Misinformation and myth can cost firefighters and the community dearly, says CSIRO's Phil Cheney.

In a new book, Grassfires: Fuel, Weather and Fire Behaviour, CSIRO's top bushfire scientists explain how a knowledge of grassfire behaviour under the prevailing fuel and weather conditions can help reduce the danger to firefighters and reduce property damage.

Grassfires cause millions of dollars of damage each year in grazing and pastoral lands across Australia. Under extreme conditions they can spread at speeds in excess of 20 km/h, threaten homes and lives and cause untold damage to fencing, crops and stock.

Grassfires covers all aspects of fire behaviour in the common grassland fuels, including spinifex, of Australia. The influence of fuel, weather and topography on fire spread are discussed in the context of firefighter safety and wildfire suppression tactics and strategies.

Case histories of several major wildfires that have caused significant loss of life and property damage in pastoral areas are used to illustrate grassfire behaviour under extreme conditions.

"We wrote the book for the volunteer bushfire brigades," says senior author Phil Cheney. "These people, and rural landholders with assets at stake each summer, need good information on how fires behave to plan property protection and fire suppression."

"The chapter on the myths, facts and fallacies will help explain the unusual fire behaviour that makes bushfires so mysterious and frightening to some people."

The book grew out of research conducted in the Northern Territory in 1986. Over 120 experimental fires were lit in varying fuel and weather conditions during the dry season. "It took close to ten years to analyse all the data we gathered," said Mr Cheney. "We found that some of the long-held beliefs of grassfire spread and behaviour were incorrect. New fire spread prediction meters - slide rules which estimate how fast a grassfire will spread - were developed to incorporate the new information that we had learned."

"It is thirty years since the last detailed publication in Australia of grassfire behaviour knowledge," said co-author Andrew Sullivan. "In that time our understanding of the factors that influence grassfire behaviour - fuel, weather, terrain - and the interaction between them has advanced considerably."

Work to improve our knowledge of forest fire behaviour is currently being conducted by CSIRO in collaboration with the Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management. The project is expected to be completed within 5 years.

Grassfires: Fuel, Weather and Fire Behaviour is and available from CSIRO (ph: 03-9662-7666, fax: 03-9662-7555 or: sales@publish.csiro.au)
and all Government bookshops for $24.95.

For more information about the CSIRO Bushfire Behaviour and Management Group visit the web site at: www.ffp.csiro.au/nfm/fbm/

More information from :
Mr Phil Cheney (02) 6281 8379
Mr Andrew Sullivan (02) 6281 8389
Mr Mick Crowe (02) 62818357