Science Blog

Bushfire deaths in Greece
Tom Lowe and Professor John Handmer - RMIT University in Melbourne and Bushfire CRC.
30 August 2007

Professor John Handmer and Tom Lowe are based at RMIT University’s Centre for Risk and Community Safety in Melbourne, Australia. The centre's research investigates the implementation of the ‘prepare, stay and defend or leave early’ policy as part of the Australian Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre (www.bushfirecrc.com).

The patterns of deaths that have occurred in Greece are similar to past disasters in Australia in which people have left the shelter of their homes and fled straight into the smoke, heat and flames.

If more deaths are to be avoided, a new emergency management approach should be considered.

The centre's research has shown that last minute attempts to escape the path of a fire are fraught with danger and are the most common cause of fatalities; accidents happen and people are stranded without shelter. The sad irony is that in many cases, their homes are left intact.

Australian bushfire policy now advises that residents should share the burden of responsibility by deciding, prior to the start of each fire season, whether they will stay and defend their property from bushfires or leave well before a fire arrives.

This position, which is endorsed by all Australian fire agencies, is based upon strong evidence gathered from many years of devastating bushfire in Australia. The experience highlights the limitations of the emergency services when fire and weather conditions become extreme and underlines the danger of a population that is fully reliant on them for protection.

In addition, there is a practical reason for people being permitted a choice in the event of a bushfire emergency. Research has shown that well-prepared houses can be successfully defended from bushfires while also providing safe shelter from radiant heat. It is therefore suggested that, if early evacuation is not possible or desirable, adequately prepared people should protect their homes and themselves by staying with and actively defending against the flames and embers.

Thus, by informing residents that a properly defended home is a safe shelter, it is hoped that the last minute bid to escape the flames - by far the most deadly response, can be avoided.

We feel that the situation in Greece highlights the need to recognise that emergency services will be overwhelmed by major fires, leaving the public unprotected and vulnerable. In Greece, villages have been cut-off and fire-fighting aircraft unable to operate due to the extreme conditions, while land-based fire-fighters have not been able to keep up with the scale and extent of the fires. When the cavalry fails to arrive, people panic and try to escape, most likely putting themselves into even greater danger.

The Australian experience suggests that as the frequency and scale of forest fires in Europe continues to increase, the authorities need to include the public in risk-reduction strategies rather than relying upon overwhelmed emergency services alone. Responsibility and capacity for fire protection needs to be shared between the authorities and the public. While sharing responsibility with an angry and grieving public may seem politically unpalatable in the current Greek climate, it represents an important step towards finding a long-term solution to the problem. Such approaches are already in use in Australia and parts of France where advice on emergency management and public safety policy is available.

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