Understanding fire-generated weather

Have you experienced fire-generated weather? Fires can generate their own lightning, create outflow winds and downbursts, black rain and hail, and sometimes tornadoes. These weather phenomena have been known to occur in some of our worst bushfires, and occasionally by surprise when conditions don’t seem that severe. How much is known about these firegenerated thunderstorms? The atmospheric conditions for predicting fire-generated thunderstorms are increasingly well understood thanks to work done by the Bureau of Meteorology. However, the critical triggers in fire behaviour for fires to create their own weather is poorly understood. By collecting more observations from controlled situations such as planned burns, knowledge of these triggers will be refined over time. Throughout autumn 2021, the CFA Research and Development team in collaboration with Forest Fire Management Victoria established a new ‘testbed’ project to collect data during planned burns. This data allows us to study the conditions that lead to firegenerated thunderstorms. The technology employed (such as weather balloons, radars and lidars) has been successfully tested and continues to be applied using different methods to establish the most effective observation strategies. In other words, launching sensors into fire-generated weather (such as plumes) allows us to collect data that describes exactly how much the fire is modifying the local atmospheric conditions. Current insights from the early data are promising. For example, we’ve been able to directly observe a column updraft rising at speeds of over 60 km/hour. The implications for these sorts of results are relevant for understanding and predicting long distance spot fires and dangerous wind conditions, which can be used to inform training and operational decision-making for how to respond to these conditions. Better prediction of these conditions will also lead to improved warnings to firegrounds and to the public. Fire-generated thunderstorms are one example of the sort of datasets fire agencies like CFA are in a unique position to collect. The testbed project model can be applied to better quantify other fireground hazards in a controlled fire environment, and new experiments are currently being designed that can leverage these unique lessons and data collection opportunities. To find out more about CFA’s field research email bushfireresearch@cfa.vic.gov.au

STORY NICK MCCARTHY

Fraud and corruption

As a public sector agency, CFA is committed to preventing fraud and corruption that could result in financial loss and negatively impact our reputation. If known or suspected, it must be dealt with swiftly to protect public funds and property. But to do that, it’s important to understand what fraud and corruption are and how to report them. In simple terms, fraud is the use of deceit over a person or organisation to obtain a financial or non-financial advantage. Defrauding people or organisations of money is the most common type of fraud. Scams are also a type of fraud that have become increasingly common through the internet, social media and mobile phones, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. While not an exhaustive list, common examples of the types of conduct that may result in fraud or corruption include: • theft of money or equipment by various deceitful means • unlawful use of CFA property or services for personal gain • disclosure of confidential or commercially sensitive information • corruption of a tender or quotation process or of a recruitment process • text messages or telephone calls from scammers (eg claiming to be from the ATO, PayPal or Australia Post) • identity theft. CFA employees, volunteers and secondees who believe they have evidence of fraud or corrupt activity must report it immediately by emailing complaints@cfa.vc.gov.au. This includes any fraudulent or corrupt activity by CFA members, contractors or suppliers. Reports of fraud or suspected fraud or corruption will be treated as confidential and you can report anonymously Any CFA member making a report will also be afforded privacy as necessary and as required by privacy legislation and CFA policy. Always be alert and ensure you take appropriate steps to protect yourself and CFA against fraud and corruption. For more information about fraud and corruption, you can consult a range of sources such as: • CFA’s Fraud, Corruption and Other Losses Business Rule • Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) • Scamwatch • Stay Smart Online • IDCARE • Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC).