Promoting fire-fitness: a proactive approach to enhancing preparedness

Research shows that many people living in high-risk natural hazard areas are often not sufficiently prepared or are not adequately personalising the risk to themselves. In these situations, proactive strategies that enhance preparedness can save lives.

Fire-fitness precedes preparedness messaging and is a collection of processes by which natural hazard preparedness is normalised amongst individuals, families and communities, leading to timely and safe decision making. 

Hazard Note 82 presents PhD research conducted by Dr Rachel Westcott at Western Sydney University, in partnership with the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, outlining the practical processes and strategies behind fire-fitness. This research can assist people to safely negotiate natural hazards in an increasingly climate change affected environment by making fire-fitness routine and commonplace.