Published works

On Sunday 12 January 2014, a bushfire destroyed 57 homes across three Perth Hills localities: Parkerville, Stoneville and Mount Helena. Following the fire, Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) senior management requested the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre (BNHCRC) to coordinate a post-bushfire interview survey of residents in the bushfire-affected area, in collaboration with DFES Community Engagement staff. The purpose was to assist the DFES to learn as much as possible about residents’ prior understandings of bushfire safety and risk, and their experiences during the fires, thus contributing to improved community bushfire safety in the future. Over 3 days (2–4 April 2014), five BNHCRC–DFES interview teams visited properties in and near the fire-scar area, resulting in interviews with 91 households. This report summarises findings from these interviews. Where appropriate, the findings have been compared with those from previous Bushfire CRC post-bushfire interview studies conducted following fires in Victoria (2009), Western Australia (2011); Tasmania (2013) and NSW (2013). A summary of the major findings from these six previous Bushfire CRC post-bushfire interview studies is in an appendix (Appendix F). No attempt has been made to relate the findings to recent inquiries and reviews conducted into Western Australian bushfires, this being beyond the scope of the present study. Some suggestions about future community bushfire safety endeavours are offered for consideration