VFBV

VFBV invites expressions of interest from volunteers who are either involved or have an interest in taking up the Fire Behaviour Analyst (FBAN) role within Incident Management Teams (IMTs).

The invitation is part of the CFA IMTTP (Incident Management Team Training Project) and is open until 30 August 2013.

For those that do not know much about it, a Fire Behaviour Analyst is a technical specialist role. It involves the consideration of science and experience to analyse risk and communicate the results to help emergency managers make decisions.  It is a relatively new role in Victoria. Formal training for the role began in 2007.  Development and uptake of the role was initially rapid, but the need for further role clarification and coordination has been identified.  A project is underway to develop a multi-agency Bushfire Predictive Services Strategy.  The strategy will clarify how fire agencies should best use Fire Behaviour Analysts and their ability to apply science and modelling to make incident predictions.  The Bushfire Predictive Services Strategy will deal primarily with the Fire Behaviour Analyst program.  It will provide a model that could be adapted for other hazards and technical expertise, for example flood prediction.

The FBAN role and Bushfire Predictive Services Strategy probably won’t interest or affect many members, but, like many technical or specialist roles, for the right person it could be a great opportunity for them to use their unique knowledge and experience to improve emergency management in Victoria. The group developing the strategy is keen to tap in to the diversity and depth of knowledge that exists amongst volunteers across the state.  They are trying to develop a strategy based on what end users prefer.  Our challenge is finding the right person or right people to provide feedback.  If we find the right people to help, and they develop a good strategy, we will end up with better support for bushfire management.  Improving the way we integrate bushfire science will make our operations more efficient, more effective and safer.

As a guide, the right people to help with the strategy development would probably:

•         Have had contact with the existing fire behaviour analyst program or have had involvement with similar work (eg flood specialists)

•         Be interested in and knowledgeable about bushfire scientific research or predictive modelling

•         Be interested in weather forecasting

The best people to help with this strategy may not be immediately obvious. They may have a prominent incident management role (eg Planning Officers or Incident Controllers), or have come across fire science and predictive modelling another way.  For those interested helping, there are two lengthy documents providing background details that have informed the strategy development to date and a discussion paper with targeted questions.

The strategy will be drafted soon, so VFBV is trying to identify interested people as quickly as possible.  If you know of someone suitable who would like to be involved, please provide their names, brief outline of their interest and/or experience, and contact details to VFBV Executive Officer Adam Barnett by end of August 2013 (but the sooner the better).  As EOIs come in, Adam will make contact with each person to discuss what opportunities exist for them to be involved.

Contact:

Adam Barnett

Executive Officer, VFBV

Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria

P: (03) 9886 1141 M: 0403 711 911

E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.