The NSW Government has announced Trent Curtin as the new Commissioner of the Rural Fire Service
Category Archives: News
Remote fires December-January
In late December 2024 and early January 2025, NSW firefighting authorities faced a run of numerous bushfires in remote locations. Most if not all were ignited by lightning. On 27 December storms swept over the Blue Mountains and about a dozen fires popped up across the northern parts of Wollemi and Yengo national parks and adjacent bushland.
Why fly?
Why Fly? Assessing the effectiveness of aerial firefighting is a research project of the Australian Government funded Natural Hazards Research Australia, in partnership with the National Aerial Firefighting Centre.
NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the assets, premises and funding of the Rural Fire Service
This inquiry by the Public Accounts Committee of the Legislative Assembly kicked off in February 2024 with public submissions and then two hearing days in August and September. Full details, terms of reference, submissions and hearing transcripts are available on the inquiry’s web page.
New research projects
The recently established NSW Bushfire & Natural Hazards Research Centre (see post below of 24 July) has published their research program. Most of the 19 projects are bushfire-related, covering topics as diverse as smoke hazards, fuel management, early detection of lightning fires, backburning, ecological management, fire retardant impacts and utilising FESM (fire extent severity mapping).
Fire season outlook
As an outcome of the NSW Bushfire Inquiry each year the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) releases a Fire Season Outlook for the coming bushfire season. The Outlook for 2024-25 was recently tabled in NSW Parliament. It contains a lot of helpful information and deserves wide exposure, especially within at-risk communities.
Escape of ‘Meatworks’ planned burn, Sydney
On Saturday 21 September a planned burn for hazard reduction near Oxford Falls on Sydney’s northern beaches escaped containment and spread to a much larger area.
NSW Bushfire & Natural Hazards Research Centre
The NSW Bushfire and Natural Hazards Research Centre was established in January 2023 as an outcome of the 2020 NSW Independent Bushfire Inquiry.
The centre “unites researchers from partner universities with government agencies, frontline emergency services, Aboriginal people and community stakeholders in a collective effort to tackle the challenges posed by bushfires and other natural hazards”.
Shortfall in planned burning
After wet weather in May the Rural Fire Service issued a media statement saying that “thousands of hectares of hazard reduction burns scheduled for autumn have been postponed”.
Revelations from the NSW Bushfires Coronial
The coroner’s report contains much useful information. Of particular interest is an ‘executive statement’ submitted to the coroner from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), which is reproduced in full in the coroner’s report. The NPWS statement raises three concerns: Prioritisation of aircraft, particularly for rapid response to new ignitions, command and control of fires, investigation of fires.
Independent Bushfire Group 