The Presiding Officers invite Parliamentarians and Staff to a Science Briefing on Bushfires The Human Factor Thursday 29 th November 2012, 1.00pm, With lunch in the Legislative Council Committee Room This Briefing will address some of the issues relating to health and safety factors amongst fire fighters and the sharing of responsibility for community safety and disaster resilience. Dehydration and its consequences are serious issues for rural firefighters. One part of the presentation will put these risks in context and discuss research findings from the Black Saturday fires together with the implications for the conduct of firefighting. Shared responsibilities is a powerful but problematic notion in disaster research, policy and management in Australia at the moment. Its importance is underlined in COAG s 2011 National Strategy for Disaster Resilience and in the final report of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. Both of these documents emphasise that responsibility for managing disasters must be shared across governments, businesses, not for profit, communities and individuals. This part of the briefing will discuss what the idea of shared responsibility means and why it matters for emergency and disaster management in Victoria. It will then consider challenges for sharing responsibility in practice in the field of community bushfire safety. The speakers will be: Dr Blythe McLennan Research Fellow Centre for Risk and Community Safety RMIT University and Dr Brad Aisbett School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences Deakin University The Parliamentary science briefings are organised by the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) under the auspices of the Presiding Officers and with financial support from the Department of Business and Innovation Notes on the talks are available on the Parliamentary Intranet. For information or comments on future briefings contact Professor Kerry Pratt on 0407 513 553 or kerry.pratt@monash.edu The meeting will be chaired by: Dr Glen Kile FTSE
BUSHFIRE CRC LTD 2010 SHARING RESPONSIBILITY FOR A DISASTER RESILIENT AUSTRALIA: WHAT, WHY AND HOW? Blythe McLennan Centre for Risk and Community Safety, RMIT University Parliamentary Science Briefing Thursday 29 th November 2012
MY ELEVATOR PITCH Who? What? Why? Centre for Risk and Community Safety, RMIT University (human geography) Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre Investigating what shared responsibility means for emergency management from different perspectives To stimulate new ways of thinking about it and to support decision making Focus on sharing between government and communities BUSHFIRE CRC LTD 2010
WHAT DOES THE IDEA MEAN? Many agents contribute to public safety outcomes (shared responsibility) http://www.flickr.com/photos/87273935@n00/311402001 BUSHFIRE CRC LTD 2010
Many systems impact on people s ability to contribute to public safety outcomes (resilience) http://www.flickr.com/photos/58622459@n07/5532739243 BUSHFIRE CRC LTD 2010
WHY DOES IT MATTER FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT? 1. Puts imperatives on agents outside of emergency services E.g. mainstreaming across policy sectors 2. A fundamentally different approach to community safety within emergency services Not just another public safety awareness campaign E.g. local partnerships working with not talking to 3. Government is not just a provider of public safety but an enabler 4. Need for greater risk acceptance across government and communities BUSHFIRE CRC LTD 2010
Final thoughts What does this mean for how we attribute responsibility in public inquiries following disasters? Does it create tension with government accountability? BUSHFIRE CRC LTD 2010
MORE INFO Blythe McLennan RMIT University Tel: 03 9925 5227 Blythe.mclennan@rmit.edu.au BUSHFIRE CRC LTD 2010
Fluid consumption & dehydration for Australian rural firefighters Dr Brad Aisbett Occupational Exercise Science
Risk of collapse
productivity
decision making
Why are firefighters at risk of dehydration?
Dehydration
Dehydration
Dehydration
12 hr+ Dehydration
3 studies!
3 studies! Firefighters arrive...
3 studies! Firefighters arrive... dehydrated
What is the impact of prescribed fluid intake on firefighters dehydration, work and health?
1200 ml fluid every hour
200 300 ml per hour
500 600 ml per hour
3 studies! Firefighters leave
3 studies! Firefighters leave hydrated
Free access to food and drink Frequent breaks Fire agency education Mild weather
No additional benefits to hydration, work output, heart rate
But
Fire Agencies should Provide free access to food and drink Continue education on hydration Encourage self regulation
Short deployments + +
Longer deployments + +