Tracing a bushfire back to its point of origin is a skill emergency service organisations are becoming extremely well versed in.
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Fifteen trainee investigators added the valuable skill to their arsenals in Castlemaine this week.
At a session run by Forest Fire Management Victoria and the Country Fire Authority, trainees searched for clues and patterns from “suspicious fires” set by course instructors in a previous planned burn site.
FFMVic statewide fire investigation and training co-ordinator Les Vearing said bushfire investigation was an important and highly-skilled job.
“Bushfire investigators work out the cause and origin of bushfires and, with larger bushfires, they can determine the path and impact of the fire,” he said.
“(That information) can also help determine if it the same fire is burning through a 20- or 30-kilometre long area (or if it is multiple fires).”
“In the art of fire investigation, there are a number of things we look for in burn and char patterns. The more fire we investigate, the more we learn.
- Brett Wagstaff, CFA bushfire instructor
Along with tracing burn patterns and fire-based clues back to a point of origin, trainee investigators were able to study active fires to learn about how they move.
“We don't often learn a lot about fire behaviour (while battling blazes),” Mr Vearing said. “Out here we are able to conduct live burns, which is something unique for firefighters. Normally, we are used to racing out and putting the fire out as quickly as we can.
“Doing live burns allows us to study the fire, particularly the early stages and how it moves with the wind, the topography or the fuel types involved with it.
“We can watch how it moves past barriers on the ground like rocks, bricks or trees.
“It’s something we do in both grassland and forest areas, which show different indicators and are different types of burns.”
Mr Vearing said it was essential trainees received practical training on a real fire ground.
“Trainees will figure out where the fire started, what caused ignition and which way the fire spread,” he said.
“The key to fire investigation is finding the point of origin because it usually contains the clues to show whether ignition was natural, an accident or deliberate.
“Course participants will be on hands and knees looking for clues such as staining on rocks, burn patterns on trees, tyre tracks or signs that someone has been using machinery, a chainsaw or other hand tools such as angle grinders.”
CFA bushfire instructor Brett Wagstaff, who helped run the course, said indicators of a fire were key to learning more and developing fire investigation skills.
“In the art of fire investigation, there are a number of things we look for in burn and char patterns,” he said. “The more fire we investigate, the more we learn.
“We have been investigating bushfires in Victoria for more than 20 years now. We learnt a lot after the Black Saturday fires and there is always new technology we can employ and new things to learn.”
A number of different emergency service organisation took part in this week’s training course, including the CFA, FFMVic, Metropolitan Fire Brigade and members of Victoria Police’s arson and forensic squads.
Mr Vearing said the co-operation between emergency service organisations had improved dramatically since Black Saturday.
“It’s great, the way we work together in Victoria. It doesn't always work (like that) in other states,” he said.
“Even before Black Saturday we didn’t have the same level of co-operation between agencies (like we do today).
“The co-operation now is great. In a large bushfire we need to work together. Since Black Saturday, our strength has increased and and we work extremely well together.
“Often (FFMVic or CFA) work out where a fire started and police come in and work out who it was started by.
“In the last few years we have been very successful in tracking down a number of arsonists.”
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