An aircraft responds to a fire in Victoria. Photo by Wayne Rigg, CFA
A Victorian multi-agency team shares first hand insights on how they successfully moved an evidence-approach into practice in a research utilisation case study from AFAC.
While similar practices have already been implemented in other jurisdictions, this case study captures how the Victorian team successfully trialled, organised and integrated the new approach into the state’s incident management framework. The research team explain the development of the research plan and process, which drew heavily on input from end-users. It was developed in consultation with AFAC, the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) and around 15 rural fire and land management agencies. Agencies provided input data for the operations study, helped the research team gain access to drops at operational bushfires and provided practical and logistical support during planned experiments. They also briefed the research team on key operational issues.
Launched during the 2012–2013 summer in Bendigo, the trial was developed to test PDD’s effectiveness and determine how the new rapid dispatch protocol could be systematically and cost–effectively integrated into operations.
Since the initial successful trial, the PDD protocol has been refined and extended to 16 locations across Victoria, using both helicopter and fixed-wing firefighting aircraft.
According to Wayne Rigg, a member of the trial team and project lead for the CFA implementation of PDD, the research provided the theory and the trial allowed a process to be developed, tested and evaluated.
“The trial had to develop a process that would ensure firebombing aircraft were working over fires in the shortest possible time”, he said.
The process had to use aircraft in a safe, effective and efficient manner.
“It also had to produce data which could be analysed to inform decisions on where, how, when and if PDD should be extended to other parts of the state,” Wayne said.
The trial confirmed the benefits of PDD. “It also showed us the likely hurdles for implementation, as well as potential ways forward,” he recalled. “The bottom line was that PDD was a fundamental shift from how we had traditionally operated. It was a completely foreign process to the clunky system we knew and used.”
The new process enabled more rapid decision-making, clearly defining the activation process for dispatch of aircraft.
According to Greg Murphy, Manager Aviation and Regional Operations at Emergency Management Victoria, as with any change, the move to PDD required a raft of other significant flow-on changes to systems, processes, procedures and practice to allow for effective response, while meeting the state’s priorities for safety.
Key factors identified as critical to the project’s success were:
support and resources to trial and implement the evidence-based practice change
end user engagement in the research plan and process
tailored communication to promote shared understanding and support uptake.