The Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC is seeking expressions of interest for a new project that is being undertaken for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning Victoria (DELWP). The project aims to develop a method and tools for the ongoing evaluation of fire simulators in Victoria. While this project should focus on Phoenix RapidFire, the approach should be flexible enough to support evaluation of other fire simulators, including Spark, in the future.

EOI proposals are due by 11 March 2021 to office@bnhcrc.com.au

The Victorian Government uses Phoenix RapidFire to simulate bushfires to aid long and short-term planning processes, and to evaluate the risk during bushfire response activities. There is a need to evaluate Phoenix RapidFire simulator to inform its future development, improvement, and ultimately, the way it is applied in residual risk modelling and operational fire behaviour predictions.

The method identified in the research should be used to evaluate the performance of and limitations (hourly spread, intensity, and spotting characteristics) of the Phoenix RapidFire simulator during the 2019/20 fire season, in Victoria, to inform its applications in strategic risk modelling and operational use. The research is due to be completed by 30 June 2021.