Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre

Research Project: Effective Risk Communication

A significant proportion of the population in many communities fails to respond appropriately or adequately to fire weather and fire emergency warnings. Most people rely on weather, fire and emergency services to provide the essential information on which they may base the defensive action that will ensure their immediate and longer term safety.

Risk communication is an ongoing difficulty for fire and emergency services. Coroners' reports continue to refer to the need for better, timely warnings and advice on action. The failure of pre-event safety messages, fire warnings, post-event communications and the associated "action" advice results in lower standards of safety and increased property, heritage, environmental and social losses.

The effectiveness of risk communication depends on the appropriateness of communication channels, format and media networks. All stakeholders (weather services, fire and emergency services, community planners and managers, and the residents of fire-prone areas) will benefit from the application of research relating to effective fire risk communication, which is the aim of this project.
The project takes the view that communities need support to achieve effective risk communication networks, by working in partnership with weather, fire and emergency services - and that these services need to know how best to provide that support. The role of media in risk communication is also being investigated, with a literature review now being produced.

Standard qualitative and quantitative social science research techniques being employed include a literature review in academic and industry arenas, surveys of providers of weather information and fire and emergency services, and the community.
Outcomes will include a framework and methodology for identifying community information and risk communication needs during bushfire emergency. Documentation and assessment of current practice will also be produced.

Project Synopsis

This CRC project aims to identify how risk information reaches the community. It will establish research priorities for community information and communication needs during bushfire emergencies, evaluate current risk communication practices, and offer guidelines for risk communication.

Communicating risk is a continuing difficulty for fire and emergency services. In many communities a significant proportion of people fail to respond appropriately to fire weather and fire emergency warnings.

Most people rely on weather, fire and emergency services to provide the information on which to base their decisions on bushfire safety - yet the effectiveness of risk communication depends on appropriate community channels and media.

This will be done through literature reviews, surveys of weather information and fire and emergency service providers, community surveys, and workshops.

Indicative findings from this work will be gathered into 2005.

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