Last night at Malmsbury Fire Brigade training, we were joined by members from surrounding brigades including Kyneton, Taradale, Benloch and Kyneton Group to glimpse the future of firefighting.
The insights came from Nicholas McCarthy, a PhD student with the Climate Research Group at the University of Queensland. Nicholas is in the area chasing fires with sophisticated measuring equipment as part of his Bushfire Convective Plume Experiment.
Nicholas is fighting fires with science to improve our ability protect lives and property.
Working closely with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, he studies the complex interaction between the intense columns of heat above major bushfires and weather.
In introducing Nicholas, CFA Station Officer Tim Wells from CFA's Predictive Services Unit, explained that lessons learned from his research will have a significant influence on firefighter training and the ways we fight fires in years to come. Malmsbury Fire Brigade is hosting the team and their equipment over the rest of this fire season.
Author: Anthony Stephens