| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (27 min. 47 sec.) ; 168100139 bytes |
| Summary |
In The Line Of FireAustralia is getting hotter and drier. It is predicted that bushfires will become more frequent and more severe - more severe even than the Black Saturday firestorms that ravaged parts of Victoria last February. This special edition of Catalyst investigates the science of fire prevention and survival from three very different angles.Fighting Fire with FireThe popular belief is that Australia is made up of fire-based ecosystems, primed for combustion and in need of fire to regenerate and survive. Charcoal records show a clear relationship between the arrival of humans and an increase in burning that suggests a shift to a more fire-adapted ecosystem. But it's not just human impact that has made fire such a key factor in the evolution of the Australian landscape. Fire frequency and severity follow changes in climatic conditions. So, as our present climate warms, can we really fight fire with fire? Can any amount of back burning prevent the most ferocious of wildfires? Dr Paul Willis delves into the history of fire in Australia and takes a cold look at the increasingly heated debate over controlled burning.Knowing the EnemyAsh Wednesday in 1983; the Canberra firestorm of 2003; Black Saturday in 2009 - all these catastrophic bushfires incinerated buildings, took and devastated lives. In the aftermath, scientists were on the ground analysing exactly how these fires did their damage. So, what has been learned? In light of predictions that bushfires in Australia will become more intense than any we have seen before, Catalyst examines the essence of flame itself. What makes a bushfire so destructive, and how can we engineer our homes for a better chance of survival?Mark Horstman visits the CSIRO's Pyrotron where physicists deliberately light fires under controlled conditions, and meets the Victorian family who defended their wooden and corrugated iron house against a devastating tornado of 40 metre high flames - and survived.Decisions Under FireAll the preparation in the world could not have forearmed the firemen for the dramatic cascade of events that confronted them during 'Black Saturday'. Geoff Conway, CFA Deputy Chief Officer, freely admits that his memories of the day, and the impossible decisions he had to make, will stay with him forever. While fire fighting has evolved with advances in communications and fire suppression technology, essentially fire fighting remains a human endeavour. But humans are not machines, we're psychologically 'wired' to react in predetermined ways and we can make decisions that don't always bring about the best outcomes. So, how can fire fighters retrain their brains to make better decisions when the heat is on? Dr Graham Phillips meets fire fighters and scientists working together to come up with the right decisions |
| Event |
Broadcast 2009-10-29 at 20:00:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: NC |
| Subject |
Forest fires -- Management.
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Forest fires -- Prevention and control.
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Forest fires -- Research.
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Wildfires -- Prevention and control.
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Australia.
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Streaming video
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| Author |
Adams, Mark, contributor
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Baker, Patrick, contributor
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Conway, Geoff, contributor
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Hackett, Malcolm, contributor
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Horstman, Mark, reporter
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Leonard, Justin, contributor
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Lucas, Chris, contributor
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Mooney, Scott, contributor
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Omodei, Mary, contributor
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Phillips, Graham, host
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Sullivan, Andrew, contributor
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Tozer, Cameron, contributor
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Tozer, Warwick, contributor
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Willis, Paul, reporter
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