This project was commissioned and funded entirely by the Country Fire Service, SA.

This project was commissioned and funded entirely by the Country Fire Service, SA. The Sampson Flat fire in January 2015 was the most destructive fire in the Adelaide Hills for more than 30 years, burning 12,569 hectares of public and private lands with losses including 24 homes, 146 other structures, five businesses and much livestock and fencing.

Following this fire, the CFS commissioned the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC to undertake research on the community’s bushfire experience focusing on bushfire safety, the CFS Community Fire Safe program and information and warnings. Researchers from CQUniversity completed the research.

The research presented in this report specifically targeted three key issues for CFS bushfire safety initiatives.

1. Identifying from the Sampson Flat fire the potential implications for similar South Australian communities including the Adelaide Hills region as a whole.
2. Evaluating the impacts of the Community Fire Safe group program on key aspects of bushfire safety behavior.
3. Assessing the suitability of information and messaging for people living in the peri-urban fringe.

Read the final report here.