Held in Melbourne between Tuesday, August 18 and Friday, August 21, AFAC26 offered CFA head of research, innovation and predictive capability Sarah Harris, the opportunity to do a presentation about this investment.
Ms Harris spoke about mounting challenges fire agencies were facing, including climate change and growing community expectations, and how research and innovation could help protect both the landscapes of Victoria and the people who lived here.
Ms Harris said research and development played a critical role in fire services.
“Developing research is helping agencies anticipate emerging risks, improve decision-making and develop innovative approaches across prevention, preparedness, response and recovery,” she said.
Ms Harris said things would only continue to become more complex as time went on.
“Climate change is altering fire behaviour and extending risk periods,” she said.
“Communities expect more from emergency services than ever before and multi-agency co-ordination requirements are growing.
“The pace of technological advancement means agencies must continually adapt.”
The CFA’s response to these challenges combines externally funded research partnerships with internally developed specific capability, aimed at producing practical, operationally relevant outcomes.
Some examples of successful research operations initiatives include turning data into statewide curing maps, using data from experimental burns to improve fire behaviour models, and understanding how communities receive and act on messaging to improve engagement.
“By investing in research and innovation, CFA is strengthening its ability to anticipate future challenges, optimise operational performance and build safer, more resilient communities,” Ms Harris said.
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