Learning about bushfires: Understanding the Fire Danger Rating system

Learning about bushfires

Learning about bushfires

Session: Understanding the Fire Danger Rating system

Middle and Upper Primary (levels 4-6)

Time: 50 minutes (approximately)

Curriculum areas:

· Critical and Creative Thinking

· English

· Science

Learning intention:

Students will explore the factors and conditions related to the Fire Danger Rating system used in Victoria, and how this is a safety system for alerting people to potential bushfire dangers.

Suggested resources:

Student workbooks or paper

Pens, pencils or markers

Materials as selected for recording student responses. E.g. workbooks and markers, tablets, recording devices etc.

Linked resources

Activities

Starting

Initial discussion focus:

What is the Fire Danger Rating system? What are the colors, what do they mean?

Where is it found?

Exploring

How is the fire danger rating decided upon? It is important to note that these ratings are used all year round, it is just more active in the warmer months. Depending on the weather where you live, this will differ.

Explore the history of the ratings in Victoria and in Australia. They changed and were made mostly universal throughout Australia.

It should also be noted that these ratings are used for all environments - being bushfires, grassfires and coastal and scrub fires.

Bringing it together

Introduce the Fire Danger Ratings as a way the CFA informs the community of the bushfire danger.

Provide each group with the CFA's Fire Danger Rating Brochure.

Group exploration:

Divide students into groups to explore and discuss the rating scale. Focus questions:

· When are fire danger ratings most active?

· What do you notice about at that time of the year?

· Is it on particular days?

· Can you explain the changes to fire danger ratings in areas?

· What do you think the weather conditions would be like on an Extreme fire danger day and on a Low-Moderate day?

Refer to Total fire bans and ratings

An example of fire ban advice:

Each group to record their ideas.

Reponses may include:

high temperatures

high temperatures over a period of time

lack of rainfall

dryness of vegetation

wind

weather forecasts

total fire ban warnings

bushfires in neighboring areas

Pose broader questions:

· Why do bushfires rarely happen in Victoria in winter?

· Why is weather an important condition for creating bushfire danger?

· What other conditions are needed?

Each group will then organise their responses into 'Key factors that create bushfire danger' and together create a chart or visual display outlining the factors for each part of the Fire Danger Ratings.

This will need to include and demonstrate:

· A drawing or image of the rating scale

· What could happen during each rating

· How factors change for each part of the scale

For example:

· thermometer to indicate temperature

· colour of vegetation

· wind speed and direction

· number of water drops to indicate lack of air moisture (humidity)

Extending

Graphing bushfire causes in Victoria:

Refer to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Causes of bushfires. Students to use the data to create a pie graph or chart displaying causes of bushfire in Victoria.

Bushfire weather report:

Students create a presentation that alerts the community to an extreme fire danger and describes conditions that have led to the escalation in fire danger.

Students to further research and include who to contact if they wanted to find out about current fire weather warnings, Fire Danger Ratings, fire incidents, fire restrictions or Total Fire Bans in their region. (Direct students to access the resources section)

© Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority 2015

© VCAA 2015

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