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Houses and Fire Living with Bushfire Conference Justin Leonard| Research Leader – Bushfire Urban Design 10 October 2015
Houses and Fire Living with Bushfire Conference
Justin Leonard| Research Leader – Bushfire Urban Design
10 October 2015
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Cu
mu
lati
ve p
erc
en
tage
of
tota
l civ
ilian
loss
es
Distance to forest (m)
inside structure open air
Life Loss vs Distance to Forest
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mu
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ve p
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tage
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tota
l civ
ilian
loss
es
Distance to forest (m)
inside structure open air
Life Loss vs Distance to Forest
Presentation title | Presenter name 4 |
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Cu
mu
lati
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tage
Forest Fire Danger Index
House Loss and Fire Weather
Presentation title | Presenter name 5 |
0%
10%
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100%
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Cu
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Forest Fire Danger Index
House Loss, Life Loss and Fire Weather
Natural Disaster Management – Science and Solutions 6 |
National Fire Danger Ratings Research – Life Loss & Weather
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Num
ber
of
fata
liti
es
Fire Weather Hazard Class
inside structure
inside vehicle
open air
Low High Very High Severe Extreme Catastrophic
Location fatalities changes over time
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1901-1964 1965-2011 1901-2011
Nu
mb
er
of
fata
litie
s (c
ivili
ans)
Time period
Inside structure
Inside vehicle
Open air
Unknown
44%
58%
28%
8% 7%
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50
100
150
200
250
Situation Location of fatalities A
ggre
gate
Fat
alit
ies
Location of Fatality within Structures Detail inside structure Number of fatalities Percentage of known
Bathroom 36 29% Kitchen 26 21% Bedroom 17 14% Study 10 8% Under house enclosure 9 7% Entrance 5 4% Lounge 4 3% Cool-room 3 2% Laundry 3 2% Outdoor spa 3 2% Toilet block 3 2% Bunker 2 2% Shed 2 2% Independent garage 1 1% Shack 1 1% Total 125 100%
Location of Fatality within Structures Detail inside structure Number of fatalities Percentage of known
Bathroom 36 29% Kitchen 26 21% Bedroom 17 14% Study 10 8% Under house enclosure 9 7% Entrance 5 4% Lounge 4 3%
Laundry 3 2%
Total 110 100%
Location of Fatality within Structures Detail inside structure Number of fatalities Percentage of known
Bathroom 36 29% Kitchen 26 21% Bedroom 17 14% Study 10 8% Under house enclosure 9 7% Entrance 5 4% Lounge 4 3%
Laundry 3 2%
Total 110 100%
93% in a location with no direct exit
Building design for egress • Combustible hidden cavities?
• Combustible door?
• Combustible facade?
• Combustible Decks?
• Exits:
• Which direction?
• How many options?
• To were?
Overhanging trees – Blue Mountains Fire
No Tree Minor
Overhanging Many
Overhanging
Destroyed 33 46 102
Heavy Damage 1 1 5
Medium Damage 2 1 9
Light Damage 11 15 19
Superficial 20 8 26
Untouched 91 53 120
Presentation title | Presenter name 14 |
Presentation title | Presenter name 15 |
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Cu
mu
lati
ve p
erc
en
tage
of
fata
litie
s
Distance from residence (m)
Distance from Home to Occupant Fatality
Distance from Home to Occupant Fatality
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litie
s
Distance (m)
Life Loss Examples
Presentation title | Presenter name 18 |
Action Distance from House (m)
Number of fatalities
House Lost
In the carport, (while evacuating fell down in front of burning vegetation could not be rescued)
1 1 Yes
Life Loss Examples
Presentation title | Presenter name 19 |
Action Distance from House (m)
Number of fatalities
House Lost
Corner of the house trying to go to bunker
1 3 Yes
Life Loss Examples
Presentation title | Presenter name 20 |
Action Distance from House (m)
Number of fatalities
House Lost
Affected by the effect of fire while fighting outside
2 1 No
Life Loss Examples
Presentation title | Presenter name 21 |
Action Distance from House (m)
Number of fatalities
House Lost
Shelter in house, when house ignited , tried to find a shelter outside, could not make it to the dam due to smoke and intense heat
15 4 Yes
Life Loss Examples
Presentation title | Presenter name 22 |
Action Distance from House (m)
Number of fatalities
House Lost
Trying to escape and get to a shed, found close to neighbour house
90 1 No
Life Loss Examples
Presentation title | Presenter name 23 |
Action Distance from House (m)
Number of fatalities
House Lost
Tried to escape a burning house, some did not exit, or were affected by fire outside.
100
166
3 Yes
Life Loss Examples
Presentation title | Presenter name 24 |
Action Distance from House (m)
Number of fatalities
House Lost
Trying to evacuate to neighbour house in car, car got stuck, try to get to the house by foot, could not reach (200m from neighbour place)
230 1 Yes
Life Loss Examples
Presentation title | Presenter name 25 |
Action Distance from House (m)
Number of fatalities
House Lost
Evacuate to Gallipoli could not find her way
370 1 Yes
Life Loss Examples
Presentation title | Presenter name 26 |
Action Distance from House (m)
Number of fatalities
House Lost
Try to evacuate in separate cars, overcome by the fire
890 2 No
Openings Embers attack on door
Timber deck
Presentation title | Presenter name 31 |
Embers attack on stairs
Timber Decking in Bushfire Conditions
Presentation title | Presenter name 34 |
Presentation title | Presenter name 36 |
Presentation title | Presenter name 39 |
Program ? : Presentation Title
CSIRO Justin Leonard Bushfire Urban Design Research Leader
t +61 3 9252 6353 e [email protected] w www.csiro.au
CLIMATE ADAPTATION FLAGSHIP
Thank you
Acknowledgement: Some background research was developed in
collaboration with the Bushfire CRC, more details on this database can
be found on http://www.bushfirecrc.com/resources/research-report/life-and-house-loss-database-
description-and-analysis
Presentation title | Presenter name 43 |
