concept of shared responsibility was a key theme of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission, and it is still a hot topic around the emergency services water cooler.

By Kay Ansell

30 | Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014

i

n big-picture terms, sharing responsibility for disaster management is about the way governments and citizens work together to minimise the potential impact of disaster events. The 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission showed this, identifying that individuals, communities, policy-makers, emergency management agencies and government need to feel responsible.

As part of the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre’s (CRC) Sharing Responsibility Project, Bushfire CRC researchers from the Centre for Risk and Community Safety at RMIT University looked at the underpinning concepts of shared responsibility and held public forums that tapped a groundswell of interest in this complex subject.

“People really wanted to talk about this—everyone from the recovery group at tiny Steels Creek to representatives from the Federal Government,” noted project leader Professor John Handmer.

The researchers encouraged and facilitated these public conversations to continue among governments, disaster agencies, local businesses, community groups and, most importantly, residents in affected areas. Giving people more opportunities to be part of these discussions is critical for turning this seemingly abstract concept into pragmatic reality.

Everybody agrees that it is important, but society hasn’t collectively worked out what shared responsibility entails.

Dr Blythe McLennan was a key researcher on the project and recently completed a report, coauthored with Professor Handmer, exploring the full implications of shared responsibility. The study was part of the Bushfire CRC’s Community Expectations

Research Program, which consists of project areas involving researchers from different universities.

This broader program allowed the issue of shared responsibility to be considered alongside legal and policy-making frameworks, including the important role of legislation in this discussion.

The royal commission brought shared responsibility to the fore and the Council of Australian Governments made it a national challenge under its National Strategy for Disaster Resilience. This positioned shared responsibility as a central pillar of a ‘whole-of-nation, resilience-based approach to disaster management’.

“Like other big policy ideas such as ‘sustainability’ or ‘resilience’, there isn’t one blueprint for what it looks like or how to achieve it,” said Dr McLennan.

For this reason, shared responsibility in disaster management will be an ongoing discussion point because its definition will change according to particular locations, communities, scenarios and circumstances over time.

“There are lots of different and conflicting views on what it is and how and why to do it,” Dr McLennan said.

“Efforts to share responsibility in practice can’t be successful if the people involved don’t try to understand how others see it and why they see it differently.”

Dr McLennan noted shared responsibility needed to be discussed and understood at both theoretical and, most importantly, pragmatic levels.

“Sharing responsibility requires sharing influence over disaster management activities. No one can be responsible for something they have no say over.

Agencies are not sharing responsibility, for example, when they decide what people should do and how to do it on their own land without any discussion, and then order people to do it.

“Particularly when it comes to preparation and recovery, to acknowledge the sharing of responsibility agencies will need to share control and allow the needs and priorities identified by the affected community to have more influence in shaping management activities,” she said.

How can we encourage communities to take ownership of shared responsibility?

“By talking about it with community groups and leaders—not abstractly but in the context of issues and risks relevant to the community,” Dr McLennan said.

“Another important step is involving community members in decisions about what needs to be done and how—involving them in shaping the challenges and potential solutions.”

The feedback from participants at the project’s public forums confirmed that this inclusive process was worthwhile and necessary.

The project involved five stages: 1 a literature review of ways responsibility is considered in risk-management research 2 a focus on helping stakeholders to see shared responsibility in new ways 3 a policy review of ways to shape responsibility sharing 4 case studies 5 workshops.

The case studies and workshops were combined to examine shared responsibility issues in ways that were sensitive to the perspectives of stakeholders. The first case examined was the way challenges of shared responsibility were reflected in public submissions to the royal commission. Two major stakeholder engagement workshops were also held to engage a wide range of stakeholders in public conversation about their perspectives on ‘what is wrong and what needs fixing’ with shared responsibility.

Professor Handmer and Dr McLennan say the study provided some answers to two fundamental questions: what is shared responsibility, and how do we do it?

“At a broad, societal level, this is about negotiating a new social contract for disaster management,” Professor Handmer said.

“This is what lies behind calls for ‘a new focus on shared responsibility’. The idea of a social contract is that governments and communities agree on how rights and responsibilities should be allocated between them. This is both formal and informal and is the basis for how society accepts a system of governance.”

But at present, one-half of this social contract is missing.

“In exchange for accepting some responsibility for disaster management, communities are entitled to ask: What’s in it for us? What rights and benefits do we receive?” explained Dr McLennan.

If a new social contract is to be adopted, then those questions need to be included in these public discussions, according to Professor Handmer.

“They need to be considered in the context of core risk-management dilemmas, such as the protection of citizens’ and property holders’ rights.”

The legitimacy and accountability of government agencies and government decisions is another core dilemma; this includes decisions about prescribed burning and management of public land. Another such

dilemma is the uneven impact of disaster risk and riskmanagement activities, for example, through people’s decisions to live on forested blocks. These themes are addressed in other Bushfire CRC studies, investigating land use planning and community perceptions of the landscape and the risk it entails.

“Communities, private land holders, governments, policy-makers and emergency management agencies need to be talking about shared responsibilities alongside shared rights and benefits,” Professor Handmer said.

“But it is a process that cries out for leadership to provide structured opportunities to have these important conversations.”

Dr McLennan said the project found that there was no right or wrong way to share responsibility.

“In practice, sharing responsibility presents many diverse yet overlapping and interacting challenges,” she said.

A simple, practical approach to these challenges could be to structure conversations around providing short answers to basic questions. These would scope out the responsibility-sharing challenges and processes.

These questions could include: Sharing responsibility for what? Mitigating hazards?

Building resilience? Protecting life? Making informed risk choices?

Sharing responsibility between which parties at what levels? Emergency service agencies and communities? Property holders and local government? Public and private sectors?

Sharing responsibility on what grounds? Legal or moral obligations? Social expectations? Capacity to act? Freedom of choice?

Sharing responsibility under what conditions and limitations? Before, during or after an event?

For what type or severity of hazard? Within what legal and institutional structures? In what kinds of natural landscapes?

Questions like these are being developed as a tool to assist stakeholders, which will be produced as part of longer-term activities to use the research outcomes.

The need for more inclusive approaches to governance in Australian disaster management was another key finding of the research.

According to project lead end user Mick Ayre, who is Director Regional Operations at South Australia’s Country Fire Service, a stronger shared vision is one of the many benefits of this project.

“This study has contributed enormously to the growing body of knowledge about how we, as a society, deal with risk and uncertainty. It provides examples of what is currently ‘wrong and what needs fixing’ in respect to responsibility sharing, and how to develop potential mechanisms to learn from past events. Importantly, it offers new ways to think differently about and share the responsibility for disaster management.”

there was a groundswell of interest in the complex subject of shared responsibility, as evidenced by the attendance at the project workshops.

View the research report for this project at www.bushfirecrc.com by searching for ‘sharing responsibility project final report’.

Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014 | 31

FIRE SAFETY AT MINE SITES

Fire protection at mine sites—identiFying risks and understanding saFety measures While fire is always a serious and potentially deadly threat, as demonstrated by the recent Hazelwood coal mine fire, the consequences of fire in mining environments can be especially catastrophic.

PHoTo: WAYNE RIgg, CFA

Personnel awareness and understanding the use of fire protection systems and equipment

By Joseph Keller Communications Manager, FPA Australia

32 | Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014

T

The March 2014 fire at the Hazelwood open cut mine in Victoria’s north east is a timely reminder of the challenges associated with tackling fires in highly hazardous environments.

he hazardous nature of most mining operations, coupled with the remoteness of many mine sites, means that site operators must exercise the highest levels of care with regard to fire protection in order to safeguard lives, mining equipment, property and the environment.

This duty of care extends beyond mine site managers, who are tasked with ensuring the overall safety of all personnel and visitors to a site. The responsibility for fire safety on mine sites extends to every person, including fire protection contractors tasked with installing, inspecting, testing and maintaining fire protection systems and equipment; site staff (directly involved with the mining operation and support staff); and site visitors. Everyone must be alert to the risks of fires and other special hazards on mine sites and be able to identify some key warning signs.

This article highlights five key points for consideration regarding fire safety on mine sites and provides some tips on how to combat these issues and ensure everyone is safe from fire and related emergencies while on-site.

It is important to note that each site has individual requirements and may present unique fire and hazard risks. This article is intended to provide general information only and should not be taken as a guide to fire safety on any individual mine site. Always follow the stipulated occupational health and safety (OH&S) and site safety instructions required on-site and adhere to all guidelines as determined by the site safety supervisor.

In many potential fire emergencies, situational awareness (i.e. a sound awareness of the surroundings) can mean the difference between a fire starting or not, or the difference between a small, manageable fire and a large, devastating one. This might be as simple as personnel recognising that a piece of mobile plant equipment is getting unusually hot, is sparking or overloading and should be deactivated or moved, or that material stacked in a storeroom presents a high fuel load and should be rearranged, for example. This type of preventive action can stop dangerous fires from starting.

If a fire does start on the worksite or on a piece of equipment, it is critical that site personnel understand what measures to take and how the installed fire protection systems and equipment are designed to operate. FPA Australia Learning and Development Specialist, Mr Bob Goninon, said one of the best things mine-site personnel could do to reduce their fire risk was to familiarise themselves with the fire protection systems and equipment in their work space.

“Today, the modern mining environment is usually very well protected against fire, but it is critical that individuals on-site understand how to operate fire protection systems and equipment if required,” he said.

“This may be as simple as understanding where the portable fire extinguishers are located and which extinguisher is appropriate for which kind of fire [FPA Australia produces a portable fire extinguisher guide to assist with this]. Alternatively, it could mean having a good understanding of the operation of the complex fire-suppression system installed on a haul truck.”

Mr Goninon encouraged site personnel to pass their eye over fire protection systems and equipment in the working area at the start of every shift as part of their pre-start routine.

“A good example of where this type of routine checking can be critical relates to fire protection systems on haul trucks.

“If there is thickly caked mud around the system, particularly near the indication equipment, then the response time for the system to activate may be delayed.

If the system is very badly blocked by mud or debris, it may fail altogether. Due diligence is required on the part of personnel to check that fire protection systems and equipment are in good working order, remembering it could save their life or the life of a workmate.”

Adherence to site safety guidelines including site-specific requirements

Like any workplace, mine sites have unique OH&S requirements. These are usually enshrined in legislation that imposes significant penalties if site operators do not follow requirements. This means that a significant amount of risk, including fire risk, is automatically mitigated by simply adhering to the strict safety guidelines in place on-site.

Mr Goninon said the most effective way to protect yourself and others on-site was to simply observe all of the site safety requirements, which were always outlined in detail to all site staff and visitors.

“Today, many sites have their own versions of ‘take 5’ safety booklets (or similar), which are required to be read and carried by all personnel on-site. Adherence with site OH&S requirements, including reading and understanding the site safety directory or other ‘pocket’ guide[s], may dramatically reduce the risk of fire or special hazard emergencies from occurring.

In the event a fire emergency does occur, a good understanding of the site requirements for emergency management and evacuation procedures is also vital.”

Ensuring correct servicing of fire protection systems and equipment by trained professionals

As in all applications, fire protection systems and equipment installed on mine sites may only have to operate very infrequently. However, in such a situation it is critical that the system or piece of equipment works as designed and ultimately protects lives and valuable equipment. While fire protection systems and equipment may appear to be in good working order from the outside, only a trained professional will be able to ensure that fire safety measures, such as firesuppression systems or portable fire extinguishers, will work correctly when they are needed.

Mr Goninon said one of the most common examples of this issue related to dry chemical portable fire extinguishers.

“The extinguishing powder inside a dry chemical portable fire extinguisher will cake together and harden over time. This hardening can affect the performance of the extinguisher, to the point of becoming completely inoperable. Due to the nature of the fires on mobile equipment, such as haul trucks, dry chemical extinguishers are often used. In these cases the constant shaking of the extinguisher due to the movement of the truck can increase the speed of the caking problem, but from the outside the extinguisher might appear to be in perfect order.

“With this in mind mine-site operators should carefully consider the skills of any company or individual who will be responsible for the ‘inspect and test’ activities on fire protection systems and equipment at their site. Only appropriately trained individuals should be allowed to work on life-saving fire protection measures in any situation, but on a mine site where the consequences of a fire incident are intensified, it is even more critical that individuals inspecting and testing this equipment are competent,” said Mr Goninon.

FPA Australia has recently launched an accreditation scheme for individuals undertaking

inspect and test activities on fire protection systems and equipment and those businesses that support them. The Fire Protection Accreditation Scheme (FPAS) is the only independent national benchmark for the competency of fire protection technicians working in Australia. To ensure individuals have appropriate training to undertake inspect and test activities on-site, have signed the FPA Australia Code of Practice and their business holds all of the appropriate insurances, site operators and managers who require fire protection services should choose an FPAS-recognised business wherever possible.

Changes in environmental conditions

Beyond the human factors, changes in environmental conditions can dramatically affect the chances of fires occurring on-site and the potential for effective operation of fire systems and equipment. For example, heavy rains can cause mud to form around fire-suppression systems on vehicles. If not cleaned immediately the mud will harden and can affect the functioning of vital equipment. Extremely dusty environments can lead to fire detection systems issuing false alarms. If not cleaned, over time extreme dust can also contaminate fire detection equipment and cause the equipment to no longer function correctly.

Finally, on particularly hazardous sites such as oil platforms, power generation facilities, natural gas extraction sites or uranium mining operations, changes in environmental conditions can create particularly hazardous scenarios. In these kinds of very hazardous environments, the requirement to follow all fire safety instructions on-site becomes paramount, as does the diligence required to ensure all systems and equipment are operating effectively. Special fire protection systems and equipment exist for operation in hazardous and harsh environments and these must only ever be serviced by individuals with specific knowledge of these complex systems.

Ensuring adequate understanding of accidental discharge and scheduled gases

Fire protection systems and equipment may be accidentally activated on mine sites. This can be problematic, particularly when scheduled gases are involved.

Scheduled gases are those extinguishing agents that can damage the ozone layer and worsen the greenhouse effect (leading to global warming).

Depending on their effect on the environment, these extinguishing agents are referred to as ozone-depleting substances (ODS) and synthetic greenhouse gases (SGG). Some extinguishing agents, such as Halon or hydrochlorofluorocarbons, are both ODS and SGG, while others such as hydrofluorocarbons (e.g. FM-200) are SGG but not ODS. Schedule 1 of the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 (the Act) provides a complete list of scheduled ODS & SGG substances that are covered by the Act, but in minesite operations the gases most typically present will be FE-22, FM-200, NAF S-III and NAF P-III. These gases may be found in fixed and mobile fire-suppression

Portable fire extinguisher guide.

3131 T +61 3 8892 3132 F +61 3 8892 om.au E shop@fpaa.c fpaa.com.au E technical@ com.au W www.fpaa.

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continued on page 34

Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014 | 33

gooD PRACTICE gUIDE

Fire protection industry (ods & sgg) Board update

By Carlos Santin

ODS & SGG Board Executive Officer

T

he Fire Protection Industry (ODS & SGG) Board would like to highlight that while your business may already promote its competitiveness, great service and experience in the industry, communicating to your customers that your company employs licensed fire protection technicians will provide credibility and highlight your professionalism. Also, for those businesses that hold an Extinguishing Agent Trading Authorisation and/or Halon Special Permit, highlighting this fact will similarly help build customer confidence. Such actions should give customers peace of mind that they have chosen a qualified person to do the job.

Transition to an Extinguishing Agent Handling Licence (EAHL) Qualified Persons (Entitlement 1–5) licence

In November 2013 the Board issued a notice to all technicians holding an EAHL— Experienced Persons licence. This notice indicated that from 1 December 2014, the EAHL—Experienced Persons (Entitlement 1–5) licence will no longer be available for new applicants or renewals.

If your EAHL—Experienced Persons (Entitlement 1–5) licence expires after 1 December 2014, the licence will be valid until the date of expiry.

An EAHL—Experienced Persons continued from page 33

34 | Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014

(Entitlement 1–5) licence has always been a transitional licence. It has played a pivotal role in allowing technicians to continue to work while their industry experience is assessed and units of competency undertaken to attain an EAHL—Qualified Persons (Entitlement 1–5) licence. The Extinguishing Agent Trainee Licence valid for 12 months will now serve this function, allowing individuals sufficient time to undertake the training and assessment needed to gain an EAHL—Qualified Persons (Entitlement 1–5) licence.

In 2014, the Board will gradually phase in the EAHL—Qualified Persons (Entitlement 6) licence, ensuring technicians have attained all competencies required to undertake the full range of work covered by the EAHL—Qualified Persons licence.

Release of new ODS and SGG Good Practice Guide

This Good Practice Guide is applicable to all fire-suppression system practitioners and companies who handle or trade in extinguishing agents described in Schedule 1 of the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989.

The guide supersedes the September 2007 edition of the Ozone-Depleting Substances and Synthetic Greenhouse Gases (ODS & SGG) Code of Practice.

The objective of this Good Practice Guide is to provide guidance to fire

systems and equipment. Examples of mobile equipment include large excavators, shovels, draglines, haul trucks and wheeled loaders.

When an accidental discharge of any firesuppression system occurs, significant downtime may result while the machinery or equipment is cleaned and the fire-suppression system or equipment is reset. If no refill of suppression system gas is available nearby, equipment may be out of action for days or weeks while new gas is brought to the site.

Thus, personnel should be particularly careful not to accidentally discharge or damage fire protection systems and equipment.

Many mining facilities involve the full range of special hazard installations. Halons have been systematically superseded for machinery protection by dry chemical–wet chemical ‘twin-agent’, foam and inert gas systems.

protection industry practitioners in handling, storing and disposing of scheduled ODS and SGG used in the fire industry, to reduce emissions into the environment and ensure compliance with the provisions of the legislation.

The Good Practice Guide covers many aspects associated with the correct handling and management of ODS and SGG extinguishing agents to ensure compliance with the Act, but it is not exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with other relevant information.

The Board endorses the use of this Good Practice Guide by all those who manufacture, sell, install, commission, service and decommission fire protection equipment and systems that use scheduled ODS and SGG extinguishing agents.

The assistance provided by FPA Australia (through members of its Technical Advisory Committees), staff of the National Halon Bank and other industry representatives in producing this Good Practice Guide is gratefully acknowledged.

Download a copy of the Good Practice Guide by visiting the Board website www.fpaa.com.au/ozone and selecting the Good Practice Guide tab.

For any queries regarding the Good Practice Guide or anything else Boardrelated please contact the Executive Officer, Fire Protection Industry (ODS & SGG) Board, on ozone@fpaa.com.au or call 1300 731 922.

These systems can often contain scheduled gases such as FE-227, FM-200, NAF S-III and NAF P-III. Scheduled gases can only be handled legally by individuals holding the relevant Extinguishing Agent Handling Licence. If a scheduled agent accidentally discharges, the Fire Protection Industry (ODS & SGG) Board must be formally notified. With all this in mind, mine-site personnel should be diligent that accidental discharge of fire protection systems and equipment is kept to a minimum, particularly where the systems contain scheduled extinguishing agents.

For more information regarding FPAS, visit www. fpaa.com.au/fpas. For information regarding scheduled gases and all relevant licences and permits or to report an accidental discharge contact ozone@fpaa.com.au or call 1300 731 922.

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Autumn 2014 | 35

Pacific island emergency management alliance

inaugural Piema meeting of Pacific islands national disaster management Offices, fire & rescue, afac, police and other key stakeholders, nadi, fiji, in 2013.

strengthening emergency management in the pacific A strategic alliance between AFAC, disaster management organisations, and police and fire services associations across Australia and the Pacific is helping to increase capabilities when responding to natural and human-caused disasters.

By Jill Edwards

Director, Capability and Member Services, AFAC

i

n 2013 in Nadi, Fiji, a milestone for the Pacific region was reached in the establishment of the Pacific Islands Emergency Management Alliance (PIEMA)—a strategic alliance among the Pacific Islands National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs), fire and emergency services through the Pacific Islands Fire Services Association (PIFSA), members of the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC) and the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police.

PIEMA is a mechanism to strengthen the emergency preparedness and response capability and capacity of the Pacific Island countries and territories.

Its founding partners are Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPCCPS), AFAC, Pacific Islands Fire Services Association, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), The Asia Foundation, NZ Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management and Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police.

Background

Significant disasters within the Pacific region, both recently and over the past decade, have highlighted a number of weaknesses in disaster and emergency management arrangements that have challenged the traditional understanding, structures and methods in the region.

It is increasingly evident from these disasters that no single agency can successfully manage these events alone, and the structures of many institutions do not align with current and future challenges. This means

36 | Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014

that more than ever agencies need to collaborate to deal with all-hazards and new mechanisms are needed to support this intent.

The Pacific Disaster Risk Reduction and Disaster Management Framework for Action 2005–15 strongly advocates for improved disaster and emergency preparedness response capacity, particularly at the national level within Pacific Island countries. The strategic alliance supports this ideal and establishes a practical, effective and focused mechanism to maximise investment in disaster management and foster change.

The drivers behind the establishment of PIEMA are disaster managers, police and the fire and emergency services, and in particular those who have experienced the challenges, pain and frustration of managing major disaster events.

Issues to address

Mechanisms to reduce human-caused risks in almost all Pacific Island countries still require strengthening.

Although a lot of work has been done to support and strengthen natural disaster risk reduction and disaster management planning, problems still exist. These problems include: inadequate institutional arrangements for mainstreaming natural and human-induced hazard risks into the broader disaster risk management and planning environments limited or inadequate capacity for collecting accurate statistics, hazard analysis and vulnerability mapping outdated or non-existent agency operational

piema founding partners Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management Te Raˉkau Whakamarumaru

Compounding these specific challenges are the generic yet significant challenges facing the region, such as distance and the lack of institutional and technical capacity and resources, including financial resources. Help is needed.

Planning a new approach

PIEMA aims to improve, within five years (effective from 2013), capability and operational systems so that disaster management within Pacific Island nations and throughout the region is more effective in reducing the impact of natural and human-caused disasters.

Leveraging from the AFAC–PIFSA partnership model, PIEMA has set itself three key objectives: 1. Pacific Island countries and territories will develop and commence using a standardised disaster and emergency management operational system with associated protocols and processes Key performance indicators Emergency and incident managers understand and use a standardised system for disaster/ emergency and incident management Disaster/emergency management system is tested and exercised All relevant institutions in island nations are using the agreed operational system.

Figure 1 The ideal model of interoperability of Disaster Management.

+ Fire and emergency services Incident management

International humanitarian aid coordination Disaster assistance

Non-Government organisations/ private sector Humanitarian assistance

Police Law enforcement

Common operational system

t en em ag an m

What does PIEMA intend to achieve?

2. The capacity and capability of the institutions responsible for disaster and emergency management will be strengthened and made interoperable Key performance indicators Formal governance arrangements or agreements for the integration of NDMO and fire and emergency services Agreed competency framework used by countries and territories to develop capability Workforce that comprises cultural and gender diversity and includes volunteers Community support for fire and emergency services and disaster management offices.

Priority activities Develop a competency framework for the region (developed in connection with a similar ongoing initiative which is supported by partner organisations) Establish a capacity and capability model appropriate for incident management/emergency management in the Pacific region

y nc ge er Em

Pivotal to the PIEMA approach is the recognition that no one agency can fulfil all the requirements necessary to successfully manage disasters. Together, however, they represent a significant national and regional capability that, when brought together through cohesive leadership and common systems and processes, can support their nations in a more effective way, as shown by Figure 1.

Priority activities Evaluate relevant communications and incident management systems Design, develop, test and implement an agreed incident control/emergency management operational system.

Di sa st er m an ag em en t

plans, national disaster management plans and arrangements with supporting legislation weak linkages between the NDMO and fire and other emergency services limited focus on education, prevention and mitigation planning with regard to community safety reactive response to fires and emergencies within a small distance of existing fire stations limited capacity for urban search and rescue in earthquake-prone countries with urban centres limited sphere of influence by fire and emergency services with NDMOs weak or uncoordinated preparedness, response and recovery arrangements lack of political support, engagement and commitment to fire and emergency services and their role with national disaster management committees.

Military Disaster assistance

National disaster coordination

Authorising environment

Whole of Government Planning & decision-making

Citizens Spontaneous volunteers

Prevention, preparedness, response, recovery Focus of PIEMA Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014 | 37

Pacific island emergency management alliance

Benchmark current capability and capacity against the model and identify priority areas for attention Identify professional development programs for all identified skill areas Review governance arrangements for the interoperability of disaster management and fire and emergency services and identify cases of ‘best practice’ for potential adoption Develop a program for recruiting volunteers and to diversify the workforce to create employment opportunities and improve community outreach Develop community safety and awareness programs and build capacity to deliver the programs.

3. Relationships and development of future leaders will be strengthened to enhance the performance and interoperability of the disaster/emergency management institutions in the region Key performance indicators National support for, and participation with, regional associations Formal twinning arrangements All leaders helping to build relationships and strengthen partnerships Communities have more confidence in the stronger partnerships of all relevant institutions and their ability to manage natural and humancaused disasters.

Priority activities Form a formal alliance as part of an expanded PIFSA, to include NDMOs and police, including establishing a regional secretariat for the alliance Conduct regional forums and professional development workshops involving disaster managers, fire and emergency service chiefs, police commissioners and key stakeholders Formalise twinning between Pacific Island fire and emergency services, NDMOs and AFAC member agencies Develop MOUs to formalise arrangements between AFAC member agencies, Pacific Island fire and emergency services and NDMOs for nominated countries Develop strategic plans to guide the operationalisation of MOUs Develop a strategy to guide and support national leadership development and institutional exchange arrangements.

How will PIEMA know it is successful?

The primary beneficiaries of PIEMA are the communities, government (national and subnational levels) and various sectors, including the private sector, within each Pacific Island country and territory.

Success will be when communities are safer and the impact of disasters is reduced as far as possible.

The following points will indicate progress: The NDMOs and fire and emergency service agencies and police address emergencies/disasters through an interoperable system The role of women and volunteers in disaster, fire and emergency services is enhanced and increased 38 | Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014

National fire and emergency services are involved in building codes and structural fire safety and evacuation processes Reduced community vulnerability through improved fire safety standards and education A broader range of emergency services (e.g. fire, technical rescue, hazardous materials and first aid ambulance) is delivered on a national basis.

Getting started

Support for PIEMA has been obtained from the 18th Regional Disaster Managers Meeting and Pacific Platform for Disaster Risk Management held in September 2012, and the Inaugural Meeting of Regional Disaster Managers, Fire and Emergency Services and Police held in July 2013. In addition, the concept of a strategic alliance has been endorsed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) Committee of Regional Governments and Administrations, which met in November 2012.

Based on the experiences of Pacific fire and emergency services and AFAC partner agencies, implementing PIEMA leverages from the successes of PIFSA–AFAC partnerships in countries such as Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, where support programs and arrangements have been in place for many years. Such partnerships now include NDMOs and police as shown in Figure 1.

The PIEMA work is incorporated into the ACP-EU Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific project, funded by the European Union. Key staff members have now been recruited and are taking up positions in Suva, Fiji. Anthony Blake will be responsible for PIEMA activities, working with all partners to progress our goals and objectives.

Engagement in the region

This year the AFAC and Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC conference in Wellington, New Zealand, will include sessions on disaster risk management in the Pacific region. Delegates can hear about the lessons learned in a region that has been significantly affected by disasters.

Many creative and innovative programs are being deployed and the changes made will be showcased.

PIEMA will hold its next meeting in conjunction with the conference, maximising the opportunity for all disaster and incident managers to network with their peers in the Australasian region—sharing experiences, knowledge and building relationships.

In the meantime, a number of AFAC member agencies are providing training and equipment to Pacific agencies: The Tasmania Fire Service is providing airport and firefighter training for the Nauru Fire and Emergency Services The South Australia Country Fire Service is completing a needs assessment of capability requirements in Kiribati for the NDMO The South Australia Metropolitan Fire Service is providing officer cadet training for Tonga Fire and Emergency Services Fire and Rescue New South Wales has provided personal protective equipment.

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cathedral fires

Fire saFety in churches and cathedrals

st Patricks cathedral, Parramatta, NsW, 1996.

Places of worship have their own problems when it comes to protecting them from fire. However, sprinkler systems can be installed so they are sensitive to the heritage architecture while effectively protecting against fire.

By Barry Lee, OAM

f

ires in places of worship (churches, cathedrals, synagogues, temples and mosques) often result in significant cultural, social and heritage losses. Many contain priceless artefacts, relics, works of art, statuary, stained glass and tapestries. Some represent centuries of continuous religious worship. For example, Ackroyd1 notes: “The cathedrals of Worcester, Canterbury, Winchester and Norwich were all completed or at least consecrated by the end of the eleventh century; St Paul’s, Durham and Chichester were in the process of being built, as were Ely and Gloucester. The cathedral of Old Sarum had been completed by 1092.”

The fire record

And they burn! Some 4,300 of more than 325,000 churches and synagogues in the USA were damaged or destroyed by fire in 1972, with a total loss estimated at more than $28 M. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recently reported that, from 2007 to 2011, US fire departments responded to an average of 1,780 structure fires in religious and funeral properties each year. NFPA estimates that these fires resulted in an annual average of two civilian fatalities, 19 civilian injuries and $11 M in direct property damage. When automatic sprinklers were present, the average loss per fire was 73% lower than when no automatic suppression systems were present.

A 1985 survey by the Technical Research Institute of Sweden showed that 447 churches or chapels were destroyed by fire between 1193 and 1984; 106 of these had been started by lightning. During the 2000s, an alarming number of churches and other historical buildings have been destroyed by fire; in most cases, the fires were deliberately set.

Cathedrals are vulnerable: building began on the fourth St Paul’s in London, generally referred to as ‘Old St Paul’s’, with the Normans after a 1087 fire. Work was disrupted by fire in 1138. In the Great Fire of London in 1666, Old St Paul’s (and 89 other churches) was gutted. Unfortunately, it was undergoing repairs on the eve of the fire, and partly encased by timber scaffolding. Thus the fire ran up to the roof. According to Thomas Vincent2, a protestant preacher: The church though all of stone outward, though naked of houses about it, and though so high above all buildings in the city yet within a

40 | Fire AustrAliA

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while doth yield to the violent assaults of the conquering flames, and strangely takes fire at the top.

In 1865, Sydney’s first St Marys Cathedral was ruined by fire; a stone column outside the eastern door of the present cathedral is all that remains. A major blaze in 1906 destroyed the Abbey of Selby, thus depriving Yorkshire of its most perfect monastic church, while the country lost a national relic (founded

by William the Conqueror in 1068). It was one of the finest examples of Norman, Early English and Decorated architecture.

Across the Channel, in 1972, fire caused hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage to Malines Cathedral in Belgium. The choir roof was destroyed, along with a tower and works of art.

In 1982 two deliberately lit blazes caused thousands of pounds of damage to the 700-year-old Salisbury Cathedral. Then, in 1984, a suspected lightning strike on the south transept of York Minster resulted in a £4.4 M damage bill; attempts by the fire authority to put ladders up to the triforium were unsuccessful because molten lead showered down from the roof. St Patricks Cathedral in Parramatta, NSW, succumbed to fire in 1996. St Marys Catholic Church in Burwood, NSW, had earlier suffered $1 M damage from a fire originating in a neon sign control box.

Extensive damage was sustained by Peterborough Cathedral in 2001 when fire took hold near twelfthcentury choir stalls. Also in 2001, fire started in the gift shop, from a suspected electrical short circuit, in the Episcopalian Cathedral of St John the Divine, New York, causing extensive smoke and water damage and destroying two priceless 17th century Barberini tapestries. Severe fires also occurred in the cathedrals of Nantes and Berlin.

The fire problem

Church construction can be deceptive because masonry walls may conceal vast timber-framed roof voids and other hidden spaces. The timber structural elements may be very dry and extensive—it is said, for example, that if the timber in Britain’s Lincoln Cathedral had to be replaced it would take a forest the size of Lincoln to provide the wood. Risk areas in churches include the organ, choir stalls, vestry, roof

spaces, tower and boiler room (if present). Risks may also exist in sacristy stores, devotional item stores and annexed libraries.

The causes of fire are many. They include arson (such activities are often directed towards symbolic or heritage structures), defective electrical installations, malfunctioning heating systems, misuse of portable heating appliances, lightning, nesting birds, rodents, candles, and incense burners. Fires are started by contractors undertaking hot work—using LPG gas torches to burn fungus from stonework or treating roof timbers for dry rot, using blowtorches, cutting and welding. The fire problem is exacerbated by churches being frequently unattended and, more often than not, lacking any form of automatic fire detection or suppression equipment—all of which contributes to delayed fire brigade response. Bell towers pose difficult problems for firefighters, and refurbishing work involves extensive scaffolding and decking, which may seriously obstruct firefighting operations.

Fire detection and suppression

Smoke detection systems (both beam and aspirating types) have been installed in several churches and cathedrals around the world. In Winchester Cathedral in the UK, aspirating smoke detection monitors the triforium, transepts, presbytery and clerestory walkways. Water mist systems have been installed in several Swedish churches, some of which are heritage classified. Automatic sprinkler protection, on the other hand, is rarely installed. As NFPA puts it3: Automatic sprinklers have proved to be the most effective fire protection system now available. ...

Yet, church authorities and parishioners often object to a sprinkler system, either for aesthetic reasons or reasons of cost. They … rationalise their decision on the grounds that their local fire department is capable of taking care of any fire that may occur.

Heritage listed Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton Gardens, Melbourne, for example, would be aware that sprinklers are installed.

On the height issue, cathedrals in particular often involve very high ceilings. The nave ceiling in St Stephan’s Cathedral, Vienna, is 28 m above the floor; that of the Cathedral of Albi is 30.4 m and Notre Dame de Paris reaches 33.5 m. The Chartres ceiling is 34.7 m high; Bourges, 37.5 m; Rheims, 38 m; Seville, 40 m; Amiens, 42 m; Cologne, 45 m; and the Duomo of Milan, 45.5 m. The height of the nave ceiling in St Marys Cathedral, Sydney, is 22.5 m, while St Pauls Cathedral in Melbourne is 22.9 m. A tall order for sprinklers? Perhaps, but the fire risks associated with organs, choirs, sacristies, triforium voids, roof voids, gift shops and narthex displays need to be recognised; they present few challenges to automatic sprinklers.

If a fire at floor level (or a fire originating higher in the building) were to generate sufficient heat to threaten the integrity of the ceiling or its support structure, then sprinkler operation and structural cooling would be assured. However, if the smoke or hot gas plume is strong when the sprinkler starts operating, then the sprinkler discharge may not help to control the fire. It is only with the relatively recent development of large drop and early suppression fast

Figure 1 The typical cathedral structure.

Diagonal rib

Transverse rib

Pinnacle

Flying buttress

Cathedrals are typically lofty structures (see Figure 1). They have an elaborate organ, usually at upper levels, and may have wall hangings, wood carvings and wooden pews and seating. Over the nave and aisles are usually considerable void spaces, with a bell tower and bell ringer’s chamber. Given the vulnerability to fire of such structures, and the proven performance record of automatic sprinkler protection across a wide range of occupancies, why are sprinklers so rarely installed in churches and cathedrals? Aside from the perennial question of cost, and which over the long haul is far outstripped by the never-ending expense of restoration and maintenance work, there are two frequently cited objections: aesthetics and the height issue.

The aesthetics question is readily dealt with because many heritage buildings worldwide are equipped with automatic sprinklers. Not only have specialist contractors learned to install sprinklers with negligible interruption to building function, but also to consider aesthetics and preservation of building fabric. Most visitors to such protected buildings are unaware that sprinklers are installed. Few visitors to the World

Clerestory window

Buttress

Spandril

Pier of nave arcade

Aisle window

Blind arcade

Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014 | 41

cathedral fires

Table 1 Relative size of fire at sprinkler operation.

Sprinkler rating (°C)

Ratio of fire size

68

1

79

1.20

93

1.45

141

2.31

182

3.05 response (ESFR) sprinklers that serious attention has been given to the advantages of spray penetration of the plume, and the first sprinklers to operate may not be directly over the fire when very high ceilings are involved. However, sprinklers respond to localised heat and help maintain cool upper ceiling temperatures and protect against structural failure. Fleming4 emphasised: … sprinklers should not be omitted from high ceilings without a great deal of thought and analysis. It may seem they are too far removed from the fire to do any good, that to expect a water spray to travel all that distance and have any effect is expecting the impossible.

church construction can be deceptive because masonry walls may conceal vast timberframed roof voids and other hidden spaces.

But ask any fighter of forest fires: From what height does the rain fall?

Clearly, due to cooling of the plume of hot gas as it rises in the nave/transept, the greater the height of the ceiling, the larger will be the fire when sprinklers operate. For a sprinkler close to the point immediately above the origin of the fire, the size of fire when detected increases approximately as the height to the power 5/2. For a sprinkler of selected temperature rating placed immediately above the fire, the convective heat output at sprinkler operation increases approximately in proportion to the square of the ceiling height; thus, doubling the height of the ceiling results in a four-fold increase in fire size at operation.5 For sprinklers at a horizontal distance of 1.5 m or more from the fire, the increase in fire size at sprinkler operation is linearly related to ceiling height; thus, doubling the ceiling height results in double the size of fire at sprinkler operation.

An increase in the sprinkler rating—the temperature at which it operates—results in a larger fire to be extinguished. The rise in temperature of the sprinkler heat-sensing element is practically proportional to the convective heat output of the fire6, so that the size of fire at sprinkler operation is proportional to the required rise in heat-sensing element temperature. Table 1 shows the size of the fire needed to operate glass-bulb-type sprinklers of different temperature ratings, compared with the size of fire needed to operate a 68°C sprinkler assuming an ambient temperature of 13°C.

English Heritage advice

English Heritage provides guidance for cathedral management authorities.

Designate a senior member of permanent staff to be responsible for fire safety; set up and maintain a standing fire safety committee and define the cathedral architect’s role in relation to fire safety.

Prepare a fire safety manual.

Devise a comprehensive emergency plan, including a salvage and damage control plan, and implement a disaster preparedness program.

Liaise frequently with the local fire brigade.

Ensure that all electrical systems are tested regularly.

Install a comprehensive analogue addressable fire detection and alarm system.

Install a public address system to control large crowds.

Install emergency lighting.

Install a lightning protection system.

Install catwalks, safety railings and low-level emergency lighting in roof voids and other places for firefighter safety.

At the time of writing, English Heritage also undertook to provide technical guidance to cathedral authorities on fire risk assessment, fire engineering, detection systems, salvage and damage control and preparing disaster management plans. Research will be carried out into the effectiveness of radio fire detectors, the likely impact of compartmentation of roof voids on local environmental conditions in respect of underside lead corrosion and infestations by beetles and fungi, and appropriate fire-suppression systems for cathedral roof voids, including sprinklers. references 1. Ackroyd P 2004, ‘The origins of the English imagination’, Vintage (Random House).

2. Vincent T 1667, ‘God’s terrible voice in the city’.

3. NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) 1974, A study of church fires, NFPA No. FR 74-3, Boston, Mass.

4. Fleming RP 1988, ‘High-on sprinklers’, Sprinkler Quarterly, Winter.

5. Nash P and Young RA 1974, ‘The performance of the sprinkler as a fire detector,’ Fire Surveyor, February.

6. ‘A study of the performance of automatic sprinkler systems’, Fire Research Technical Paper No. 17, Ministry of Technology and Fire Offices’ Committee Joint Fire Research Organization, 1967.

42 | Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014

Are You Really Getting Value from Your ASD Detector?

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bushfire modelling conference

gail Wright, the victorian department of environment and primary industries.

by comparing the fire weather forecasts for Ash Wednesday in 1983 and Black Saturday in 2009. The presentation highlighted the substantial advances in simulation and modelling in the intervening decades.

This plenary led into the main fire session, which showcased recent advances in fire simulation and modelling. A broad range of fire science was covered in the session, including fuels, climatology, fire-spread simulation and extreme fire behaviour. a fire producing pyro-convection. this is an emerging research topic.

Fire science at the extremes Fire, weather and bushfire modelling experts gathered in Adelaide in late 2013 to discuss the latest scientific developments. Bushfire CRC PhD student Mika Peace joined them.

By Mika Peace

Meteorologist, Bureau of Meteorology, and Bushfire CRC PhD student

d

evastating bushfire events over the past decade have had a huge impact on the Australian community and environment. In order to mitigate against the impact of these events, information is critical. Fire managers need to know where a fire will burn, what fuels it will consume, how it will behave, what assets are at risk and where the smoke plume will go.

Predicting these factors is extremely complicated.

But as with many predictive questions, mathematical numerical simulations can provide answers. To discuss how, experts in weather, fire and computer modelling from around the world converged to discuss the latest research.

Conference

The 2nd International Congress on Modelling and Simulation (MODSIM 2013) took place over six days. Being one of the biggest conferences of its type in the world meant that there were 12 conference streams covering 81 separate sessions, with more than 800 individual presentations. Highly diverse streams ranged from modelling of bushfire dynamics, fire weather, impact and risk, to biological systems, economics and finance, energy and water resources.

The attendance at the fire session showed significant growth in the field in the past few years. In each of 2009 and 2011, eight fire papers were presented. At MODSIM 2013, 35 papers were presented.

Fire prediction received a frontline introduction at the conference plenary, given by the Bureau of Meteorology’s Dr Jeff Kepert. Dr Kepert discussed ‘The science and technology of forecasting severe weather’,

44 | Fire AustrAliA

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New science—fire modelling

The major fire topics included simulation of fire perimeter, meteorology surrounding fires, extreme fire behaviour, assessment of fuels and risk associated with location and type of assets.

Mike Wouters, a Bushfire CRC lead end user and Senior Fire Ecologist at South Australia’s Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, noted that the Bushfire CRC was well represented.

“A large proportion of the fire research came from Bushfire CRC researchers. This shows the significant contribution to new fire modelling knowledge from the work of the Bushfire CRC,” said Mr Wouters.

“It was good to see the different ways in which fire modelling is being applied across Australia and New Zealand, in both the research and fire agency spaces. In particular, the application of Bushfire CRC work, both the Phoenix RapidFire and Australis/Aurora models, is now being taken up by agencies and universities in several states and used for a range of planning and experimental applications,” he said.

The range of simulation models was a conference feature, with the Weather and Research Forecasting and the Bureau of Meteorology’s Australian Community Climate and Earth Simulation System (ACCESS) featuring strongly. All models have enabled advances and discoveries in the field, demonstrating how rapidly fire modelling has evolved over the past few years. Each simulation highlighted the difficulty in establishing a relationship between wind speed and the rate of spread of a fire front. This is a real challenge for the future.

Fire Decision Support Tool The Bushfire CRC’s Fire Impact and Risk Evaluation Decision Support Tool (FireDST, featured in Fire Australia Summer 2011–12, p. 14–16) group was a key conference contributor, represented particularly by researchers from the Bureau of Meteorology and Geoscience Australia. The FireDST group gave several presentations. There were notable emphases on visualisation, mapping, hazards (including smoke) and graphical products, with a focus on communication to stakeholders and the community. A key difference with the FireDST project is that it reflects a more recent trend towards mapping fire-spread as the chances of fire affecting a given area, rather than a more blackand-white approach.

Meteorology Recent meteorological fire research by Bushfire CRC researchers featured strongly. The research examined

high-resolution atmospheric simulations for several bushfires. Running these models with resolution at scales of hundreds of metres has only been recently possible due to increases in computer power. These high-resolution simulations afford researchers new insights into the ways in which mesoscale and microscale meteorology has the potential to influence fire behaviour.

Mike Wouters confirmed the significance of this work. “The work of Bushfire CRC researchers in the meteorology field in analysing past events and developing improved prediction and forecast capabilities is important. This work is providing some insightful lessons for fire managers,” he said.

The findings from the recent research in this area present a new challenge for operations—what are the appropriate meteorological inputs to assist fire management and mitigation decisions? The findings from high-resolution atmospheric models, coupled with fire–atmosphere models, have provided detailed new knowledge on how the atmosphere influences fires and how fires and the atmosphere interact. This raises challenges for anticipating how a fire will evolve and therefore behave.

Extreme fire behaviour and pyro-convection Understanding extreme fire behaviour and predicting its likely occurrence was covered in plenty of detail.

Bushfire CRC research into extreme fire behaviour described phenomena including blow-up fires, fire channelling and firebrand transport (more commonly known as spotting). Fire plumes and strong winds were also examined.

Pyro-convection (the process by which energy released by a fire produces deep vertical columns of smoke and cloud) was an emerging topic, and looks likely to be an active research area in coming years. The extreme case of pyro-convection is firegenerated thunderstorms. This process was mentioned in contributions from case studies, idealised and real simulations and predictive capacity. Talks were presented on the structure of fire plumes, their likely vertical development and extent as well as atmospheric structure and interactions with topography.

Studying past fires in depth An important learning opportunity was the examination of past fire events in detail. Case studies included the Dunalley bushfire (Tasmania 2013), Margaret River bushfire (Western Australia 2011), Canberra’s 2003 fires, and fires from New Zealand and France. The French fire provided an interesting contrast to the large fires described in the Australian case studies, as the fire burnt an extremely small area, but was located at the interface of native vegetation and a residential area. The extremely complex terrain, and a combination of other factors, created a highly significant event.

urban–bushfire concerns ranging from fire mapping, urban expansion, fire prediction, risk potential and fuel management in the interface.

Fuels in particular showed contrasting approaches between national and state resource management.

A clear challenge in mapping fuels is establishing a balance between national consistency and state-based land management agencies.

Climate Climate change and climatology studies featured in several presentations. Some fire-related climatology studies examined the influence of jurisdiction on research focus. The approach was often state-based, rather than national, similar to the focus in fuel studies.

A study describing the climatology of lightning strikes highlighted a research area relevant to fire ignitions.

Bringing it all together

MODSIM 2013 showcased the progressive work happening right now in fire science. The increase in the number and range of presentations from the previous conference is very positive. However, the complexity and range of specialist areas that lie within bushfire modelling highlights a challenge for the progress of fire science—how do we integrate the research being undertaken in related fields?

Much of the research is undertaken independently, so opportunities such as MODSIM promote sharing thoughts and ideas. As with many other areas of science, integrating the various components through interaction and collaboration is critical to advance the field.

Overall, MODSIM 2013 was a positive week, full of interactions and a supportive research environment.

There are many opportunities for collaboration and ongoing work into the future. The challenge for all of us in the field will be to further develop our collaborations to progress fire and weather modelling, enabling transition from research to operations.

Mika Peace is a meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology and is completing a PhD in coupled fire–atmosphere modelling through the Bushfire CRC. the bushfire crc’s firedst project was well represented at modsim 2013. the study achieved a proofof-concept software program that shows the probability of a fire affecting specific areas.

Fuels and the urban interface Several presentations were concerned with the interface between vegetated areas adjacent to urban infrastructure. These presentations were varied, with

Fire AustrAliA

Autumn 2014 | 45

BLAST FROM THE PAST STRAP

ROZELLE TRAM DEPOT FIRE 1919

T

he 18 July 1919 edition of Sydney’s Evening News reported “Owing to the overheating of an air pump, a fire broke out on a tram in the Rozelle Tram Depot last night. The vehicle was soon ablaze and set fire to another tram standing alongside it. The blaze was not noticed immediately and the heat set the automatic fire sprinklers going. When the flames were discovered the alarm was sent to the fire brigade, but by the time the engines arrived the sprinklers had practically extinguished the outbreak.”

The NSW Railway & Tramway magazine reported “At 9.09 pm on Thursday 17 July 1919 a small fire broke out under the flooring of electric tram car No. 855 in the Rozelle Car Shed. At this time the half of the shed concerned, i.e. that portion more distant from its traffic offices, was filled with 75 cars though was otherwise unoccupied. The standby pitman was away with the breakdown car attending a derailed car and the duties of the traffic staff required their presence in the shed yard and offices, so the burning car was hidden from view behind other cars.

“Fourteen sprinkler heads operated.

They rang the fire alarm bell and mustered the staff to isolate, by removal, the infectious case. The cost to repair the damage will probably be covered by less than £1,000. The value of the ‘save’ might easily be represented by £80,000, or possibly double this figure.”

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The blaze was not noticed immediately and the heat set the automatic fire sprinklers going.

A tale of two cities

Melbourne—A fire at the Elwood Depot of Victorian Railways (VR) in 1907 resulted in the loss of the entire VR tram fleet and led the Trust to equip all its facilities at the depot with automatic sprinkler protection. Following a successful fire test at the Malvern Depot in 1915, no tram depot in Melbourne has since been built without automatic sprinkler protection.

Brisbane—The Brisbane Tramways did not adopt this policy. The Paddington Tram Depot was not equipped with automatic sprinklers and a serious fire on 28 September 1962 led to the destruction of 65 trams and total loss of the depot buildings. This was a major factor in winding-down and subsequently closing the entire tramway system

by April 1969.

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GC 121276

calendar of events AFAC and Bushfire & Natural Hazards CRC Conference

After disaster strrikes, learning from adversity 2–5 September 2014 Shed 6 and TSB Bank Arena, Wellington, New Zealand Earlybird registrations now open!

Visit www.afac.com.au/conference or turn to page 14 for more information.

Bushfire CRC webinars

The Bushfire CRC has launched a series of free webinars, featuring a selection of leading researchers. Aimed at fire and emergency service staff and volunteers, the webinars provide opportunities for knowledge sharing and will support and encourage the adoption of Bushfire CRC research.

For more information visit www.bushfirecrc.com.

FPA Australia assessment workshops

Training that suits your needs and your pace WA: 1–4 April; NT: 29 April–2 May NSW: 6–9 May; QLD: 13–16 May Enrol now in the ideal qualification for fire protection professionals: FPA Australia’s Certificate II in Fire Protection Inspection & Testing.

Choose from a range of individual subjects or enrol in the full qualification.

Start your training any time, when and where it suits you with our self-study option, then undertake an assessment workshop with one of our qualified workplace assessors in your state or territory.

Workshops run for one day or for a whole week, depending on your needs. Once successfully assessed you will receive a nationally recognised Statement of Attainment or Certificate.

Want your current skills and knowledge assessed?

FPA Australia offers you several options for assessment. Private workshops for group training and/or assessment can be arranged to suit the needs of your business.

Alternatively, you can enrol at any time and join other fire protection technicians at a public assessment workshop.

Check out the dates above for upcoming public workshops. If you are unable to attend any of the sessions listed and want to find out when FPA Australia will be conducting a session near you, or arrange private assessment sessions, call us on 1300 731 922.

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For more information on the workshops visit the training and education pages of the FPA Australia website at www.fpaa.com.au/training.

Exhibition & Sponsorship Brochure at www.fpaa.com.au/hazmat. You can also register online via the CONNECT platform at connect.fpaa.com.au.

FPAS training— limited and exclusive member offer 28 April–2 May; 26–30 May; 2–6 June Building 2, 31–47 Joseph St, Blackburn North, Victoria FPA Australia is excited to announce an exclusive member-only offer to assist you and your staff to undertake the necessary training to become accredited under the Fire Protection Accreditation Scheme (FPAS).

Workshops exclusively for FPA Australia members will run from February to June 2014 to assess for an entire Certificate II in Fire Protection Inspection & Testing, including selected units required for FPAS Qualified Accreditation.

This assessment will be delivered at a substantially reduced price and will also include your FPAS Qualified Accreditation application fee.

This training and application bundle is valued up to $3,700; however, FPA Australia is offering this package to all members for $2,200. Places are limited so contact us now to book your spot.

This offer will close once all places are filled.

For more information visit www.fpaa.com.au/training.

NSW Annual Fire Safety Statements—Good Practice Guide

HazMat 2014—Achieving a Productive and Resilient Industry How workplace best practice can promote professional growth 14–15 May 2014 Darebin Arts and Entertainment Centre, Preston, Melbourne, Victoria HazMat 2014 is the leading conference for the chemical management, dangerous goods and hazardous materials industries. It brings together topical speakers and presentations that cover and overlap the many niches of these industry sectors.

Program and registration now available The conference program offers details on the pre-conference workshop, dinner function, keynote speaker and venue.

Use the brochure to register your attendance (early bird rates currently available) along with an accommodation booking form.

For more information download the Program & Registration Brochure or

Regional NSW: April This important event was well attended in Sydney and will now be run in select NSW regional locations. It covers the newly released Good Practice Guide for the NSW AFSS which is relevant to fire protection personnel, the fire services, building & facility managers and local council officers in NSW. All attendees will receive a copy of the guide upon attending. Check the FPA Australia website for dates, locations and more details.

AS 1851-2012 QLD

Brisbane and regional QLD: May A draft version of MP6.1 of the Queensland Development Code is out for public comment. If the draft is adopted, compliance with AS 1851-2012 will form part of Queensland regulations.

In anticipation of this adoption, these seminars will provide you with a regulatory overview and updates on the many technical changes to the standard over a two day period.

AS 3745 Amendment

All states: 2-13 June This half day seminar will provide a comprehensive update regarding the application of AS 3745, including the recently released amendment for a range of facilities. Topics will be presented by key industry representatives and also cover emergency management plan maintenance requirements as described in AS 1851-2012.

2014 Fire Expos

VIC: 25 June NSW: 30 July These fire expos are local events for local businesses and personnel in the fire protection industry and related building and construction sectors. Attendance is free, however, you can also get involved as an exhibitor or sponsor. In addition there will be informative industry seminars. Each expo is hosted by the respective State Divisional Committee, with representatives on hand to discuss relevant topics.

For more information and to register for FPA Australia events visit www.fpaa. com.au/events.

fPa aUstralIa tac and sIG UPdate TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUPS AND SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

By Kevin Burns,

Technical Administrator, FPA Australia

TAC/1 Maintenance of fire protection systems and equipment

TAC/4/8/9 Fire sprinkler and hydrant systems, tanks and fixed fire pumps

TAC/2 Fire detection and alarm systems

TAC/11/22 Special hazards fire protection systems

The Good Practice Guide on NSW Annual Fire Safety Statements has now been published. Work on the Good Practice Guide for Fire Hydrant Testing continues with TAC/1 and TAC/4/8/9 confirming the scope of the document at their February meetings.

TAC/2 continues to contribute to FP-002 projects as well as working on its own documents.

TAC/3/7 Portable and mobile equipment

The Information Bulletin on extinguisher cylinder date (MM/YY) stamping is in its final stages of development as is the Information Bulletin on the safe handling of portable fire extinguishers during service.

In addition to the work on the Good Practice Guide for Fire Hydrant Testing, TAC/4/8/9 continues to work on the Technical Advisory Note on the demarcation point between the water supply and the fire system in an AS 2118.1 compliant sprinkler system.

Both the Reference Document on gaseous fire suppression system actuators and the ozone depleting substance and synthetic greenhouse gas (ODS & SGG) Good Practice Guide have now been published.

The TAC has also lodged Standards Australia project proposals to revise AS 14520 and AS 5062.

TAC/17 Emergency planning

The Information Bulletin on evacuation diagrams remains on hold until it can be updated in line with amendment 1 to AS 3745, which is expected to be published shortly. Work on a document based on NFPA’s emergency evacuation planning guide for people with disabilities continues.

TAC/18 Fire safety TAC/19 Passive fire protection

The Good Practice Guide on the installation and maintenance of intumescent fire dampers is now in the final stages of development. Work on the Good Practice Guide on smoke barriers continues.

TAC/20 Bushfire safety

Work continues on a Technical Advisory Note on sarking as well as other documents and projects.

Fire AustrAliA

AutumN 2014 | 49

standards aUstralIa UPdate AUSTRALIAN STANDARDS

By Kevin Burns,

Technical Administrator, FPA Australia

FP-002 Fire detection and alarm systems

The changes as a result of the resolution of public comment on the revision of the smoke alarm standard (AS 3786) are currently being inputted and the standard progressed. The Australian adoption of ISO 7240-16 is expected to be released for public comments soon. Work has formally commenced on the revision of 1670.1.

FP-004 Automatic fire sprinkler installations

FP-004 committee continue to work on the revision of AS 2118 .1 Automatic fire sprinkler systems—General systems.

FP-009 Fire hydrant installations

AS 2419.1 Fire hydrant installations —System design, installation and commissioning went out for public comment on 29 January 2014 and will close on 2 April 2014.

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FP-011 Special hazards systems

The project proposals for the revision of AS 14520 (which is to be produced as AS 4214) and AS 5062 have now been submitted.

FP-019 Passive fire protection

Work continues on the revision of AS 1905.1 Components for the protection of openings in fire-resistant walls—Fireresistant doorsets.

FP-017 Emergency management procedures

FP-017 has approved the draft amendment 1 to AS 3745-2010 Planning for emergencies in facilities and it is expected to be released soon.

FP-018 Fire safety

The public comment on the revision of AS 1530.4 Methods for fire tests on building materials, components and structures—Fireresistance test of elements of construction has now been resolved by FP-018. The standard is now being updated accordingly before going to the committee for ballot.

Work continues on new standard AS 5637 Determination of group numbers for wall and ceiling linings.

To submit a contribution or to advertise in Fire Australia, please contact the editor: Joseph Keller FPA Australia PO Box 1049 Box Hill VIC 3128, Australia TEL 1300 731 922 EMAIL joseph.keller@fpaa.com.au

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