Mr Grahame Douglas

• Biography
• Areas of Research/Teaching Expertise
• Publications
• Contact 

Biography

Grahame has formal qualifications in ecology and management. He began his interest is bushfire matters in the late 1980's and was appointed to represent environmental interests on the then Bush Fire Council and in 1993 was appointed to the Bush Fire Coordinating Committee. In 1996, Grahame accepted a position as Environment Officer within the then Department of Bush Fire Services.

Grahame has worked with the NSW Rural Fire Service in the area of community safety for 12 years and was responsible for developing the legislative provisions and policy relating to bush fire risk management planning, development control for bushfire prone areas, environmental impact of hazard reduction activities and currently participates in a number of sub-committees working on the review of AS3959 Construction in Bushfire Prone Areas. He has just been appointed to the University of Western Sydney on a conjoint appointment in the Graduate Diploma in Bush Fire Design program whilst retaining a role with the RFS.

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Areas of Research/Teaching Expertise

200457 Bushfire Behaviour
200498 Planning for Bushfire Protection
200458 Building for Bushfire Protection
200459 Emergency Management
200499 Alternate Solutions
BG814A Development Control

Grahame is currently undertaking his PhD examining the implications of climate change on fire weather and corresponding fire behaviour across NSW fire weather areas. This research builds upon work of the CSIRO which has derived new bushfire behaviour calculations. This has significant implications for the implementation of planning and construction design for developments in bushfire prone areas.

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Publications

Overcoming the environmental impasse - overcoming the inertia, at 'The Burning Question: Fire Management in NSW'. Conference, University of New England, Coffs Harbour, 5-7 August 1993.

Responsibilities, Perceptions and Objectives, at 'Bushfire: Looking to the Future'. Conference, Nature Conservation Council of NSW, Milsons Point, 24 June 1994.

Hazard reduction - a conservation perspective, at the 'Bush Fires 1994: an authoritative view.' Conference, Institute of Fire Engineers, Parramatta, 7 October, 1994.

Bush Fire Risk Management Plans and the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 and the Native Vegetation Conservation Act 1997. NCC Bush Fire Management Conference, Protecting the Environment, Land, Life and Property. February 1998.

The Place of Bush Fire Risk Management in the Rural Fire Service. RFS Community Education Conference, Port Macquarie, 1998.

Bush fire risk management planning: A new name for an old toy or will it help biodiversity? Bushfire Conference, Albury NSW, 7-9 July 1999.

Integrating Land use Planning and Construction Standards for Protection for Bushfires in NSW - a model. Bushfire Conference, May, 2001, Christchurch, New Zealand. (co-authored with P.Ellis).

Progressing Bush Fire Risk Management Plans and their integration with the environmental planning system for NSW. Australasian Fire Authorities Council Conference, Darwin, 10-12 August, 2001.

How Santa Brought New Initiatives after the NSW Fires -Christmas 2001. Australasian Fire Authorities Council Conference, Brisbane, July 2002.

Integrating Site Assessment and Performance Planning Outcomes for Bushfire Prone Areas at Planning for Natural Hazards - How we can Mitigate the Impacts? Symposium, University of Wollongong, 2-5 February 2005. Wollongong. (with Z.Tan).

A Verification Method for Evaluating Alternative Building Solutions in Bushfire-Prone Areas. International Fire Safety Engineering Conference 2006, Gold Coast, 23 May 2006 (co-authored with Z. Tan and S. Midgely).

NSW Advances in Approaching Performance based Assessments of Residential Developments in Bushfire prone Areas. Bushfire 2006 Conference, Brisbane, 6-9 June 2006. (co-authored with L. Short and Z. Tan).

Bushfire Building Damage - A NSW Perspective. Bushfire 2006 Conference, Brisbane Qld, 6-9 June 2006. (co-authored with Z. Tan, S. Midgely and L. Short).

For more information, contact Grahame.

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