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Understanding communities’
needs for information and education
Alison Cottrell and David King, Centre for Disaster Studies, James Cook University, Australia
T
he Centre for Disaster Studies at James Cook University
researches the relationships between emergency service
providers and the communities they serve. To more effec-
tively engage community members in planning and mitigation
for disasters, it is essential to have an understanding of the differ-
ent ways that diverse communities and the people who live in
them view a particular risk. We also need to understand the
different ways in which various sections of the community might
be affected or involved in readiness, response and recovery. Three
case studies are used here to illustrate ways in which research
has been applied to an engagement and empowerment of differ-
ent sectors of the community.
Understanding communities
The Understanding Communities Project (part of the Bushfire
Cooperative Research Centre) conducted household surveys in three
different peri-urban communities to develop an understanding of
community perspectives on bushfires/wildfires.
Different communities, different issues
– In Australia, most commu-
nities have a fire service of some kind. In rural regions and some
peri-urban regions, rural fire brigades provide this. Despite seeming
to be obvious, it is necessary to remind agencies that each of the
communities they serve has different needs, even with regard to
hazards. Communities that were studied experienced different natural
hazards. At Tamborine Mountain, intensive electrical storms were
much more common than bushfires. In Thuringowa, cyclones and
flooding were much more common than bushfires. At Plenty Gorge
bushfires are the main natural hazard, there having been
a fire in the area as recently as five years ago.
Fire services’ and householders’ perceptions of issues
–
Fire service agencies see bushfires as a critical issue, as
it is their business. However, householders do not
always see the issues the same way. Even in bushfire-
prone areas like Plenty Gorge, other day-to-day issues
such as household financial security, children’s and
personal safety, and traffic issues were all considered to
be of more concern to householders than bushfires. The
most detailed study of the similarities and differences
between fire service providers and householders was
conducted at Tamborine Mountain by interviewing fire
service personnel, community groups, community meet-
ings, community leaders and a household survey.
Agreement between fire services and the Tamborine
Mountain community
– Both fire service personnel and
community members believed that experience of bush-
fires makes people better prepared. However, review of
other research shows that the ‘experience of fire’ does
not necessarily increase the ‘awareness of risks’, as it
depends on factors such as how long ago or how awful
the experience was, and how much loss was experi-
enced. Media coverage of fire was described by fire
services as unrelated to the local situation because ‘fires
like that don’t happen here’, and these views were also
reported in the community meetings. There was a
Fire services perspective
Most people are unaware of the bushfire risk
Most people in the community rely on fire services to respond to a bushfire
The public expects things to be done for them
Can advise residents but cannot tell residents they need to take action
Controlled burns are not wanted by the public
Community perspective
Most people are aware of the bushfire risk but have other priorities that
take precedence
At least half said they would not rely on help from fire services in a bushfire
Individual householders see themselves as the most responsible for
personal and home safety
Frustrated by lack of specific advice on what to do and no help provided
Support for controlled burns as long as they are carefully done
Differences in perceptions and expectations between fire services personnel and the community at Tamborine Mountain
Source: Balcombe, L., Cottrell, A., and Newton, J, 2008 Awareness of Bushfire Risk – Tamborine Mountain Case Study,
Fire Note
Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre no. 20 pp1-4