Fire Australia Magazine | Issue 4 2022

CONNECTING COMMUNITIES.

CREATING RESILIENCE

ROBB WEBB CEO AFAC

It was invigorating to see the sector gather together at the AFAC22 powered by INTERSCHUTZ Conference and Exhibition in Adelaide in August, sharing thoughts, ideas, and solutions to strengthen our approach to emergency management.

The event, which ran over four days, saw 3,200 attendees gather to attend seven streams of presentations and visit 193 exhibiting companies over 4,000 square metres of floor space. The scale of this event showcased the diverse and multifaceted nature of our growing industry.

This long-awaited opportunity to gather highlighted the importance of engagement across the various agencies, organisations, and suppliers who attended the AFAC Conference and Exhibition. You can read about what was

We are heading into a complex warm season—faced with yet another La Niña, which is predicted to increase flood and cyclone activity for some regions and create above-normal bushfire potential for others. The connections our agencies enjoy allow them to share knowledge and practice, and collectively put us all in better stead to meet these challenges.

An emerging challenge for fire and emergency services globally is the increasing uptake of products containing lithium-ion batteries. In October, AFAC hosted its annual Knowledge Event Series, generously supported by the Motorola Solutions Foundation. This year, the event saw internationally recognised expert on lithium-ion battery failure events Professor Paul Christensen travel to every Australian state and territory and to New Zealand to share his research and advice with AFAC members. You can read more about his

AFAC is committed to supporting the knowledge and capability development of the fire and emergency services. Keep reading to discover more innovation and opportunities

FOREST WOOD PRODUCTS , magazine@fpaa.com.au

IN THIS ISSUE

AFAC22 powered by INTERSCHUTZ: a stunning return to in-person conferencing

The rise of electric vehicles—preparing an emergency response plan

AFAC releases electric vehicle doctrine

Identifying the vapour cloud: research breakthrough for lithium-ion battery safety

The good news

Governor General David Hurley launches National Fire Protection Month

NFPM: Fire protection—keeping you safe

Improving the scientific accuracy behind fire danger ratings

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21 38

Barry Lee and Russell Shephard —standards heroes

Speech intelligibility

Major Incidents Report: a year of compounding and complex disasters

Protective equipment for firefighters and police delivered to Vanuatu

Maintenance testing of occupant warning sounders within apartments

UK knowledge guides new AFAC large animal rescue guideline

FEATURES

OUR COVER

Electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries present a novel fire safety challenge.

PHOTO: ADRIAN BALASOIU/UNSPLASH

ABOUT FIRE AUSTRALIA

Burning Ambition: Jaimee Morgenbesser

Fire Australia is a joint publication of Fire Protection Association Australia and AFAC. We aim to bring the latest news, developments and technical information to the fire protection industry, fire and emergency services organisations, and hazard and emergency management agencies. Fire Australia is produced quarterly and distributed throughout Australia and New Zealand. Editorial submissions and letters to the editor are welcome and can be sent to magazine@fpaa.com.au. For more details on submitting a contribution, please contact the editors.

JOINT EDITORS

PAUL

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of FPA Australia or AFAC. 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 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 Responsibility lies with the person, company or agency submitting the advertisement for publication. Material in Fire Australia magazine is subject to This publication may not be reproduced in printed or electronic form without permission. Contact +61 3 8892 3131

STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS ACHIEVEMENT REPORT CAPTURES INNOVATION AND EXCELLENCE

AFAC has published the Strategic Directions Achievement Report 2022, which provides examples of industry and jurisdictional activities in support of the Strategic Directions for Fire and Emergency Services in Australia and New Zealand 2022–2026

This is the first achievement report published under the new Strategic Directions, which include six priority areas that reflect a shared vision and joint commitment to safe and secure communities.

Each year, AFAC members and affiliate members contribute their projects and initiatives for inclusion in the Strategic Directions Achievement Report. These contributions ensure the final result is wide-ranging and reflective of the work undertaken by the fire and emergency services sector.

AFAC CEO Rob Webb said: “Together, these initiatives support a more disaster-resilient Australia and New Zealand by demonstrating a level of national capability, based on operational readiness and underpinned by the most current qualifications and standards available, lessons management, and research utilisation.”

The Strategic Directions Achievement Report 2022 demonstrates through case studies the work that has been completed in the past 12 months by all jurisdictions in conjunction with AFAC members and partner agencies. It is a sample of initiatives undertaken, rather than an exhaustive list of all work relating to the strategic directions.

The six Strategic Directions are: „ Supporting resilient communities „ Providing trusted response „ Using credible and timely information and data „ Safe, capable and diverse workforce

Informed by knowledge, innovation and research „ Effective and transparent governance

The Strategic Directions for Fire and Emergency Services in Australia and New Zealand 2022–2026 was endorsed by the Australia-New Zealand Emergency Management Committee and the National Emergency Management Ministers’ Meeting.

AFAC reports to these bodies annually on accomplishment and is proud to present the Strategic Directions Achievement Report 2022 to ministers with responsibility for emergency services. This report provides examples of industry and jurisdictional activities in support of the Strategic Directions.

Read the Strategic Directions Achievement Report 2022 online: www.afac.com.au/auxiliary/about/ strategy.

AUSTRALASIAN WOMEN IN EMERGENCIES DAY

Monday 10 October marked Australasian Women in Emergencies (AWE) Day, which recognises and celebrates women in emergencies and disaster resilience.

Women bring unique skills and strengths to all areas of disaster resilience and emergency management, and their insights and expertise help to build resilience across Australasia.

AWE celebrated the anniversary with a forum event, which featured keynote speakers Australian Institute Disaster Resilience Executive Director Dr Margaret Moreton, Fire and Rescue NSW Youth Coordinator and Girls on Fire Founder Bronnie Mackintosh, and Women and Firefighting Australasia President Anne Pickles PSM.

AWE Day is for all women who work, volunteer, or study in emergency services, community or not-for-profit organisations, governments or agencies, universities or schools, and private businesses and organisations.

Find out more about AWE by visiting www.awenetwork.org.au

PHOTO: AFAC

Thermal barriers provide less protection when they are wet. That’s why we developed the GORE® PARALLON® System. Even in wet environments, it o ers high thermal protection. The layered system encapsulates the thermal barrier to protect it against moisture from the inside and the outside.

The GORE-TEX CROSSTECH® moisture barrier is highly breathable and wicks sweat away from the skin. It also prevents water from penetrating. The layers of the garment responsible for delivering protection remain drier to shield against heat and flame and minimise heat stress. Today, the GORE® PARALLON® System provides the most advanced protection for re ghters.

Most advanced protection for re ghters that is fully complaint with AS 4967:2019. For further information contact Gordon Burns gburns@wlgore.com or +61 (0)428 569 630.

WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP SCHOLARSHIPS

Scholarships are now available for women at all levels of business, across all sectors and industries, for professional development.

Women & Leadership Australia (WLA) is currently offering these scholarships for four leadership development courses that bring together a focus on applied learning with the latest in leadership theory and practice.

Scholarships of $1,000 to $5,000 per person are available, but candidates must apply by 2 December 2022.

For more information, visit www.wla.edu.au/funding.html

VBA RESTRICTED REGISTRATION TRAINING NOW AVAILABLE

FPA Australia has been in discussion with the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) about releasing a refreshed course and exam for water supply proving tests.

The course—accepted by the VBA one of the critical requirements for practitioners involved in the routine servicing of unpumped hydrants and valves—has been accepting expressions of interest and will soon commence.

Other training requirements for this registration, such as the Certificate II, are already available and can be found on FPA Australia’s website.

For more information contact the team at training@fpaa.com.au.

ONLINE NCC 2022 NOW

AVAILABLE

The Australian Building Codes Board has released the online version of National Construction Code 2022. This version represents the largest set of changes since the inception of the Code in the 1990s.

These changes include: „ liveable housing features „ increased residential energy standards „ lead-free requirements for plumbing products „ a new structure and clause referencing system to improve accessibility and functionality „ new provisions for early childhood centres to help evacuate young children from the upper levels of multistorey buildings „ quantification of a range of requirements and performance solutions

„ a suite of improvements to fire safety, weatherproofing, waterproofing, and bushfire provisions.

The commencement of the Code has been postponed until 1 May 2023, but has been made available earlier for pratictioners’ use.

For more information, visit https://ncc.abcb.gov.au

PHOTO: FPA AUSTRALIA

PHOTO: UNSPLASH

SENIOR LEADERS COHORT AND EXECUTIVE FORUM RETURNS

For the first time since 2019, the Senior Leaders Cohort and Executive Forum returned to an in-person event in Melbourne on 13–14 September 2022.

This year’s line-up at the Senior Leaders Cohort on 13 September covered a range of issues facing current and future leaders of the emergency management and service sector.

The event opened with Hayden Fricke, Chair Elect from the Australian College of Organisational Psychologists, discussing ‘What does the future of work look like and how can you adjust your leadership to adapt to the changing workplace landscape?’. Mr Fricke spoke of positive mental health techniques that improve the wellbeing of leaders and those they lead.

Stan Karanasios, Associate Professor in Information Systems at the University of Queensland Business School, presented on ‘Managing misinformation in the digital age’. Mr Karanasios’s insightful commentary covered different types of misinformation, and how leaders can get their information to the right people in both a timely and authoritative manner without fuelling misinformation.

Senior Psychologist Anne Goyne and Brigadier John Fenwick from the Centre for Defence Leadership discussed ‘Leadership, moral courage and the evolution of the Australian Defence Force’. Their presentation

generated an in-depth conversation on gender and abuse within the Australian Defence Force, and how both the defence force and emergency services sector can improve gender diversity and remove stigma around men’s mental health.

Andrew Stark, Executive Director Emergency Management and COVID-19 Response for Victorian Department of Health, presented on ‘Leading during COVID-19. Observations from this event and reflections on how these learnings can be integrated into agencies’ lessons management’.

Mr Stark’s whirlwind career in the last three years has seen him go from Deputy Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service during the 2019–20 bushfires to the private sector, and then into role of the Executive Director Emergency Management and COVID-19 Response in Victoria in 2022. His reflections looked at stepping into the unknown, the new reality around pandemics, and what is in store for the future.

The Executive Forum on 14 September featured conversations with AFAC President and NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York and AFAC Deputy Chair and DFES Commissioner Darren Klemm. Their conversations explored current issues that our leaders face and insights into how different agencies combat them.

FPA AUSTRALIA RTO PASSES ASQA AUDIT

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), which oversees vocational training, recently signed off its audit into FPA Australia’s registered training organisation (RTO).

The performance assessment was carried out to assess our compliance with the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011, including the requirements of the Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015

It allowed ASQA to determine the viability of the RTO, to consider the recently submitted RTO registration renewal application by FPA Australia, and to decide whether recently requested additional training courses could be added to our scope.

In late September we were formally advised by ASQA that the RTO will be re-registered until 22 June 2029, and that we can now advertise, enrol students, and deliver training for new products, without any additional conditions.

This includes units of competency required for qualified accreditation under the Fire Protection Accreditation Scheme’s Fire Safety Assessment category, providing more opportunities for practitioners to obtain their qualified status.

The RTO is also accepting enrolments for the Certificate II in Fire Protection Inspection and Testing, for those who wish to gain accreditation for routine service work.

The re-registration is a significant achievement, and a testament to the hard work and dedication of our RTO Manager, Tim Palma, and his team—Jenny Asplin, Beth Spencer, and Johna Parma—over the past 12 months.

ASQA audits are challenging, and require significant effort, particularly given the last two years of uncertainty. The FPA Australia Board and Executive congratulate the team for its achievement.

PHOTO:

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

NATURAL HAZARDS RESEARCH AUSTRALIA LAUNCHED

pre-disaster, which will not only lessen the heartache experienced by communities at the forefront of natural hazards, but also can also save money in the long term,” Mr Gissing said.

“Over the past year, Natural Hazards Research Australia has worked with our key partners around the country to develop the research priorities the country needs to focus on now, to make us safer and to reduce the economic impact of natural hazards.”

The forum featured an impressive line-up of keynote speakers including:

„ the Hon. Mark Ryan MP, Queensland Minister for Fire and Emergency Services

„ Professor Mary O’Kane AC, Chair, NSW Independent Planning Commission

„ Dr Robert Glasser, Head of Climate and Security Policy Centre, Australian Strategic Policy Institute

„ Brendan Moon, Coordinator-General for Emergency Management, National Emergency Management Agency.

The vital role of research in emergency management was central to discussions at the Natural Hazards Research Forum.

The inaugural Natural Hazards Research Forum was hosted at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre over 12–14 October by Natural Hazards Research Australia.

Natural Hazards Research Australia (NHRA) was officially launched at the event by Senator the Hon. Murray Watt, Federal Minister for Emergency Management,

a year after the research program commenced. NHRA CEO Andrew Gissing said it was important to discuss the research that Australia needs to confront disasters.

“Research is critical to continuing to improve Australia’s disaster readiness. We have learnt much through science in recent decades but there is still more to do, especially mitigation

A highlight of the forum was the Disaster Challenge Final on 13 October, which brought together three teams of early career researchers and postgraduate students to pitch their innovative ideas to help solve a wicked problem in disaster management: How can disaster preparation engage with the unengaged, the moving or the hard to reach?

Find out more about Natural Hazards Research Australia and the forum event online: www.naturalhazards.com.au.

WI-FI FOR GOOD TAKES OUT INAUGURAL DISASTER CHALLENGE

An innovative idea to use wi-fi to provide tourists with localised disaster preparedness information while on holiday has taken out the inaugural Natural Hazards Research Australia (NHRA) Disaster Challenge Final.

The idea focuses on positive and practical information people can use while on holiday to stay safe from natural hazards and would include a short video with tips about how to access emergency information if a disaster struck, customised to the local area.

NHRA will now work over the next 12 months with Dr Kamarah Pooley and Mark Owens, who came up with the idea, to explore it further.

NHRA CEO Andrew Gissing with Disaster Challenge Final winners Dr Kamarah Pooley and Mark Owens.

PHOTO: NHRA

PHOTO: NHRA

FURTHER PHASING OUT OF PFAS FOAMS

The use of specific long-chain PFAS foams for firefighting is prohibited in certain states and territories, except where used by designated regulatory authorities in the event of a catastrophic or potentially catastrophic fire.

Following the lead of Queensland in 2016 and South Australia in 2018, the NSW Government’s ban on the use of firefighting foams containing per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in certain instances came into effect on 26 September 2022.

Already prohibited for use for training or demonstration purposes, it is now an offence in NSW to discharge prescribed long-chain PFAS firefighting foam from a portable extinguisher unless the foam is discharged by: „ a relevant authority to prevent or extinguish a catastrophic fire „ a person to prevent or extinguish a

fire on watercraft in relevant waters.

A catastrophic fire is defined in the Protection of the Environment Operations (General) Amendment (PFAS Firefighting Foam) Regulation 2021 as being one involving combustible accelerants such as petrol, kerosene, oil, tar, paint, or similar.

It is also an offence to sell portable fire extinguishers containing “the precursor to PFAS firefighting foam”— except to relevant authorities, the owner or master of a watercraft, or anyone who has been granted an exemption by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA).

There is some uncertainty about what is meant by “the precursor to PFAS firefighting foam”, and further clarity is being sort from the NSW EPA.

The Regulation also does not provide details as to what circumstances might warrant an exemption, as the

exemption application process is still in development.

The change is in response to the National PFAS Position Statement, which articulates the shared view of Australian governments that the use of these substances in Australia should be reduced where practicable, to minimise damage to the environment, while still enabling emergency services to fight catastrophic fires.

FPA Australia is working through the relevant Technical Advisory Committees to develop a measured and considered position on the use of PFAS and foams, scientific research, and comparative testing.

For more information and to view the new Regulation, see the NSW EPA website: www.epa.nsw.gov.au/ your-environment/contaminated-land/ regulation-of-pfas-firefighting-foams

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

Governments continue with moves to restrict the use of environmentally damaging firefighting foams.

EMISSIONS TARGET ON TRACK

The Australian Government is working towards meeting its goal of a 30% reduction in harmful emissions from ozone depleting substances (ODS) and synthetic greenhouse gases (SGG) by 2030.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water continues to work closely with the Fire Protection Industry Board as part of its co-regulatory partnership to monitor and minimise harmful emissions from ODS and SGG, currently used under strict regulations in the fire protection, air conditioning, and refrigeration industries.

The partnership, through the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Program, focuses on educating sectors on best practices to minimise the risk of emissions, and to encourage transition to safer alternatives.

The recent release of the 2021 State of Environment report highlighted the importance of regulating these substances to meet climate targets.

On 28 September, the Australian Government introduced amendments

to the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse legislation to modernise and streamline Australia’s laws to manage ODS and SGG.

The management of these gases, in advance of the Montreal Protocol agreed phase-down levels, has been due to the collaboration with industry, including requirements for technicians to be fully trained and to safely recover hydrofluorocarbons from old

equipment through a world-leading, industry-funded and operated product stewardship scheme.

As part of this collaboration and to support the co-regulatory function, the Fire Protection Industry Board meets regularly with government officials and welcomes industry sector feedback. Share your thoughts at ozone@fpib.com.au

TECHNOLOGY

The City of Greater Geelong has introduced a fleet of 4G, weather-proof, solar-powered temperature sensors in its Garden Organics Processing Facility in Anakie. The purpose of this technology is to monitor the temperature in the depot of green waste collected from households, which can often get hot and ignite.

It introduces round-the-clock monitoring, which will improve safety on-site by allowing action to cool the material and stop ignition.

Created by Sequence Digital, the system can work in remote areas, where internet signals are weak, during extreme weather conditions.

The project is jointly funded by the

City of Greater Geelong, the Victorian Government, and the Geelong Manufacturing Council.

For more information visit Cleantech Innovations Geelong at www.geelongaustralia.com. au/fpg/industry/article/ item/8d39b5882c0980d.aspx.

Geelong Mayor Peter Murrihy demonstrates the new temperature sensors introduced to reduce compost fire risk. With him are Geelong Manufacturing Council CEO Jennifer Conley and Co-Directors of Sequence Digital Raj Pandita and Patrick Blampied.

PHOTO: CITY OF GREATER GEELONG

PHOTO: STORYBLOCKS

CUTS THE RISK OF COMPOST FIRES

The government has committed to continuing the control of ODS and SGG.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS AND PAPERS

The dust has settled on the AFAC and FPA Australia conferences for 2022, and we are turning our minds to next year’s events. Programs are currently being developed for both, as we put together interesting and informative topics for attendees. You can share your ideas, share your passions, and educate the firefighting and fire protection communities by submitting a paper for consideration to either organisation.

FIRE AUSTRALIA 2023 CALL FOR PAPERS

Following this year’s successful visit to the Garden State, Fire Australia is heading north once again.

Three days of presentations, tours, and festivities are being planned for the International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Sydney.

Thirty-five plenaries, workshops, and panel sessions will give attendees good insights into the perceptive, the political, and the practical—the future of fire protection, updates on ongoing reforms, and the latest in technical know-how.

But we want to hear the views of our sector and to invite experienced practitioners to share the breadth of their knowledge and experience with their peers.

If you have an interesting fire protection presentation that you would like to share with the Fire Australia audience, get in touch with us.

Submit an abstract for your insightful presentation and you could be chosen to speak at Fire Australia 2023.

Papers should be sent by 13 January 2023 to www.fireaustralia.com.au/papers.

AFAC23 CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

The AFAC23 Conference and Exhibition returns in Brisbane from 22 to 25 August 2023 to explore the theme, ‘Creating a sustainable future: the challenges and opportunities’.

Increasing disasters are creating new challenges for governments and communities across Australia. As we transition our approach to emergency management, the world transitions to a net-zero future. New technologies present uncharted challenges and opportunities for the fire and emergency services sector. How do we champion a safe and sustainable future for our people and the communities they serve?

People are at the centre of our work, and changes in demographics and behaviour influence our risk landscape. How do we better understand our workforces and our communities to truly create a sustainable future for all?

AFAC23 will explore how Australia and the Pacific is prepared to meet the challenge.

Submit your abstract before 6 February 2023 to be considered for the program: www.afacconference.com.au

The call for abstracts is now open for the AFAC23 Conference and Exhibition in Brisbane.

PHOTO: AFAC

AFAC22

POWERED

BY INTERSCHUTZ: A STUNNING RETURN TO IN-PERSON CONFERENCING

Held in person for the first time since 2019, the AFAC22 powered by INTERSCHUTZ Conference and Exhibition took place on 23–26 August at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

Fireworks over the Adelaide Convention Centre during the gala dinner.

PHOTO: AFAC

AFAC

Over 3,200 attendees gathered across four days to attend seven streams of presentations and visit 193 exhibiting companies occupying over 4,000 square meters of floor space for AFAC22 powered by INTERSHUTZ.

Conference proceedings kicked off with the Research Day, supported by Natural Hazards Research Australia. Professor Raina MacIntyre, Head of the Biosecurity Program, Professor of Global Security at the Kirby Institute and National Health and Medical Research Council Principal Research Fellow, gave an enthralling opening keynote address on COVID-19, pandemics, and where to go from here. Dr Robert Glasser, Head of the Climate and Security Policy Centre, Australian Strategic Policy Centre, followed with a presentation on addressing the Indo-Pacific’s rapidly emerging climate and security risk.

After four streams of engaging presentations covering the latest in research and innovation, delegates enjoyed a networking function in the exhibition hall to close out the Research Day and explore the incredible display

of technology and innovation on offer from the exhibiting companies.

On Day 2, the conference expanded to include the co-located Australian Disaster Resilience Conference and the Institution of Fire Engineers Australia Conference. Gill Hicks, Founder of M.A.D. for Peace, and Jim Pauley, President and CEO, National Fire Protection Association, presented insightful keynote addresses before delegates split across the seven conference streams.

At the end of the second day, delegates attended the festival-themed ‘Taste of South Australia’ Gala Dinner, complete with food stalls, fortune tellers, live music, and even fireworks!

The third day of conference proceedings began with a keynote address from Lucas Pratchett and Nic Marchesi, co-founders of Orange Sky Australia, the world’s first free mobile laundry service for people experiencing homelessness, who shared their story of starting Orange Sky and highlighted the importance of compassion and connection.

They were followed by Dr Niki Vincent, who spoke about her role as the Victorian Government Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner, what can be applied to other jurisdictions,

and the inequality that can be created by the emergency services’ traditionally ‘gender-neutral’ approach.

Following another full line-up of conference presentations, the day concluded with a closing panel on ‘More co-benefits than you can poke a stick at: organising arguments for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction’ with Professor Stephen Dovers (Director of the Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University), Carlene York APM (Commissioner, NSW State Emergency Service), Dr Kate Brady (National Recovery Adviser, Australian Red Cross Emergency Services), and Martijn Gough (Associate Director, Aither).

AFAC22 ended the week with the Professional Development Program. Delegates could choose between a range of field trips, workshops, and forums, on topics including lithium-ion battery fires, special technologies, resilience in the wine sector, community recovery, diverse careers in firefighting, and creative resilience.

Powered by INTERSCHUTZ Exhibition

Throughout the conference, delegates were able to explore the powered by INTERSCHUTZ Exhibition. Covering

MOLLY PRICE

The poster display at the Australian Institute for DIsaster Resilience Knowledge Centre in the exhibition.

PHOTO: AFAC

over 4,000 square metres of occupied stands, the exhibition featured a comprehensive range of emergency management-related exhibiting organisations and was jam-packed with state-of-the-art equipment and technology, including robotics, virtual reality firefighting equipment, and a range of emergency vehicles.

Delegates visited the Expo Stage for practical presentations that included topics such as innovation, mental health, wellbeing, community, resilience, and personal protective equipment. In the live demonstration zone, visitors watched the Australasian Road Rescue Organisation demonstrate how a person is extricated from a wrecked vehicle after an accident.

In the heart of the exhibition hall was the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience Knowledge Centre, where delegates could browse the impressive display of over 100 posters and connect with presenters through the Meet the Speaker program.

AFAC22 Awards

At the conference award ceremony, AFAC recognised the significant contribution that our members make

to keeping communities safe. Award winners included:

„ Senior Firefighter Clinton Pilon (Queensland Fire and Emergency Services) was awarded the Laurie Lavelle Award for his work on an Australasian youth fire safety awareness program

„ Inspector Bruce Budge (Queensland Fire and Emergency Services) won the AFAC Knowledge Innovation Award for his groundbreaking program to improve training across emergency services in Queensland

„ the Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA won the Stewart & Heaton Leading Practice in Mental Health Award for their ‘Thriving at DFES’ mental health and wellbeing strategy and action plan.

AFAC thanks our partners, host agencies and sponsors for supporting AFAC22. The full conference proceedings can be viewed at www. afac.com.au/events/proceedings.

Next year, AFAC23 will take place in Brisbane, with the theme ‘Creating a sustainable future: the challenges and opportunities’. Visit www. afacconference.com.au to learn more and submit an abstract.

Niki Vincent delivering her keynote address.

Jim Pauley delivering his keynote address.

PHOTO: AFAC

PHOTO: AFAC

Gill Hicks delivering her keynote address.

Lucas Pratchett and Nic Marchesi from Orange Sky Australia delivering their keynote address.

Kate Brady, Carlene York, and Martijn Gouch on the closing panel.

The AFAC stand in the exhibition hall.

PHOTO: AFAC

PHOTO: AFAC

PHOTO: AFAC

PHOTO: AFAC

Left Delegates were greeted by a SA Metropolitan Fire Service truck at the entrance of AFAC22.

Right The Australasian Road Recue Organisation extricating a person from a vehicle at the live demonstration zone of the exhibition.

Delegates enjoying the festival-themed ‘A Taste of South Australia’ Gala Dinner.

AFAC CEO Rob Webb presenting Bruce Budge with the AFAC Knowledge Innovation Award.

AFAC CEO Robb Webb presenting Clinton Pilon with the Laurie Lavelle Award.

PHOTO: AFAC

PHOTO: AFAC

PHOTO: AFAC

PHOTO: AFAC

PHOTO: AFAC

THE RISE OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES —PREPARING AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN

Electric vehicles (EVs) are no longer the future, but an ever-growing part of the transport environment. The science behind them helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, responding to climate change concerns, but electric vehicles also create new fire risks for emergency responders and the public. So how should we prepare for, and deal with, EV fires?

The ACT has a Zero Emissions Vehicles Strategy, as part of its goal to reach net zero emissions by 2045, which encourages the uptake of EVs by private purchasers.

The push to respond to climate change has put renewable energy and rechargeable battery technology front and centre of measures to combat climate change. And a big part of ongoing plans is expected to be a reliance on electric vehicles (EVs).

It is expected that this form of transport will represent 48% of all new cars sold globally in 2030. In some places such as California, they will—by law—be the only allowable option by that date.

But with increasing attention being paid by the fire protection sector to the risks of battery technologies, there is also growing discussion about the potential dangers EVs may pose to the public and to those called upon to respond to these fires.

So how should we prepare for a larger fleet of EVs? And what do we know about the fire risks they represent?

The current political climate Government policy on EVs differs from state to state. Currently, there is no federal strategy, but at state and territory level there has been some action.

The NSW Government’s Electric Vehicle Strategy is offering $500 million of investment to facilitate EV uptake, setting a goal of 52% of all new-car sales being EVs by 2030–31.

Victoria has set a similar goal of 50% by 2030, while in Queensland the target is every new car to be electric by 2036.

As yet, other states have not locked in specific targets, but it is expected that this will occur.

What are the risks?

It is expected that 58 EV models will be available in Australia by the end of 2022, compared to the 31 available in 2021. These have different technologies, battery types, and chemistries, creating variety for the consumer, but complexity for the emergency responder.

When an EV has a collision, or its battery has been abused or damaged in some other way, there can be a risk of ‘thermal runaway’.

Thermal runaway is an unstable chemical process that begins when the heat generated within a battery exceeds the amount of heat that is dissipated to its surroundings.

If the cause of excessive heat creation is not remedied, the condition will worsen and the internal battery temperature will continue to rise. This in turn will cause the battery current to rise, creating a domino effect. The rise in temperature in a single battery cell will begin to affect other cells in close proximity, and the pattern will continue—hence the term ‘runaway’.

If a battery catches fire when it has been abused (for example, by being damaged in an accident), it carries further risk for secondary ignition. This is when multiple abused battery cells go into thermal runaway at different times. So, an emergency responder may extinguish one fire, only to have another arise in its place.

EV battery fires also tend to put out toxic fumes, creating significant personal risk to the driver, nearby members of the public, and, of course, first responders.

Perhaps more concerning is the differing chemistry being used for batteries may require unique strategies to deal with future fires.

Training

first and

second responders

EV battery fires have been relatively rare to date, with only 72 verified so far in 2022. This means that many firefighters have not been exposed to them and would not be familiar with risks.

HAJNAL NAGY and PAUL WATERHOUSE

FPA Australia

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

EV FireSafe, a private Australian company, was awarded seed funding from the Department of Defence in 2021 to research EV fires and emergency response, particularly around EV charging units, and develop information and presentations to support various stakeholders.

According to Emma Sutcliffe, EV FireSafe’s Director, there are new and different challenges for firefighters when dealing with EVs involved in any incident, including road traffic collisions, battery fires, and submersion in flood waters.

“It’s important for firefighters to understand battery pack construction and the concept of thermal runaway. Once we learn that the seat of an EV fire is an exothermic chemical reaction, firefighters can understand that cooling the battery can be the most efficient way to slow and then stop the fire.

“It’s a different way of managing an incident and can be a long process, using far more water and personnel than we’re used to,” she said.

More research is needed to understand what brigades in Australia should do to manage EV incidents.

For example, other countries have techniques such as using water baths to submerge the vehicle until microbubbling stops. This may be an option in Australia, but it might be difficult to get the bath to the site in time. Instead, a storage and takeaway process might be more achievable.

A key issue is ‘stranded energy’— energy that remains in the cells, meaning that the battery pack is still carrying voltage inside but has no way of discharging it.

In other words, an emergency responder who comes across an EV fire may think that the battery is no longer live, and thus risks being electrocuted.

Not all EVs are the same

An increasing area of concern is with e-bikes or e-scooters, as fires in these light EVs are becoming alarmingly common.

Part of the risk is how they are obtained and managed. Light EVs are not always purchased from reputable manufacturers and their construction may be of lesser quality; they are often sold second-hand, meaning that they do not come with the manufacturer’s

cable; and they can be charged indoors, rather than in a garage.

If a fire breaks out in a light EV, it can not only spread to an owner’s home and possessions but can also generate toxic fumes that make the area untenable for people. The only real solution is for the building occupants to evacuate.

This year, Australia saw its first death due to a lithium-ion battery fire, which occurred in a caravan in Queensland. In this incident, an e-scooter, which was charging at the time, caught fire. A man died from burns incurred while protecting his partner and unborn son from the blaze.

This case has shown the increased need for authorities to develop strategies to deal with fires and to educate the public about the risks of light EVs.

So, what do all responders need to learn?

When it comes to incidents, it is important to know the early warning signs that an EV battery is about to catch fire.

In road traffic collisions, even minor ones, Ms Sutcliffe advises firefighters and road rescuers to monitor for popping and hissing noises from the underside of an EV, where the battery is located. In the event of thermal runaway leading to fire, the resulting blaze should be managed using the relevant agency’s standard operating procedure.

It is difficult to predict when EVs will take over completely, and it is not clear how big the risks may ultimately be.

It may be that they are generally safer than other vehicles and that, with careful strategies, most risks can be contained.

Alternatively, it could be that, because EVs tend to be more expensive to purchase and (arguably) their owners tend to take more care of them than with other vehicles, we have not seen how big this could get. If so, more common usage of these vehicles could lead to an uptick in EV fires and different chemistries could complicate firefighting.

Whatever turns out to be the case, both firefighters and the public need to be informed about how to identify the risks and what to do if an EV fire breaks out.

In this way we can keep everyone safe, while still saving the planet.

For more information, visit www.evfiresafe.com.

“Once we learn that the seat of an EV fire is an exothermic chemical reaction, firefighters can understand that cooling the battery can be the most efficient way to slow and then stop the fire”

—Emma Sutcliffe, Director of EV FireSafe

PHOTO: 123RF

AFAC RELEASES ELECTRIC VEHICLE DOCTRINE

Although rare, incidents involving electric vehicles can be very risky. AFAC has developed new doctrine to help fire and emergency services respond to incidents involving electric vehicle safely.

a 0.0012% chance of a passenger EV battery catching fire.

AFAC

The presence of electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) across Australia and New Zealand is increasing significantly. There are several industry, societal, and governmental initiatives that are driving a transition from internal combustion engine-powered vehicles to electrically powered vehicles.

According to the Electric Vehicle Council (2022), Australians now have access to 30 passenger EV models, up from 12, with 65 variants. It is expected that, in the future, Australians will have access to 31 additional EV models and six PHEVs from a range of 28 models.

There are currently 291 public fastcharging locations around Australia. State and federal government funding has been committed to support the deployment of approximately 700 additional fast-charging locations, each with multiple charging bays, over the next five years.

According to EV FireSafe’s (2021) global research, supported by the Defence Science and Technology Group and Deakin University, there is

EV manufacturers use a variety of types and brands of battery cells to store energy. The most common type of battery used is a lithium-ion (or Li-ion) battery, a type of rechargeable battery in which lithium ions move from the negative electrode (anode) through an electrolyte to the positive electrode (cathode) during discharge, and back when charging.

The competition in the battery energy storage system market revolves around the intellectual property associated with battery chemistries; that is, in the electrolyte and materials used for the anode and cathode. This presents varying levels of hazards and risks to first responders and emergency service personnel when attending incidents involving EVs.

The battery chemistry may not be easily identifiable at an incident, requiring responders to take the highest precautions available. The cooling products used to manage battery temperatures are also identified as a hazard and usually involve glycol-based automotive coolants.

As the technology in this area advances, the application of lithium-

ion or similar batteries in vehicles is growing exponentially. Subsequently, concerns have been identified nationally around how emergency workers should respond to incidents involving EVs.

With substantial further growth in these types of vehicles predicted, it is important that AFAC members know how to deal with such incidents safely and appropriately.

The newly released AFAC doctrine, Incidents Involving Electric Vehicles, informs fire and emergency services, along with secondary responders, about measures that can be undertaken at an incident involving EVs. It provides a basic analysis of how to take into consideration the hazards, risks, operational considerations, and residual fire risk of damaged vehicles.

The AFAC Alternative and Renewable Energy Technologies Working Group will continue to address national priorities in this area as they are identified.

Download Incidents Involving Electric Vehicles from the AFAC website: www.afac.com.au/insight/doctrine/ article/current/incidents-involvingelectric-vehicles.

Developed by the AFAC Alternative and Renewable Energy Technologies Working Group, the new doctrine provides guidance for incidents involving EVs.

CONOR McDONALD

PHOTO: OXANA MELIS / UNSPLASH

IDENTIFYING THE VAPOUR CLOUD: RESEARCH BREAKTHROUGH FOR LITHIUM-ION BATTERY SAFETY

With billions of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries in circulation, safety is of paramount importance. While catastrophic Li-ion battery fires remain extremely rare, the vital work of safety expert Professor Paul Christensen is ensuring that first responders know how to tackle incidents correctly and, potentially, to save lives.

MATT GOODING

Faraday Institution

Professor Paul Christensen is the Professor of Pure and Applied Electrochemistry at the UK’s Newcastle University and the leader of its research as part of the Faraday Institution’s SafeBatt Project.

He advises fire services, local authorities, and other government agencies about the risks posed by Li-ion batteries and what to do in the event of an emergency. He also works with automakers to develop firesensing and extinguishing systems for their batteries.

In 2020, he and his team were responsible for a major breakthrough when they highlighted the previously unknown hazard of vapour cloud explosion from Li-ion batteries in thermal runaway.

When overheated, crushed, or overcharged, gases can be produced in Li-ion cells and, in certain circumstances, their temperature can increase very suddenly. This results in the venting of a vapour cloud that includes hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and very small drops of the organic solvents used in the cells. First responders had previously

mistaken these clouds for steam or smoke, but their composition means they create the potential for a vapour cloud explosion, which can be more dangerous than the initial fire.

Since then, Professor Christensen has been delivering training and guidance to first responders around the world on how to deal with these vapour clouds safely. He has worked with 36 different fire and rescue services across the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, training hundreds of firefighters. He was also a speaker at the 2022 AFAC Knowledge Event Series, sponsored by the Motorola Solutions Foundation.

Rates of catastrophic failure in Li-ion batteries remain extremely low, with estimates suggesting that only one in 40 million suffers such a failure. But with an increasing range of uses spanning electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and second life applications (where existing batteries are reconditioned and reused in new scenarios, such as in the power grid), the potential for problems is increasing.

As well as protecting end users, better battery safety has economic benefits. Increasing the reliability of Li-ion battery systems could allow automakers to reduce the complexity of their systems; save space, weight,

and costs; and cut the warranty burden on automakers—which is likely to be around £780 million in the UK by 2030.

Professor Christensen said that the likelihood of an electric vehicle catching fire is very low, but “we currently don’t have the data on ageing batteries from cars that have been in use for a while. And as we put more and more electric vehicles on the road, there are going to be crashes, and crashes that involve electric vehicles present very different challenges for first responders.”

The Faraday Institution’s £1.5-million SafeBatt project, led by Professor Paul Shearing of University College London and which got underway in 2021, is taking a broad look at the science of battery safety. The project has three elements:

„ studying sub-cell level events and the interplay between degradation and safety

„ discovering how cell failure propagates within a battery

„ carrying out large-scale experiments on full-size battery packs to observe how they behave under stress.

By understanding these processes, automakers will be able to design and build more-reliable battery packs in the future. The SafeBatt project builds on the previous work of the Faraday Institution

PHOTO:

“It is really vital that stakeholders across the industry know how to use these batteries safely and what to do if things go pear-shaped. This becomes particularly important as we look at more second-life use cases for Li-ion batteries.”

As part of SafeBatt, the Newcastle University team recently spent time testing fire extinguishers proposed for use with Li-ion batteries, with the help of firefighters from the Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service. The extinguishers were used on Li-ion batteries of a size representing typical residential battery energy storage systems.

Professor Christensen is now expanding his research to address how to tackle vapour clouds generated by Li-ion batteries that fail in indoor settings such as tunnels, car parks, and residential buildings.

The growing popularity of e-bikes and e-scooters is a particular concern in this respect; 170,000 of the bikes were sold in the UK in 2020, a 70% year-on-year increase. As these vehicles are usually fitted with Li-ion batteries, and routinely kept and charged indoors by their owners, a fire could have devastating consequences, particularly in shared accommodation in urban areas where access is limited. Professor Christensen is in the process of applying for funding from the Fire Service Research and Training Trust for this research, and he plans to study the vapour clouds by conducting experiments in the full-sized buildings located at the Fire Service College.

“It is really vital that stakeholders across the industry know how to use these batteries safely and what to do if things go pear-shaped. This becomes particularly important as we look at more second-life use cases for Li-ion batteries,” he said.

“This is the most important work I’ve done in my career to date and it’s great to feel I’m doing something valuable and making a difference.”

Professor Christensen’s presentation at the AFAC Knowledge Event Series sponsored by the Motorola Foundation is available to view on AFAC YouTube: www.youtube.com/ channel/UCu18lYmKgFcL27XBKFI7Klw

Find out more about The Faraday Institution’s SafeBatt project: www.safebatt.ac.uk

This article was republished with permission from the Faraday Institution. See the original article and download the research paper: www.faraday.ac.uk/ success-stories/research-breakthroughincreases-safety-of-lithium-ion-batteries

Degradation and ReLiB (recycling and reuse of Li-ion batteries) projects.

Left Professor Christensen presents his findings on Li-ion battery failure events at the AFAC office in Melbourne.

PHOTO: AFAC

THE GOOD NEWS

Consulting

When I was in the fire brigade, a senior officer once remarked to me that the biggest problem we have with fire protection is that we do not keep records of the systems when they work, which is a high proportion of the time. The fire is extinguished, the damage gets cleaned up, and the systems are reset.

I experienced this personally when I was involved in the facilities management of a very large complex. When a fire occurred, we simply refilled the extinguishers, reset the detection system, or recommissioned the sprinkler systems and so on. While we did keep a record of how effective the extinguishing system was, there was no database to record these success stories. That may have changed, but I am not aware of it.

Similarly, fire services around the world report on the fires they attend, but often that data is too high-level to provide the statistical information that might expound upon the mitigation impact of, proven effectiveness and reliability of, and lives and property saved by the fire protection systems.

The building and infrastructure industries often argue that the cost of fire protection is prohibitive and should be decreased, particularly when regulations and standards are being

overhauled. This is a position put forward in the absence of data and is exactly the reason why an effort should be made for this evidence to be made available, for consideration in cost–benefit analysis.

However, there is a statistic that does (to a certain degree) reflect the impact of improved fire protection brought about by regulatory change. In many parts of the world, the number of fires, lives lost, and injuries, as well as the amount of damage caused have been decreasing over the years, due not only to fire protection systems, but also to better fire prevention education, firefighting operations, and improvements in furnishing and building materials.

There is evidence available now that, with modern furniture materials, a room will flashover in frighteningly less time than it did 30 years ago, when more traditional furnishing materials such as wool, timber, horsehair and so on were used. A fire that would take a normal sitting room 30 minutes to get out of control in the past can now flashover in three to five minutes.

We may not have the poor construction methods or ignorance of fire cause and behaviour as we had in the past, but we definitely have higher fire loads and combustible materials than previously, thanks to the increased use of synthetic materials.

So, this is not a time for complacency for the fire protection industry! It is critically important to

undertake and encourage innovation to improve the effectiveness and reliability of fire protection systems and to address new threats. Equally important is developing new and affordable, yet still effective and reliable, fire protection systems. This will enable fire protection to be extended to environments that do not have it as yet—such as domestic homes—and negate the argument that it is too costly to include in regulation.

It is pleasing to note that development and innovation has not stalled, and there are numerous examples of it thriving. At the recent AFAC, FPA Australia, National Fire Protection Association, and Munich trade shows, I was astounded at the technical innovation and system development on show.

Another area that complacency must not encroach upon is in the maintenance and installation of fire

JOHN CLAMPETT

John Clampett

Fire systems are meant to contain fire and allow occupants to evacuate. And often, they do. However, as industry expert John Clampett points out, we need to safeguard against complacency, and part of this is collecting data about fire protection successes.

John Clampett discussed the benefits of fire safety at a recent forum on the Lacross Building fire, as part of National Fire Protection Month.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

PHOTO: FPA AUSTRALIA

protection equipment. The importance of this has been highlighted by the fact that many jurisdictions are now providing more focus and more regulation to ensure that installation and maintenance is being undertaken properly. There have been too many instances of fires—many tragic—where fire protection was lacking, poorly installed, and poorly maintained. The installation and maintenance of any fire safety system (in fact, any safety system) must be undertaken with a sense of zealotry that ensures that these systems will perform when needed. Lives depend upon it!

Any complacency may be a reflection that the probability of a fire occurring is far less now than it has been in the past. So, are we victims of our own success?

Fire regulations and codes nearly always have redundancy factors built in. For example, a building or an infrastructure will have active systems, passive systems, egress provisions, and firefighting provisions. If one system should fail, another is in place to mitigate the impact of the fire on the

structure and the occupants.

But it is important to note that this redundancy is not only in place in case a fire protection system fails, but also due to the innumerable different possible fire scenarios and the unpredictable nature of fire, which means that one fire protection system cannot deal with all the possible variations.

We also need not to be complacent in relation to regulatory reform. With the reduced numbers of fires, damage, injuries, and fatalities, arguments are made to reduce the fire protection now provided in the regulations for buildings and infrastructure. But it is those fire protection systems that have significantly contributed to that reduction.

Hence, we need to collect the data and case studies and to record those good news stories!

This feature originally appeared in Issue 83 of Asia Pacific Fire magazine and is reproduced with the kind permission of MDM Publishing Ltd. www.apfmag.com.

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The 2017 Grenfell Tower fire showed the risks of inappropriate building materials and poorly maintained fire protection.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

GOVERNOR-GENERAL DAVID HURLEY LAUNCHES NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION MONTH

FPA Australia’s Patron, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), Governor-General of Australia, launched the inaugural National Fire Protection Month at Admiralty House in Sydney on 1 September 2022. Following is the text of the speech he gave to the Board, Honorary Life Members, special guests, and staff of the Association.

We, rightly, hold our firefighters in the highest of esteem. After all, they help save lives.

We should also value the fire protection and fire prevention systems in our buildings that also help save lives and property and minimise damage.

In the event of a fire in a building, it is the fire protection and fire prevention systems that will buy people time.

And ‘time’ as we know—the precious minutes and seconds—can make a world of difference to an outcome.

National Fire Protection Month, which starts today, is one way to help spread that message.

The National Fire Protection Month website has all the details. There will be many free seminars and webinars throughout September, examining different aspects of the industry.

One of the things I, with Linda, have tried to emphasise during my term as Governor-General is the importance of taking time out to celebrate achievement.

Good evening, everyone.

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Cammeraygal People of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to their Elders, past and present, emerging leaders, and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders gathered here today.

Linda and I are delighted to welcome you to Admiralty House for what is a significant year in the life of the Fire Protection Association Australia, and also the start of an important month.

2022 is the 25th anniversary of the merger of two predecessors to create FPA Australia. September the 1st is also the start of the inaugural National Fire Protection Month.

Today we celebrate the Association’s achievements over the last quarter of a century and, in doing so, help raise awareness about fire protection and the important role played by the Association and the fire protection industry.

Ask any Australian what words they would use to describe our firefighters and you’ll hear ‘brave’, ‘courageous’, and ‘selfless’.

So, today, we shine a light on the critically important work that the more than 1,720 members of the Association do to protect people, buildings, and the environment.

I’m informed that, in addition to the 25th anniversary of FPA Australia, it is also the 356th anniversary of the Great London Fire of 1666.

The fire raged for four days, destroying much of the northern bank of the city and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

I mention the Great London Fire because from that event has come much of what we recognise as fire protection—the regulations, practices, and innovations that today keep people and property safe from the risk of fire.

All of you—from the manufacturers, suppliers, designers, installers, and those who service fire protection products and services, to the bushfire consultants, firefighters, building owners, insurers, architects, and building surveyors—play key roles in keeping Australians safe.

We hope that those responsible for fire protection and prevention in our workplaces and residential buildings value the role played by the industry in protecting life, property, and the environment.

Today’s anniversary is one of those occasions.

The last couple of years have been an incredibly challenging time for our nation. Drought, fire, flood, cyclones, mouse plague, and the pandemic.

Notwithstanding those challenges, this group continued with its important work.

During the pandemic, the Association successfully lobbied for its members to continue servicing fire systems, when others were locked down.

And it actively sought to become an accreditation authority to lift the quality and accountability of practitioners and to deliver more reliable fire safety.

That’s a sign of a strong, resilient organisation.

Again, it is great to have you here today.

This is a small group. As members of the Fire Protection Association Australia, you represent the tip of the iceberg of an industry that continues to pull out all stops to protect life, property, and the environment.

So, when you return to your workplaces, please pass on Linda’s and my gratitude for all that you do to keep Australians safe.

Keep up the great work.

PHOTO: FPA AUSTRALIA

Governer-General David Hurley.

FIRE PROTECTION

—KEEPING YOU SAFE

FPA AUSTRALIA

The inaugural National Fire Protection Month celebrated the important role of the fire protection sector in keeping lives, property, and the environment safe from the risk of fire.

In the early hours of 2 September 1666, a fire broke out in Thomas Farriner’s bakery in Pudding Lane, London, when a spark from his oven hit fuel in his kitchen, starting what would become known as the Great Fire of London.

Dry, hot summer conditions and strong winds caused the fire to spread quickly, and bureaucratic indecision by the Lord Mayor prevented the fire from being contained.

Over the next four days, the fire consumed much of the city within the old Roman walls, extending out to the west and destroying over 13,000 homes, 87 churches (including St Paul’s Cathedral), and even threatening the court at the Palace of Whitehall.

Over 200,000 people were displaced—approximately 85% of the population made homeless—with over £10 million worth of damage caused

(equivalent to £1.72 billion in today’s terms). It took 50 years for the city to rebuild.

With no national fire service, and nothing like the fire protection we know today, residents were helpless, and many who fled the city to get away from the blaze did not return for months or years.

The incident changed and improved many of the strategies used to combat fire, including dedicated firefighters, building controls, and (eventually) the first suppression systems.

National Fire Protection Month

In remembrance of the Great Fire of London, and to recognise the role and innovations of fire protection in the centuries since, in September 2022 FPA Australia held the inaugural

National Fire Protection Month (NFPM).

This annual event celebrates the importance of fire protection to the safety of life, property, and the environment.

Sixteen free seminars and webinars were run throughout the month, with over 1,000 people registering to attend. With the theme ‘Fire protection: keeping you safe’, the program saw a variety of speakers covering a range of related topics.

Some of these focused on what the fire protection sector does to keep people and property safe, particularly in residential apartment buildings.

Others explored different areas of fire protection—mining, defence, electric vehicles.

And there was a lot of interest in the rules surrounding fire safety assessment and product certification.

Students from western Sydney discuss opportunities within the fire protection industry.

PHOTO:

The program even included a careers forum for school leavers, where ten practitioners discussed the specific roles that they play in the industry. This was mostly attended by students from Blacktown Girls’ High School, and it was encouraging to see the interest shown in fire protection careers.

The results

Through NFPM, we have been able to reach out to some new sectors to discuss fire safety. It allowed members and their clients to participate in different events and to hear the positive story of fire protection.

While the attendance at different events was varied, we have been able to raise the profile of the industry, and we look forward to running the event again next year.

In launching the event at Admiralty House in Sydney, our Patron, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), GovernorGeneral of Australia, recognised that a key benefit is the additional time given by fire protection systems to allow occupants to escape and firefighters to attend the blaze: “… In the event of a fire in a building, it is the fire protection and fire prevention systems that will buy people trapped in that building time,” he said.

“And ‘time’ as we know—the precious minutes and seconds—can make a world of difference …”

FPA Australia CEO John Kilgour echoed that sentiment: “We all know that firefighters are essential,” he said.

“But without detection and alarm systems, suppression systems, mechanical smoke control features,

and passive fire walls and doors, there would be no chance of saving a burning building.

“More importantly, the people within such a building would have no hope of getting out safely.”

The role of NFPM was to share this message with the community, so that the role of fire protection (often unremarked) can be recognised and celebrated.

With the success of this first effort, NFPM will return next year, and we are keen to get some feedback about the event—what worked, what didn’t, and what topics would you like to hear about.

Drop us a line at engagement@fpaa. com.au and help us to deliver an even better event in 2023.

1. CEO John Kilgour (FPA Australia), Mrs Linda Hurley, and Michael Donegan (Redmen) at the launch.

3. Steven Baxas (City of Melbourne) and John Clampett (John Clampett Consulting) discuss how fire safety features protected Lacrosse residents.

4. John Kilgour welcomes attendees.

5. Peter Meyer (Office of Defence Industry Support) discuss the fire protection needs of the Defence forces, while Steve Lockwood (Hydfire) and Greg Strettles (SDS, hidden) look on.

2. Sue Steele (Red Earth Health Solutions), Neil van Drunen (AMEC), and Nick Rice (AusFire) discuss fire safety in mining.

PHOTOS:

EVENTS:

Jeff Apps, Firesense

Steven Baxas, City of Melbourne Council

Greg Bignall, Absolute Fire Safety

Gregory Bonnily, Contact Group

Nathan Brown, BCA Engineers

John Clampett,

John Clampett Consulting

Nicole Cocks, Vortex Fire

Peter Collina, FPA Australia

Nick Columb, Life Again

Michael Connelly,

Chubb Fire and Security

Leigh Gesthuizen, FPA Australia

Ben Girard, Credible Fire Safety

John Godfrey, JMG

Nick Grice, First 5 Minutes, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services

Alex Hoyle, GMBS

John Ivison, Civil Fire

John Kilgour, FPA Australia

Anita Kingdom,

Total Concept Industries

Hugh Kingdom,

Total Concept Industries

Anthony Lada, Chubb Fire and Security

Steven Lockwood, Hydfire

John McDonough, Fire and Rescue NSW

Shae Mete, FPA Australia

Peter Meyer, Office of Defence Industry Support

Allen Mitchell, FPA Australia

Paul Mlozniak, Beyond Fire

Scott Phillips, Local Government NSW

Stephen Poulter, Port Stephens Council

George Reboredo, Fire Protect Systems

Adrian Rhodes, Inspiring the Future Australia

Nick Rice, Ausfire Industries

Alex Robertson, FERST

Alan Short, Fire and Emergency Services SA

Greg Smith, FPA Australia

Sue Steele, Red Earth Health Solutions

Greg Strettles,

Safety Direct Solutions

Emma Sutcliffe, EVFireSafe

Helen Ting, Department of Customer Service

Neil van Drunen, AMEC

Bruce Waine,

Total Concept Industries

Paul Waterhouse, FPA Australia

Mark Whybro, FPA Australia, Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition Australia

Matthew Wright, UL

Matthew Wunsch, Department of Customer Service Alex Zimbounellis, Fire Protect Systems

THANK YOU TO THE MEMBERS OF THE

NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION

MONTH STEERING COMMITTEE:

Julia Barraclough, FPA Australia

Peter Collina, FPA Australia

Michael Connelly, Chubb Fire and Security (ACT representative)

Leigh Gesthuizen, FPA Australia

Paul Gleeson, Contact Group (Tasmanian representative)

David Heath, Fireguard West (Victorian representative)

John Kilgour, FPA Australia

Anita Kingdom, Total Concept Industries (NSW representative)

Diane Lim, Fiona Wood Foundation

Steven Lockwood, Hydfire (NT representative)

Anton Milne, FPA Australia

Allen Mitchell, FPA Australia

Ed Payne, Rader FS Fire Solutions (WA representative)

George Reboredo, Fire Protection Systems (NSW representative)

Alan Short, Fire and Emergency Services SA (SA representative)

Dale Spurway-Humphries, Performance Fire (SA representative)

Paul Waterhouse, FPA Australia

Mark Whybro, FPA Australia, Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition Australia

Luke Woodward, Infusion Solutions (Queensland representative)

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SHARED THEIR TIME AND EXPERTISE TO PRESENT AT OUR VARIOUS

IMPROVING THE SCIENTIFIC ACCURACY BEHIND FIRE DANGER RATINGS

The new Australian Fire Danger Rating System was launched on 1 September 2022, delivering more reliable predictions about fire weather, based on improved science, information, and data.

With the introduction of the new Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS), Australia now has a nationally consistent and more accurate system to predict and communicate fire danger.

The AFDRS replaces the McArthurbased system, which relied on science that is more than 60 years old. New technology, data, and research have greatly improved our ability to accurately predict fire behaviour and the potential threat to the community. The new AFDRS harnesses the latest scientific understanding about weather, fuel, and how fire behaves in different types of vegetation to improve the reliability of fire danger forecasts. This strengthens the ability of those working in emergency services to be prepared, make decisions, and provide accurate advice to the community.

Fire behaviour models

Fire behaviour models are mathematical models, usually tailored to specific vegetation types, that describe the way fire moves and spreads through those vegetation types. Because vegetation types have different structural characteristics, fire moves in a different way through each. Therefore, each requires its own modelling. The AFDRS

uses eight fire behaviour models, rather than the two used by the McArthurbased system of fire danger. The eight vegetation type models are: „ forest „ grassland „ savanna „ spinifex „ shrubland „ mallee heath „ buttongrass „ pine.

Each of these fire behaviour models includes modifications to expand their use to 22 national fuel types. Using these models and fuel types, AFDRS is able to more accurately account for the diversity of vegetation types across Australia and to produce better predictions.

Introducing the Fire Behaviour Index

The AFDRS levels have been simplified and optimised for use by the community. There are now four levels: Moderate (green), High (yellow), Extreme (orange) and Catastrophic (red).

For fire management professionals and practitioners, a new Fire Behaviour Index (FBI) has been introduced. The FBI scale runs from zero to 100 and beyond, with increasingly high values indicating increasingly dangerous fire behaviour and, therefore, fire danger risk. In order to support fire operations

properly, the FBI is made up of step-up categories based on fire behaviour transitions, where an increase in category reflects changed operational implications for: „ prescribed burning „ suppression response „ potential impacts.

The FBI does not describe a single physical property. Instead, it is a highlevel concept that unites a range of potential fire behaviour characteristics predicted from models for particular vegetation types. These include: „ fire intensity „ flame height „ rate of spread „ spotting potential.

Flexibility for the future

To ensure flexibility and accuracy moving forward, the AFDRS is designed to be continuously updatable so that the system can take advantage of improving science, data, and information into the future.

For example, following the Victorian Black Saturday bushfires in February 2009, changes were made to fire danger ratings including the introduction of a ‘Catastrophic’ (or ‘Code Red’) rating and changes to the indices for grassland areas. While these changes were successfully and rapidly implemented to address a need at the time, experience

WAYNE KINGTON and ALANA BEITZ

AFAC

PHOTO: NSW RFS

has shown that the original system was manipulated beyond its original intent and that it required a comprehensive review and redevelopment.

The AFDRS was designed to allow it to be readily updated as research into fire behaviour and other information improved. This includes the development of prototype indices for bushfire impact, suppression likelihood, and ignition likelihood, which may become important additions to the system in the future.

Training to support the switch to the new system

At present, land and rural fire management professionals are likely accustomed to the McArthur-based system of fire danger and may use this to frame their understanding of how fire behaves in various ecosystems.

Emergency responders should be aware that the same index number, rating name or colour when used by the AFDRS may now represent something different than they might be used to. AFAC has developed a suite of training assets to support the switch to the new system.

The training assets include:

„ eLearning courses—the quickest way to learn about the new system

„ modular assets—teacher aids such as lesson plans, videos, and PowerPoint presentations to support the development or delivery of AFDRS training.

The AFDRS training is delivered in three levels:

„ Course 1: Introduction to the AFDRS—for staff of government agencies and key stakeholders such as volunteers, local government, and private industry groups

„ Course 2: Applying the AFDRS for fire and land management professionals, planners, command and operational staff, and anyone requiring an applied knowledge of the AFDRS

„ BoM Courses: AFDRS theory for fire behaviour analysts, meteorologists, and those requiring a technical understanding of the theory behind the AFDRS, including equations. This is a technical course for specialists.

The new AFDRS brings with it a range of useful products that support operational decision-making, including the FBI Quick Guides, the Fire Danger Viewer, new Bureau of Meteorology products, and new climate outlook products. These products are detailed in the training resources.

The

Access the AFDRS Training via the AFAC website: www.afac.com.au/ initiative/afdrs/afdrs-training.

For

BARRY LEE AND RUSSELL SHEPHARD —STANDARDS HEROES

For its 100th anniversary, Standards Australia is celebrating people who have contributed to its success and made a lasting impact upon standardisation. Two of those recognised by their peers, Barry Lee OAM and Russell Shephard, have been key figures in FPA Australia and AFAC, respectively.

The following descriptions of Barry and Russell were written for the celebration. We thank Standards Australia for acknowledging Barry’s and Russell’s contributions and for permitting us to reprint these biographies.

Barry Lee OAM

As a founding member of Fire Protection Australia and recipient of a United Nations Environment Programme Citation and Medal of the Order of Australia, Barry Lee is a significant figure in fire safety and fire safety standards.

Mr Lee’s career spanned 70 years and was hugely impactful to national and international safety and associated standards.

A mechanical engineer by training (RMIT), Mr Lee spent the majority of his career in fire protection engineering as the former Technical Director of Wormald International. He is also a fellow of Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) UK and foundation patron of IFE Australia, in addition to being a Fellow and past Director of Society of Fire Protection Engineers, USA.

Mr Lee was awarded the Medal of Order of Australia in 1990 for service to industry, particularly in the area of fire protection. And in 1989, he was recognised with a United Nations Environment Programme Citation of Excellence for his outstanding contribution to the protection of the earth’s ozone layer.

More recently, Mr Lee was honoured with the Barry Lee Training Room—a dedicated room that showcases a range of equipment covering wet and dry fire systems. Situated within the grounds of the NSW Emergency Services Academy, the room is a collaboration between Fire Protection Association Australia and Fire and Rescue NSW.

Mr Lee commenced his professional career and became involved in standards concurrently in the 1950s in Melbourne.

“Most of my work with standards was in the ‘keeping us safe’ category. My proudest achievements include

completion of the first Australian standards on fire service pumps, maintenance of fire protection systems and equipment, automatic sprinkler protection for accommodation buildings not exceeding four storeys in height, combined sprinkler and hydrant systems in multistorey buildings, and water spray systems for bushfire protection; also, HB-46 Fire Safety in the Home—all of which I chaired,” explained Mr Lee.

“On the international scene, I chaired ISO TC 21/SC 8, the technical committee charged with development of the first standard on gaseous fire extinguishing systems. This was duly accomplished and was subsequently adopted in Australia, the UK, and South Africa, among others,” he continued.

Mr Lee believes the standards development process has become vastly more sophisticated as time has passed.

“Committee work is enhanced by the use of drafting leaders, work scheduling, progress reviews, and specialist staff resources. The selection and training of young leaders through the NEXTgen program is a good example of the more forward-looking approach to standards development,” he explained.

In the coming years, Mr Lee would like to see clearly, timely development of national and international standards.

“I envision Standards Australia as being even more active in anticipating standards needs across the board, particularly in areas of emerging technologies such as renewable energy and the like. I see this as forestalling problems in the field well ahead of issues emerging in practice,” he said.

Adrian O’Connell, CEO at Standards Australia, said: “Barry is recognised nationally as an influential contributor to our fire safety standards. His dedication and commitment are second to none and his experience in fire safety is world leading. We’re beyond grateful for the work achieved by people like Barry, who are the driving force behind Australia’s safety standards.”

Russell Shephard

Russell Shephard has an extensive history working with the ACT Fire and Rescue and ACT Emergency Services Agency. For over 25 years, he has been working with the development and revision of Australian and international standards for firefighters and emergency services personal protective equipment.

Mr Shephard sits on a number of Standards Australia committees, chairing SF-052 Personal Safety— Personal Protective Equipment and SF-053 Protective Clothing. He works as Manager Standards at the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council.

How did you become involved in standards development?

I first became involved in standards when I was asked by the United Firefighters Union to represent Australian firefighters.

The first standards that I worked on were the development of a AS/NZS 4067 Structural firefighting helmet, and AS/NZS 1801 Occupational protective helmets (within this Standard a

PHOTO: FPA AUSTRALIA

PHOTO: AFAC

Barry Lee OAM

Russell Shephard

provision was made for the inclusion of a Type 3 Bushfire Helmet). In addition, I was asked to represent the firefighters in the development of the first Australian Standard, AS 4967 Protective clothing for firefighters—Requirements and test methods for protective clothing used for structural firefighting This Standard was published in 2001 and was developed based on an International Standard ISO 11613:1999.

What role have standards played in your career?

Standards, in particular the connection between standards and the health and safety of firefighters, consumed my life as a young firefighter and as a union representative, with a special focus on personal protective equipment (PPE).

I was soon recognised as a person with a passion for improving firefighters’ PPE, and a way of doing this was through the development of standards and assisting fire agencies with the development of PPE specifications.

I was soon asked to participate in several standards committees—not all relating directly to firefighters, some of these I have had the opportunity to lead as Chair.

What is a project you’ve been particularly proud to have helped deliver?

I have worked on many projects participating on standards committees over the last 30 years; however, I must say that the most important project I have been responsible for as Chair of

ISO TC94/SC14 is the development of ISO 23616:2022 Cleaning, inspection and repair of firefighters’ personal protective equipment

The purpose of this document is to provide the requirements, guidance, and recommendations regarding the cleaning, inspection, and repair of firefighters’ PPE and establish criteria for its cleaning, inspection, and repair. This document has been developed in response to growing concerns about contaminated PPE and potential health hazards for firefighters. Fire and rescue services, and the manufacturers of PPE, want to provide instructions and guidance to effectively minimise and manage this risk.

Outside of standards development, what have been some highlights of your career?

It is difficult to identify highlights that are not in some way linked to standards for as my entire working life, starting as a young volunteer firefighter at the age of 17, standards and health and safety have been at the forefront.

I would like to mention the following:

„ On 26 January 2008, I was awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM) by the Governor-General on behalf of the Queen, for distinguished service to the fire industry in the area of health and safety.

„ In April 2015, I was advised that I had been nominated for the Standards Australia prestigious award, the W.R. Hebblewhite Medal, and that I was the winner of that award.

What do you think the future of standardisation looks like?

It is my belief that standards will continue to play a major role in our everyday lives, for example, the guidance it provides in relation to PPE, as has been seen during the pandemic with the development and compliance of face masks.

The development of measures will assist with addressing climate change and working with key stakeholders regarding the building and construction industry. All of these and many other issues need to be on the agenda in the future; however, a greater discussion also needs to occur regarding compliance issues and how many standards currently not referenced in legislation can be included.

Is there anything you’d like to say or mention about Standards Australia’s centenary year?

When it comes to Standards Australia, I can only say congratulations, what an achievement. And to all those who I have interacted with over many years, a big thank you as, if it was not for you and the support you have given me and my industry over many years, we would not be as successful as we are today in protecting the community. If it was not for you I would not have been able to improve firefighters’ safety.

To learn more about Standards Australia’s centenary, and to see the other heroes, visit www.standards.org.au/centenary/ centenary-home.

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SPEECH INTELLIGIBILITY

VYACHESLAV (SLAVA) SHARGORODSKY

Newsound Fire Services

On 1 March 1991, two Boeing 737 aircraft were flying in opposite directions between Darwin and Brisbane on a route passing over Mount Isa, outside radar coverage—Ansett’s VH-CZG was operating from Darwin to Brisbane and Australian Airlines’ VH-TJD was flying in opposite direction.

Once beyond radar coverage, pilots were required to provide position reports and their cruising level at specific points along the route.

The flight level of VH-CZG was reported as “three five zero” by the Darwin controller, but the Brisbane controller thought that the level had been given as ‘three nine zero’, so he read the level back as “three niner zero”, using normal acknowledgment terminology.

When the word ‘niner’ was received in Darwin, a temporary loss of signal clarity occurred, so the Darwin controller interpreted the sound as a ‘five’.

Luckily, the crew of one aircraft became aware that both aircraft were flying at the same level and manually initiated avoidance action—each crew saw the other aircraft pass less than one minute later.

It became one of the well-known ‘near-miss’ incidents in Australian aviation history due to speech ‘unintelligibility’.

A brief history

As with many other ‘dual-use’ technologies, speech intelligibility (SI) started (unsurprisingly) with the military.

Unassuming sentences such as “these days a chicken leg is a rare dish” or “a large size in stockings is hard to sell” are a few examples of so-called phonetically balanced

sentences, or Harvard sentences, that were developed during World War II.

They were created in a boiler room, under Harvard University Memorial Hall, that was transformed into a secret wartime research laboratory (Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory) in 1940, in an attempt to reduce communication problems experienced by bomber pilots.

In this facility, volunteers were exposed to noise and speech, as scientists tested military communications systems, which ultimately led to the Harvard sentences—a set of standardised phrases still widely used to test everything using speech, from mobile phones to Voice over Internet Protocol systems.

Over the years, multiple methods were developed to evaluate the SI of various critical speech systems, mostly involving expert human ‘speakers’ and ‘listeners’. But the need for an objective and consistent SI measurement became obvious.

It was not until the 1970s that a major research project at the TNO Research Laboratory in Netherlands, funded by NATO, was able to deliver a result, creating the current speech transmission index (STI) method of SI measurement.

Audibility versus intelligibility

There is a difference between whether something can be heard and whether it can be understood.

The NFPA 72 standard provides a clear distinction between these two parameters: ‘audibility’ is equivalent to “can you hear me now?”; ‘intelligibility’ corresponds with “do you really understand me?”.

In practice, various factors affect speech intelligibility and, while the language and pronunciation skills of the human speaker are extremely

important, most of the factors have to do with audio equipment or features of the apartment.

Major technical factors affecting intelligibility

Signal-to-noise ratio

Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is a proportion of the sound pressure level (SPL) produced by a loudspeaker compared with the ambient or background noise in the room. To achieve an acceptable SI level, AS 1670.1:2018 and AS 1670.4:2018 recommend that SNR should be 10 dB over the ambient noise level (with other conditions in place, as shown in the summary table below).

It should be noted that AS 1670.4:2015 did not provide enough details for speech SNR measurement methods, but they were clarified in Clause H.4 of AS 1670.4:2018.

Frequency response

For intelligible live speech, the whole audio path (including emergency microphone, audio processors, audio amplifiers, loudspeaker cabling, and loudspeakers) should preferably have a frequency response (FR) between 150 Hz and 11 kHz, as this is an average adult voice frequency range.

In practice, however, FR for some equipment is specified for much narrower frequency ranges, between 400 and 450 Hz and 3.2 and 4.0 kHz, which is closer to the average range of human hearing.

For the most intelligible sound, it is important that FR is as flat as possible. Yet, some caution must be exercised when comparing different FR. Conventionally, FR boundaries are specified for the points where signal level drops to a –3 dB threshold below a mid-frequency level.

This

There are very few topics in fire protection that cause so much ‘love–hate’ debate as the speech intelligibility for emergency warning systems. Questions vary from “Do we really need it at all?” to “If I’m EWS designer, how much of black/white magic do I need to learn to predict SI level in my design?”.

mid-frequency power is reproduced at the FR boundaries.

These threshold levels may vary dramatically between various FR specifications within the standards. For example, AS 4428.16-2020 allows up to 15 dB FR variation between 500 Hz and 3.2 kHz for emergency warning system (EWS) panel audio equipment (in AS 4428.16 terminology it is called EWCIE—Emergency Warning Control and Indicating Equipment), while AS 7240.24-2018 allows up to 20 dB FR variation between 447 Hz and 7.08 kHz for fire alarm loudspeakers.

Such margins permit enormous variations of signal level for any FR to be considered flat, unless audio amplification equipment is designed specifically to meet such a requirement or audio equalisers are used.

Total harmonic distortions

The average person can detect as little as two percent distortion when listening to some sound output, but when the sound distortion level reaches 15%, reproduced speech is considered non-intelligible.

Some EWS have reduced SI due to audio amplifier clipping and occasionally overdriven loudspeakers. AS 4428.16-2020 sets distortion level at maximum one percent for audio equipment, while AS 7240.24-2018 is silent on such a requirement for fire alarm loudspeakers.

Reverberation

Reverberation is the persistence of sound through echoes and reflections after the initial sound source is removed. This is the main reason why it is often difficult, and sometimes impossible, to achieve the required SI level in large areas with reflective surfaces such as car parks, atriums and

Speech intelligibility requirements of AS 1670.4:2018 and AS 1670.1:2018 in different conditions

Condition

If ambient (noise) SPL is 85dB(A) or above

If ambient (noise) SPL is less than 85 dB(A) and live speech SNR is 10 dB or less

If ambient (noise) SPL is less than 85 dB(A) and live speech SNR is more than 10 dB and loudspeakers are spaced not further apart than the twicemounting height from the floor

Source: Slava Shargorodsky

Reverberation

Less than 1.5 s 1.5 s or higher

Install visual alarm devices (VADs) and/or visual warning devices (VWDs). Do not measure SI, except within a 6 m radius of the approach to all required exits, where measured Common Intelligibility Scale (CIS) shall be not less than 0.7.

Option 1: Measure SI in all areas where these conditions are met. Measured CIS shall be not less than 0.7.

Option 2: Install VADs and/or VWDs. Do not measure SI, except within a 6 m radius of the approach to all required exits, where measured CIS shall be not less than 0.7.

Do not measure SI. It is deemed to be compliant under these conditions.

Install VADs and/or VWDs. Do not measure SI, except within a 6 m radius of the approach to all required exits, where measured CIS shall be not less than 0.7.

so on. One often-used approach to resolve this is to increase the quantity of closer-spaced loudspeakers, set at their lower power tap settings.

Recognising this problem in highreverberation areas, the latest set of AS 1670 standards provides another pathway to compliance. This is based on a principle that can be described in layman’s terms as: “I can hear emergency tones at my location, but I can’t fully understand what they’re saying. The closer I get to the exit, the clearer the voice message is.”

Current standard requirements

Unfortunately, SI requirements are fairly convoluted and are not easy to read in all revisions of the AS 1670 suite of standards, although they

Install VADs and/or VWDs. Do not measure SI, except within a 6 m radius of the approach to all required exits, where measured CIS shall be not less than 0.7.

were somewhat simplified in the 2018 editions.

The table above might help to clarify SI requirements under the current set of AS 1670.1-2018 and AS 1670.4-2018 standards.

There are many other aspects of SI that could not be covered in this short article. For example, the currently specified STI method works well for most linear analog audio equipment, but fails when some non-linear audio processing is involved, such as with digital audio compressing algorithms. But this is for another day and another article.

In our next article, we plan to cover some basic acoustic rules and considerations for achieving required SPL for EWS.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

MAJOR INCIDENTS REPORT:

A YEAR OF COMPOUNDING AND COMPLEX DISASTERS

The Major Incidents Report for the 2021–22 financial year has been released by the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience, providing an annual record of major national incidents that have been deemed significant by the emergency management sector.

From 21 January to 3 February, a weather pattern influenced by ex-Tropical Cyclone Tiffany resulted in record rainfall and flooding particularly in the north and west of South Australia.

AFAC

Spanning a period dominated by the influence of successive La Niña declarations, it is no surprise that of the 36 incidents documented in the 2021–22 Major Incidents Report, 28 related to floods, storms, and tropical cyclones. Commissioned by the Emergency Management and Response Group within the National Emergency Management Agency and authored by Tony Murphy AFSM, the sixth edition of the annual Major Incidents Report details the impact of and response to the consecutive, concurrent, and compounding events that took place over the 12-month period. It also looks at the interconnectedness and interoperability of Australia’s emergency management system.

Almost 50% of the 36 major incidents occurred during the January and February 2022 period. The environment was one where there were consecutive, concurrent incidents occurring, which added to the complexity facing response and recovery agencies at local, state, territory, and federal government levels.

– Major Incidents Report, page 13

Nine of the major incidents are documented in detail through the report. They were selected for their impact and consequences, their uniqueness, the learnings and observations recorded, the resourcing requirements, the significance of the event, and their duration. These incidents were:

1. earthquake—Victoria, 22 September 2021

2. storms—South Australia,

28–29 October 2021

3. storms—Victoria, 28 October –8 November 2021

4. severe flooding from (ex) Tropical Cyclone Tiffany—South Australia, 21 January – 3 February 2022

5. volcanic eruption and tsunami (Australian response)—Tonga, 15 January 2022

6. tsunami warning—Norfolk, Lord Howe, and Macquarie Islands, 15 January 2022

7. bushfire—Western Australia, 5–15 February 2022

8. rainfall and flooding—Queensland, 22 February – 7 March 2022 9. flooding—New South Wales, 22 February – early April 2022.

ALANA BEITZ

The lessons from each of the above events are included in the Major Incidents Report to support knowledge sharing across the emergency management sector when dealing with complex incidents.

Many of the incidents required resource sharing between states, territories, and the Australian Government to boost capacity during responses. With several jurisdictions dealing with multiple events simultaneously, response systems were inevitably put under pressure.

Where requested, capacity is increased by repositioning resources, both people and equipment, through the AFAC National Resource Sharing Centre and the Australian Government National Emergency Management Agency. These agencies worked together during 2021–22 to coordinate and facilitate interstate and international deployments from fire and rescue agencies using partnerships and national arrangements. The Major Incidents Report provides this example:

The deployment of aviation resources to Western Australia through the National

Resource Sharing Centre, assisted by the National Aerial Firefighting Centre, is a demonstration of the ability to implement a turnkey solution that was self-contained from other states and territories into another jurisdiction during a chaotic period. The risk environment changed considerably during the 2021–22 period. Eastern Australia was drenched, and Western Australia (experiencing severe to catastrophic fire weather) was dry and vulnerable to bushfire. The flexibility to reassign potent firefighting and intelligence gathering assets to where the risk existed delivered an effective and efficient outcome for the state, Australia, and the community.

– Major Incidents Report, page 21

Climate drivers and their impact for the period covered in the Major Incidents Report are also detailed, providing the meteorological context for these events and the extent of their consequences. A primary influence was the occurrence of a second La Niña during spring and summer of 2021–22, with a significant number of the flooding events across the eastern seaboard documented in the Major Incidents Report occurring during this time period.

The Major Incidents Report also highlighted that the concurrent, consecutive, and compounding events were not limited to the impacts of weather. Ongoing interruptions and considerations arising from the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect emergency management responses across the country and added an additional layer of complexity when preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disaster and emergency events for many sectors of the community.

The collaborative efforts of states and territories, the Australian Government, industry and non-government organisations in navigating these varied and complex issues— through crisis response to recovery—cannot be understated.

– Major Incidents Report, page 5

The Major Incidents Report for 2021–22 is available to download from the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience Knowledge Hub: https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/ resources/major-incidents-report.

Building in a BAL area?

Yes, you can build with timber on a Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) rated site.

From a basic understanding of the design requirements and an online BAL calculator through to free Expert Advice, you’ll find everything you need at WoodSolutions. Get started by downloading Fact Sheet 19, Building in bushfire prone areas.

PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT FOR FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE DELIVERED TO VANUATU

As part of a longstanding agreement with the Republic of Vanuatu, the ACT Emergency Services Agency donated protective equipment including helmets, protective clothing, and boots to assist local firefighters and police.

MOLLY PRICE

AFAC

Vanuatu is considered to be one of the world’s most at-risk countries for natural hazards, vulnerable to cyclones, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, and tsunamis.

As these hazard events increase in severity and frequency due to climate change, emergency management agencies must improve their capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters.

In 2016, the ACT Emergency Services Agency (ESA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Vanuatu Government in relation

Government, AFAC (through the Pacific Islands Emergency Management Alliance), and the Pacific Islands Fire and Emergency Services Association. Through this partnership, ACT ESA has provided training, technical advice, and equipment—including fire

PHOTOS: ACT ESA

The arrival of new equipment is celebrated in Vanuatu.

ACT ESA preparing the donation for transit.

appliances—for emergency services.

In July 2022, the Australian Federal Police facilitated the delivery of two pallets of equipment to Luganville, on the northern island of Espiritu Santo.

The donation from ACT ESA included new structural firefighting helmets, protective tunics, overpants, and boots for firefighters, as well as

79 pairs of general-purpose boots for the Luganville Police.

The ongoing relationship between ACT ESA and the Vanuatu Government aims to increase resilience and reduce disaster vulnerability in the region.

It supports the broader work of AFAC, whose members work in partnership with Pacific Island nations,

and Australian and New Zealand governments to support a coordinated capability development approach that strengthens interoperability and the capacity of disaster and emergency management agencies across the Pacific. AFAC members are committed to working with our peers in the Pacific in a spirit of mutual cooperation.

Local firefighters and police trying out the new protective gear.

MAINTENANCE TESTING OF OCCUPANT WARNING SOUNDERS WITHIN APARTMENTS

A Class 2 multistorey apartment building typically requires the installation of an AS 1670.1i detection and building occupant warning system (BOWS). This is to ensure that a resident within the building can be alerted in the event of a fire and can evacuate safely.

Such a system may include detection in public areas, such as corridors, and occupant warning sounders within all apartments (or single occupancy units), with all devices connected to a fire indicator panel.

However, National Construction Codeii Specification E2.2a Clause 7 also permits the use of a BOWS that provides a minimum 100 dB(A) externally at the apartment door, from sounders located within public areas such as corridors. Although a common AS 1670.1 sounder typically provides around 105 dB(A) at 1 m, such a BOWS may have disadvantages.

In a paper on sound attenuation (reduction), Halliwell and Sultan introduced the concept of “noise reduction” (NR).iii This was defined as the difference between outdoor and

required indoor sound levels. NR can be affected by many factors, including the angle at which sound strikes a partition (doors); the geometry of the room; and sound absorption from carpets, soft furnishings and so on.

AS 1670.1 specifies a minimum sound pressure level of 75 dB(A) at each apartment bedhead, with the bedroom doors being closed, which is assumed will wake the majority of sleeping occupants.

However, it cannot be assumed that external sounders in corridors will always achieve this.

Another BOWS design option is to provide sounders within the apartments themselves. By doing so, NR through closed doors (approximately 10 dB(A) per door) can be negated. This can be achieved with a sole sounder outside the bedrooms or may include an additional sounder within each bedroom (so for a two-bedroom apartment, there might be three internal sounders in total).

Fire engineers commonly request sounders to be installed in all bedrooms of some apartments as part of a fire engineered performance solution, often to justify extended travel distances in an external public corridor.

The maintenance of fire safety

systems is undertaken in accordance with AS 1851,iv which includes testing of the AS 1670.1 detection and BOWS. But, if internal AS 1670.1 sounders are installed, are they ever checked as part of an external AS 1851 maintenance test?

In a two-bedroom apartment with three internal sounders, this would mean a practitioner determining that all three sounders had operated successfully.

Otherwise, if appropriate testing cannot be undertaken without having to enter every apartment, how could it always be assumed that the 75 dB(A) requirement at each bedhead was being achieved? And how could fire engineers have confidence that any performance solutions that relied, in part, on sounders within bedrooms, were functioning as assumed?

If BOWS sounders are going to be prescribed for apartments, maintenance regimes need to ensure that testing occurs within the apartments too.

If access to individual apartments is not assured, then a new way of testing sounders remotely needs to be developed. Otherwise, the contribution of a BOWS to occupant safety cannot be guaranteed.

i Standards Australia, 2018, AS 1670.1 Fire detection, warning, control and intercom systems – System design, installation and commissioning – Fire

ii National Construction Code 2019, Volume One, Amendment 1, 2021, Australian Building Codes Board, Canberra, Australia.

iii Halliwell, R.E. and Sultan, M.A., 1986, Guide to Most Effective Locations for Smoke Detectors in Residential Building Building Practice Note, no. 62., National Research Council of Canada, Institute for Research in Construction.

iv Standards Australia, 2012, AS 1851 Routine servicing of fire protection systems and equipment

DAVID SLOAN

Florian Fire Consulting

How do you test to make sure that BOWS are loud enough to wake occupants?

PHOTO: FPA AUSTRALIA

Occupant warning sounders within apartments are important life safety devices, but is adequate maintenance testing being undertaken? Australian Standard AS 1851 requires practitioners to confirm that a system is performing—but, if components within an apartment are not included in testing, how can you be sure?

UK KNOWLEDGE GUIDES NEW AFAC LARGE ANIMAL RESCUE GUIDELINE

NSW State Emergency Service—Hawkesbury Unit, Deputy Chair, Animal Emergency Incident Management Network (Australia and New Zealand)

Large, domesticated animals such as horses and cattle often get stuck in, caught on, or trapped in a variety of situations—whether it is a horse bogged in a farm dam or dairy cows desperately swimming through flood waters.

Incidents involving animals can be very emotional. Without the intervention of trained rescue personnel, or referral to a local veterinarian to resolve the situation, people can be injured if they try to rescue the large animal themselves (often by employing unsafe and/or inhumane practices).

In September 2021, the AFAC Rescue Technical Group formed a small working group to develop a guideline for large animal rescue operations to help emergency service organisations understand and manage the risk to workers of dealing with trapped and often agitated large animals.

The guideline is based on the UK National Fire Chiefs Council’s National Operational Guidance Programme for Incidents Involving Animals. The UK guidance was produced in consultation with key stakeholders including the

British Animal Rescue and Trauma Care Association (BARTA) and the RSPCA.

The AFAC working group, representing each Australian state and territory, and New Zealand, worked closely with subject matter experts, including members of the Animal Emergency Incident Management Network in Australia and New Zealand (AEIMN (ANZ)), which is is a sister organisation to BARTA and brings Australia and New Zealand veterinarians together with large animal rescue subject matter experts to develop and promote leading practice rescue techniques.

AFAC recently released the new Large Animal Rescue Operations guideline for Australian and New Zealand emergency service organisations attending incidents involving large animals. The guideline details the overarching operational and leading practice that emergency service organisations should consider when planning and responding to incidents involving large animals.

One international commentator stated about the guideline: “This is one of and perhaps the best set of operations guides I’ve read—a combination of academia and practicality.”

The document provides clear guidance on understanding the

risks and the controls that should be implemented when responding to incidents involving large animals.

It recommends that a large animal veterinarian attend any such rescue operations to help manage risks— through the use of sedation or general anaesthetic—to emergency services personnel working near the entrapped animal.

Once the large animal has been chemically restrained, the large animal rescue or relocation process involves simple techniques that can be humanely employed to release any large animal from its entrapment.

Emergency service organisations requiring assistance in developing their large animal rescue capability can reach out to members of the AIEMN (ANZ) by visiting www.aeimanz.org, or they can contact NSW State Emergency Service Capability Branch

Large Animal Rescue Operations is available from the AFAC website: www.afac.com.au/insight/doctrine/ article/current/large-animal-rescueoperations

Find more resources and information from AEIMN (ANZ): www.aeimanz.org

Emergency situations involving large animals can be complex and dangerous. AFAC has developed new doctrine to support planning for and responding to incidents involving large animals.

DAVID KING

Eighty-three percent of the public will risk their lives to save an animal. If emergency service organisations do not rescue large domestic animals, members of the public may put themselves and others at risk unnecessarily to do so.

PHOTO: NSW SES

PERSPECTIVES FROM THE SECTOR

In this edition, AFAC CEO Rob Webb interviews recently appointed CEO of Natural Hazards Research Australia, Andrew Gissing.

ROB WEBB AFAC

You’re the new CEO at Natural Hazards Research Australia (NHRA), which was established just over a year ago now. How has it been to make a fresh start, and what is your vision for NHRA moving forward?

I am excited to join the talented NHRA team and to work with our partners, leading tangible change through research, science, and innovation to enhance the safety, resilience, and sustainability of communities to natural hazards. This feels especially urgent right now as we see much of Victoria and NSW being hit with devastating flooding, while other parts of NSW and south-east Queensland are still recovering from similar incidents, and many communities are rebuilding after Black Summer.

NHRA is a national research capability serving emergency management, government, industry, and the community. We deliver

research that is useful and actionable, supported by a culture that puts utilisation at the centre of our decisionmaking, to ensure that our research makes a difference in keeping communities safe. There are many opportunities to advance our research, particularly in the ways we collect data and how we use it to answer research problems. A cross-disciplinary approach to our work is key in building future capability.

AFAC’s members have noted just how good NHRA’s move to a research ‘node’ model with managers placed across the country has been. How does this new model shift the way you engage with your researchers and end users?

Partners are at the core of our purpose and our evolved operating model means we are better able to connect with them through a dedicated research manager for each state and territory. This is already helping us to build stronger relationships as we work with partners to identify research needs and to share research knowledge. For example, we have exciting new projects underway about public predictive maps with the Bureau of Meteorology, AFAC and the Country Fire Authority; Indigenous management with NAILSMA [the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance]; and lifeline resilience for remote communities with the Australian Resilience Centre.

Our research managers do excellent work to maintain these close relationships, and we now have formal partnerships with almost every major emergency management agency in the country. This is testament to our partnership development and will serve to strengthen our research management

and utilisation capabilities. We have plans to expand and strengthen this capability moving forward.

The node model also means that we can quickly develop new projects in response to natural hazards. For example, in response the east coast floods this year, we worked with key NSW and Queensland academic and industry partners to gather urgent data on how those floods impacted community members. A node-based research model makes this kind of post-disaster research easier and more meaningful.

One of NHRA’s objectives is translating research into action. How are you achieving this? And where are the opportunities we can seize?

Effective translation begins with project definition and continues through the life of the project. We work with our partners to shape research directions and to ensure that any research we do has the best possible chance of being used by the sector. We are focused not only on defining the research needs of our partners and the nation, but also on having a clear understanding of the desired outcomes—for the sector and for communities—and properly evaluating how those outcomes are translated into action. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Each project receives tailored translation based on context and needs. We have already approved more than 30 projects since July 2021, each with exciting opportunities to inform practice.

There are always opportunities to strengthen translation and knowledge exchange between partners and researchers—for example, via education and training initiatives such as industry placements. An example is our current project using Black Summer

PHOTO: NHRA

Andrew Gissing addresses emergency management communications professionals at the EMPA conference in May 2022.

bushfire research to inform a range of professional development and education modules for fire behaviour analysts. We will continue exploring possible training and education opportunities as we develop a stronger utilisation focus over the coming years.

How can we foster innovation in the fire and emergency services sector? What is the next frontier for the sector’s knowledge and capability development?

Disasters of the future will be different to the disasters of today. We need to ensure that we are investing in the right research questions to build capability for future disasters. In my view, we need to work closely with disaster resilience experts—including First Nations communities—to identify future priorities, considering the challenges and opportunities of coming decades. With this knowledge, thought leadership, collaborative working, and our research, science, and innovation, we can explore opportunities between end users, industry, and researchers.

Engaging with a diverse range of stakeholders is an essential part of driving innovation, as evidenced by our recent successful Disaster Challenge initiative, which engaged researchers and end users across multiple disciplines to find new solutions to a wicked natural hazards problem.

Your background is in risk—what are the risks you see for the fire and emergency services sector moving forward, and how can we minimise their impact?

As a nation, we have many challenges that we must address to safeguard the prosperity of future generations. These cross the environmental, geopolitical, technological, economic, and social domains and are becoming all too familiar during times of disaster. We must move beyond describing the problems and focus on delivering solutions to these grand challenges— we don’t need more think-tanks, we need do-tanks.

For the emergency services sector, this requires a focus on risk reduction supported by stronger partnerships with local government, community organisations, and industry in a wholeof-community approach. We must understand the nature of future risk, the best opportunities to reduce it, and the effectiveness of those efforts. The capacity of our communities to be resilient will become increasingly

important, as will the need for emergency services to work with existing capabilities within communities.

Collaboration is at the core of NHRA’s business—how are you connecting industry with knowledge to support community safety?

Building on the knowledge networks of the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre, we have a broad outreach strategy to connect with emergency management, government, industry, and community partners. Over the last 12 months, we have worked closely with our partners to define the national research priorities that will guide our research, both for the nation and for NHRA.

We have just held a Natural Hazards Research Forum on priority research topics—such as community resilience, healthy landscapes, innovation, and future workforce needs—that

Disasters

the future

brought together 300 end users and researchers from across Australia to build relationships and validate our research and utilisation directions.

We will continue to hold regular events and forums that connect industry with knowledge holders. We have also established an End User Advisory Panel, a forum for senior partner executives to advise us on our strategic directions.

Ultimately, collaboration drives knowledge sharing, translation, and implementation to create positive change. Being partner-driven, we enable partners to put forward research concept proposals for consideration as part of our research program development. This allows for the co-design of projects and integrates partners into our processes. I encourage all stakeholders to engage in our programs and to follow our updates via our regular events, newsletters, and social media.

of

will be different to the disasters of today. We need to ensure that we are investing in the right research questions to build capability for future disasters.

Andrew Gissing introduces the NHRA Reconciliation Action Plan at the inaugural Natural Hazards Research Forum.

PHOTO: NHRA

1. Fifty-one out of 61 engine companies attended the blaze.

2. The blaze underway.

3. One Meridian Plaza before the blaze.

4. One Meridian Plaza in flames as seen from above.

ONE MERIDIAN PLAZA FIRE, PENNSYLVANIA, USA—1991

One Meridian Plaza was a 38-storey office building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The US$40 million, 150 m-tall steel and concrete structure was located across the street from Philadelphia City Hall.

It was completed in 1972, in line with the city’s 1949 building code, which made no distinction between high-rise and other buildings. This was superseded in 1984 by codes requiring automatic sprinklers in new buildings.

At the time of construction, sprinklers were installed in below-ground service levels only. The building was being retrofitted with sprinklers at the time of the fire, but protection was installed on floors 30, 31, 34, and 35 only, together with parts of floors 11, 15, and 37.

On Saturday 23 February 1991, a fire broke out around 8.30 pm on the 22nd floor when a pile of renovators’ rags, soaked in linseed oil, spontaneously ignited. It burned for 19 hours, spreading from floor to floor and gutting each, until it reached the 30th floor and was extinguished by ten sprinklers fed through the fire brigade ‘Siamese’ connection.

By the time firefighters reached the 11th floor, the building had lost power due to fire-damaged cables. The emergency generator did not function, and the building was without electricity for the entirety of the event, causing firefighters to work in darkness and without the aid of elevators.

The original dry riser hydrant system was replaced by a wet riser system in 1988 to facilitate the installation of automatic sprinklers. Two fire pumps were also installed.

However, the height of the pressure zones and the installation of these pumps caused standpipe (hydrant) pressures to exceed National Fire Protection Association code requirements. This meant that pressure reducers were necessary, so pressurerestricting devices were fitted on floors 26 to 30, and pressure-reducing valves on floors 13 to 25. The pressurereducing valves were on incorrect settings (resulting in insufficient pressure for firefighting) and could only be adjusted with a special tool, but no technician who could do this was available until several hours into firefighting operations.

At the height of the fire, 51 of the city’s 61 engine companies were operating at the scene. Twenty-four firefighters were injured, eight had near misses, and three tragically lost their lives after becoming disoriented in heavy smoke on the 28th floor.

One Meridian Plaza never reopened and was demolished in 1999. The fire had caused an unprecedented loss of US$4 billion in litigation and US$100 million in direct property loss.

Many lessons were learned from the fire, including:

„ the need for automatic sprinkler protection in very tall buildings

„ acknowledgement that combined sprinkler and hydrant risers should be zoned so that pressure-reducing valves are not needed at hose connections

„ if pressure-reducing valves are fitted, they need to be inspected regularly to assure reliable operation

„ curtain walls should be protected to limit fire and smoke spread at exterior walls between floors

„ primary and secondary power cables should be routed separately.

BARRY LEE OAM

PHOTO: JOHN AXFORD

PHOTO: BOB LARAMIE, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS

PHOTO: FRANK SAIA

PHOTO: SUPPLIED

1. Brookfield Rural Fire Brigade member Tyrell Blackman (L) and Jaimee Morgenbesser (R) with young members of the community.

2. L–R: Tyson Marshall, Shane Fleming, Tyrell Blackman, Tom Hulbert, Alan Speechley, Pat Burns Snr, Emma Richardson, Mark Farmer, Chris Kilian, Jaimee Morgenbesser, Michael Gordon, Pat Burns Jr, and James Haig.

3. L–R: Gaja Kerry Charlton and Jaimee Morgenbesser.

PHOTOS: JAIMEE MORGENBESSER

BURNING AMBITION: WOMEN IN FIRE AND EMERGENCY—JAIMEE MORGENBESSER

Champions of Change Fire and Emergency Group Implementation Leader Ariana Henderson spoke with Jaimee Morgenbesser about her career in fire and emergency over the past decade, her heroes, her challenges, her highlights, and her advice for women wanting a career in the sector.

ARIANA HENDERSON

Implementation Leader, Champions of Change Fire and Emergency Group

Jaimee Morgenbesser started her career in law and, unexpectedly, found herself assisting the Australian Red Cross after the 2011 Queensland floods. Thinking she “didn’t know how to take blood”, she soon learned about the Australian Red Cross humanitarian role, which sparked a passion to become a Disaster Recovery Practitioner. Since then, she has worked both professionally and voluntarily across multiple states to help communities recover from floods, cyclones, and bushfires, as well as the Bourke Street Mall tragedy. Jaimee learned that she had a deep connection to and passion for community.

Vice-President of Australasian Women in Emergencies (AWE) Network and a member of the Brookfield Rural

Fire Brigade, Jaimee recently applied her disaster recovery practitioner knowledge, volunteer experience, and background as an impacted resident to assist her own community in the 2022 South-East Queensland floods.

Admiration: Who have been your greatest heroes or champions in your career?

When I first joined Australian Red Cross, National Recovery Advisor Kate Brady asked me if I was going to be a professional or a martyr. A martyr will say yes to everything. If you’re going to be a professional you need to learn to say no, set boundaries, manage hours, be assertive and respectful, collaborate, and remember self-care. As a young woman, I was desperate to help, and that resulted in burnout after the 2013 Tasmania bushfires. I learned from Kate that I had to be a professional to continue working in disaster recovery.

Emma Richardson from my Brookfield Rural Fire Brigade is one of the most incredible leaders I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I often look at her and think, ‘I just want to be you when I grow up.’

I’ve also been fortunate to work with women like Shona Whitton and Beth Stapleton from Australian Red Cross, Fire and Emergency NZ Deputy Chief Executive Stephanie Rotarangi, and QFES Deputy Commissioner Joanne Greenfield, who champion women in fire and emergency. My mentor Jillian Edwards and friend Renae Hanvin have always been willing to give their insights and support. Gaja (Aunty) Kerry Charlton, Traditional Custodian and Elder from Yuggera Country, has generously shared her knowledge. I have also had great male allies including Collin Sivalingum, John Richardson, and Mark Crosweller.

The leadership team of the AWE Network—Bridget Tehan, Amanda

Lamont, Kath Cooney, Lisa Maree Jackson, Zoe D’Arcy, and Alicia Palmer—have achieved much in raising the profile of women in just a few years, including recent representation at the 2022 Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Brisbane this October.

My heroes have been the changemakers, the rebels, and the people who have demanded more of themselves and others to help people before, during, and after disasters.

I found myself working with my local brigade and community leaders to raise awareness that recovery practitioners, although well-intentioned, needed to slow down and let the community lead the right recovery for their own needs, instead of rushing into Mud Army 2.0.

It was hard at times to keep my head above water, juggling competing priorities and wearing different hats and responsibilities. I decided I had to take extended leave from Australian Red Cross to focus on my community recovery needs. Often, the system thinks the faster people recover the better but, in reality, it needs to be the pace of when and what the community needs. It is critical to listen to community voices.

Achievement: What do you see as the greatest highlights and rewards of your career?

closely with her on the $200 million recovery program.

As a survivor of domestic family violence and childhood abuse, I didn’t realise how much of an impact that had on my life until I was diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder. I have had to recognise that my people-pleasing, perfectionism, and savior complex is why I am good at working in disasters—because I am used to living in a crisis. I am comfortable when it’s not happening to me, and I can control it. It is a challenge to overcome the ‘personal versus professional’, it’s difficult finding a role where you can be yourself unencumbered by power structures—finding a way to be myself: Calamity Jaim.

In this year’s South-East Queensland floods, I discovered that no matter how well trained you are, it’s different when disaster happens to you. I learned that everyone has the capacity to be overwhelmed. Beforehand, as a practitioner, I had been in a privileged position of listening to people as they were winched off their homes. Now I have lived experience as an impacted resident of a community.

I remembered learning from Dr Rob Gordon about the irreversible trauma of the Mud Army in the 2011 Brisbane floods. As a community member in 2022, I faced a potential repeat of this.

In 2018, I was on maternity leave with my daughter when flooding occurred across Queensland. My friend Collin asked if I could assist at Australian Red Cross, and the only way that could happen was if I brought my six-month-old baby into the office. Georgia would come into the office in her pram with me, and it was beautiful to be able to balance being a mum and being Jaimee. In 2019, I was on maternity leave with my son, and I had significant post-natal depression and was watching what was going on with the Black Summer bushfires across Queensland, NSW, Victoria, and SA.

I knew I had the capability and capacity to help and, although I love being a mum, I couldn’t just sit there. So, once again, I volunteered to assist Australian Red Cross and my son Ted came into the office. I was supported by Recovery Coordinator Shona Whitton to work

I was a sponge. It was the greatest privilege to learn from people like Dr Rob Gordon, Anne Leadbeater, Steve Pascoe, Kris Newton, and Sarah U’Brien as part of the Disaster Recovery mentor program. It was great to be able to leverage their lived experience and wisdom to help others. Every day I was excited to get out of bed—having mentors ‘normalised’ the experience for people. Being part of it was extraordinary.

Ambition: What advice would you give to women wanting to start or accelerate their career in fire and emergency? Network. Network. Network. There are women who desperately want to help you. Create opportunities for yourself, these women want to bring you along. Be in their orbit. Groups like AWE Network, Women and Firefighting Australasia, and Bronnie Macintosh’s ‘Girls on Fire’ program are all so powerful. Go and volunteer in your community—being a community connector is powerful. It is the solidarity that is critical to building resilient communities.

4. L–R: Samuel Savage, Janelle Saffin, Jaimee Morgenbesser, and Julie Perkins.

5. L–R: Deborah O’Connell, Amanda Lamont, Sioux Campbell, Michelle Villeneuve, Helen Styles, Jaimee Morgenbesser, and Renae Hanvin.

PHOTOS: JAIMEE MORGENBESSER

Adversity: What hardships or challenges have you had to overcome?

Go and volunteer in your community— being a community connector is powerful. It is the solidarity that is critical to building resilient communities.

AUSTRALIAN STANDARDS

CE-030 Maritime structures

AS 4997 is currently being drafted by the Committee.

EM-001 Electric vehicle operation

AS 5732 was published on 28 October 2022.

FP-002 Fire detection and alarm systems

The public comment on AS 1670.6 was finalised on 7 October 2022.

The ballot for AS 3786 has ended.

FP-004 Automatic fire sprinkler installations Progress continues on drafting the revision of AS 2118.6.

FP-018 Fire safety Progress continues on the revisions of AS 1530.1 (Combustibility test) and AS 1530.4 (Fire-resistance tests).

FP-020 Construction in bushfire-prone areas Progress continues on the new handbook Maintenance of construction in bushfire-prone areas (SA HB 208).

FP-022 Fire protection of mobile and transportable equipment AS 5062 is out for ballot.

ME-002 Gas cylinders Revisions of AS 2030.1 and AS 2030.5 are being drafted.

FPA Australia is advised about standards by our Technical Advisory Committees. Members interested in contributing can find out more at www.fpaa.com.au/advocacy-technical/technicaladvisory-committees.aspx.

Aged standards review

Standards Australia is conducting a review of aged standards (over 10 years old) to determine whether they need to be withdrawn. Feedback on relevant standards can be submitted by Monday 19 December 2022. For more information, visit the Aged Standards Review page at www.standards.org.au/ standards-development/aged-standards.

TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS

FPA Australia’s technical documents can be found on our website at www.fpaa.com.au/ advocacytechnical/technical-documents.aspx.

These include (most recent releases in bold):

Position statements

• PS-01 – Selection of residential smoke alarms – January 2011

• PS-02 – Roof systems for flame zone construction in bushfire-prone areas –November 2012

• PS-03 – Adoption and use of AS 1851-2012 –December 2012

• PS-05 – Product compliance and evidence of suitability – July 2014

• PS-06 – Water storage tanks for fire protection systems – August 2015

• PS-07 – Vehicle system service technician competency – February 2017

• PS-08 – Routine service of aspirating smoke detectors (ASDs) with automated test facilities – January 2018

• PS-09 – V1 Sarking – May 2022

Information bulletins

• IB-01 – Fire pump battery failures –August 2011

• IB-02 V2 – Use of genuine components: pre-engineered fire systems – October 2018

• IB-03 – Mandatory standards for portable fire extinguishers – March 2012

• IB-04 – AS 3959-2009 Amendment No. 3 –November 2012

• IB-05 – Sprinkler system components fault monitoring – September 2013

• IB-06 V3 – Selection and use of firefighting foams – May 2020

• IB-07 – Date of manufacture stamping of portable fire extinguisher cylinders – July 2014

• IB-08 – Safe handling of portable fire extinguishers during servicing – July 2014

• IB-09 – Application of primary and secondary reference documents under the Building Code Australia – July 2014

• IB-10 – Consideration of emergency response in alternative solutions – June 2015

• IB-12 V2 – Isolation valves in fire sprinkler and fire hydrant systems – November 2016

• IB-13 – Frequently asked questions: portable fire extinguishers – July 2016

• IB-14 – Queensland operational policy: environmental management of firefighting foam – July 2016

• IB-15 – Gaseous fire extinguishing systems: cylinder hydrostatic testing requirements –December 2017

• IB-16 – Oxygen reduction fire prevention systems (ORFPS) – February 2018

• IB-17 – Changes to note on AS 1530.4:2014 reference in the NCC 2019 – August 2019

• IB-18 V1 – Using polyurethane foams –November 2021

• IB-19 V2 – Evacuation exercises during a pandemic – June 2022

• IB-20 – When are emergency plans required? – January 2022

• IB-21 V1 – Dangers of ethanol heaters –March 2022

Technical advisory notes

• TAN-01 – Requirement to consider simultaneous draw from a water supply –November 2011

• TAN-02 – AS 1670.1 Occupant warning system primary power source requirements –October 2013

• TAN-04 – Changing to fluorine-free or C6 foam – May 2018

• TAN-05 – Sprinkler systems in lift installations – May 2018

• TAN-06 – Alarm signalling equipment: connection requirements (Victoria) –October 2018

• TAN-08 V1 – Portable fire extinguishers –agent replacement – March 2022

• TAN-09 V1 – Portable fire extinguishers: lithium batteries – July 2022

Good practice guides

• GPG-01 – Specification and application of intumescent coating systems for structural steel – December 2012

• GPG-02 – Completion of extinguisher service records when not all tasks can be undertaken – May 2013

• GPG-03 Adoption and use of AS 1851-2012 (Version 4) – May 2016

• GPG-04 V2 – Fire safety statements –New South Wales – February 2020

• GPG-05 – Baseline data for routine service of fire protection systems – February 2017

• GPG-06 – Fire resistance – March 2018

• GPG-07 – Protection of openings for service penetrations in fire resisting building elements

– March 2018

• GPG-08 – Residential smoke alarms –February 2020

Reference documents

• RD-01 – Development and governance of technical documents – October 2013

• RD-02 V1.2 – Cylinder safety (transport) caps – July 2012

• RD-03 – Gaseous fire suppression systems actuators – December 2013

Technical specifications

• FPAA101D: 2021 – Automatic fire sprinkler systems design and installation – drinking water supply

• FPAA101H: 2018 – Automatic fire sprinkler systems design and installation – hydrant water supply

Other documents

• Safety for vulnerable people

• Portable fire extinguisher guide

Please note that these documents were published some time ago. As such, some of the terms and references that may have been relevant at the time of publication may now be out of date. Please check any references to standards and legislation for validity.

FIRE AUSTRALIA 2023

Returning to Sydney on 3–5 May 2023, Fire Australia 2023 will build upon this year’s successful event with an array of interesting speakers and topics, the leading suppliers in the industry, and lots of opportunities to mingle and network with your peers.

Thirty-five topics will be presented across three stages at the International Convention Centre Sydney, covering the breadth of fire protection, and prompting lots of discussion about how to keep people, property, and the environment safe from the risk of fire.

In addition, our world-class Tradeshow will showcase the best products and solutions that the fire sector has to offer and grant lots of chances to get insights from the distributors about how they can help you.

Book the dates in your diaries, because this Fire Australia is not one that you will want to miss.

Visit www.fireaustralia.com.au for more information.

FPA AUSTRALIA EVENTS

FPA Australia runs a variety of technical events catering to the fire protection industry. Topics cover the breadth of the sector—wet systems, dry systems, passive fire, mechanical fire protection, special hazards, bushfire, emergency planning—and provide useful opportunities for practitioners to pick up continuing professional development points.

Presented by leading experts, our seminars and technical webinars provide all the information you need about relevant fire safety topics. Recent topics have included baseline data, insurance, defects, and bushfire design, and we have got further seminars on mechanical smoke control, detection systems, and sprinklers in the pipeline.

For a full list of upcoming events, visit www.fpaa.com.au/events.aspx

FPA+

Fire practitioners are busy people who cannot always make time to attend a live event. For this reason, FPA Australia has made its recorded webinars available through a new online portal, FPA+.

This user-friendly website allows members and non-members alike to purchase our content and catch up on any events they have missed, earning continuing professional development points in the process. Free FPA Australia webinars can also be accessed through the portal, providing access to popular topic areas such as the requirements of the Fire Protection Accreditation Scheme.

It is a great way to access technical content in your own time and at your own leisure, without having to interrupt your workday.

Visit www.fpaaplus.com.au to see our recorded webinars.

2023 BUSHFIRE ATTACK LEVEL SHORT COURSE DATES

For those interested in correctly assessing Bushfire Attack Levels and determining the construction requirements that apply, short course dates have been selected for 2023: Melbourne: 22–26 May 21–25 August 20–24 November Perth: 13–17 March 24–28 July 6–10 November Brisbane: TBA

DEBORAH BUNKER

Natural Hazards Research Australia (NHRA) has announced Deborah Bunker as its inaugural Chief Science Officer. Professor Bunker joins the research organisation from the University of Sydney, where she was a professor of systems and information. She has been named to the centre’s board and will work with other leading figures in driving NHRA’s future research direction, portfolio, and programs.

BRETT LOUGHLIN

Brett Loughlin has been appointed South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS) Chief Officer, bringing nearly 20 years of emergency service experience and immense internal knowledge to the role. He has worked for CFS since 2015 and performed the roles of Director Preparedness Operations, Director Regional Operations and, most recently, the role of Executive Director Operations. Prior to joining CFS, Chief Officer Loughlin served with the NSW Rural Fire Service for over ten years.

BRENDAN MOON

Brendan Moon has been named as the nation’s first CoordinatorGeneral to oversee the National

MARGARET MORETON

Dr Margaret Moreton has been appointed Executive Director of the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR). She joins AIDR from the Minderoo Foundation Fire and Flood Resilience Initiative, where she supported its vision to lift resilience in exposed and vulnerable communities across Australia. Previously, Dr Moreton established Leva Consulting, building upon her PhD research into community resilience, and focused on working with communities and organisations to enhance community resilience to natural hazards.

Specialised insurance cover for you and your business

Windsor Management Insurance Brokers is FPA Australia’s preferred insurance partner and manages the FPAA Insurance Program for members.

As a professional working in fire protection, you need specialised insurance to protect yourself and your business. We offer a range of insurance solutions that can be tailored to suit your specific needs. Talk to us about

• Public liability

• Professional indemnity

• Contract works

• Management liability

• Business insurance

• Motor fleet

• Tools of trade

• BPAD insurance requirements

• Any other insurance requirement

Dedicated Insurance Team

QLD, NT, NSW, ACT & TAS. Jana Day Account Manager (07) 3230 9312 0499 224 024 jday@wmib.com.au

WA & SA. John Mangos Account Manager (03) 9320 8544 0438 333 886 jmangos@wmib.com.au

VIC. Danny Gasbarro Account Manager (03) 9320 8542 0439 003 363 dgasbarro@wmib.com.au