Overall fuel hazard assessment guide
Research reports - listed by theme
Research Report No. 82
Authors: F. Hines, K.G. Tolhurst, A.A.G. Wilson and G. McCarthy
4th edition July 2010
To view Research Report 82 open the attached files below.
Research Report 82 - 4th Edition
[PDF File - 1.8 MB]
Fuel Assessment Field Work Form - Appendix 2
[PDF File - 25.1 KB]
Research Report 82 - 4th edition - Part 1 (accessible version)
[MS Word Document - 2.0 MB]
Research Report 82 - 4th edition - Part 2 (accessible version)
[MS Word Document - 2.3 MB]
Fuel Assessment Field Work Form - Appendix 2 (accessible version)
[MS Word Document - 112.0 KB]
(Note - This guide builds on, and replaces, the previously published Research Report 32 - Eucalypt Bark Hazard Guide (Wilson 1992), Research Report 35 - Elevated Fuel Guide (Wilson 1993) and Research Report 47 - Overall Fuel Hazard Guide (3rd Edition May 1999). To view each of these previous reports, see research reports - listed by year.)
Purpose
The main purpose of this guide is to allow people to:- make a rapid, visual assessment of fuel arrangement, and
- gain an understanding of how this will affect the chances of controlling a bushfire.
Audience
This guide has been principally designed to provide information on fuel arrangement to be used by firefighters to assess the difficulty of controlling a bushfire. Information on fuel arrangement may also be used by:
- asset owners and managers to assess potential bushfire risks to assets
- land and fire managers to provide a measurable objective and trigger for fuel management in fire management plans
- personnel to identify which key attributes and fuel layers are contributing the most to the hazard
- personnel to plan and conduct planned burns
- personnel to assess the effectiveness of planned burning or mechanical hazard reduction
- fire behaviour analysts to produce fire-spread predictions and community warnings.
How the fuel is assessed
This guide focuses on assessing the key structural layers of the fine fuel complex, in particular those of bark, elevated, near-surface and surface fuels. Each fuel layer is assessed simply and visually. Assessing the fuel takes only a few minutes and is based on the premise that the eye is better able to integrate local variations in fuel than systematic measurement. Each fuel layer is assessed in turn and given a hazard rating. Particular emphasis is placed on how the fuel is arranged within each of these layers.
The hazard ratings are then combined to produce an Overall Fuel Hazard Rating that ranges from Low to Extreme.
To purchase copies of Research Report 82
Printed copies of Research Report 82 may be purchased from:Information Victoria
505 Little Collins Street
Melbourne 3000
Phone: 1300 366 356 for the cost of a local call, anywhere in Australia.
Fax: 9603 9920
Email: bookshop@dvc.vic.gov.au
Web : www.bookshop.vic.gov.au
Cost of Research Report 82: $7.70 plus postage