ABOUT US
We are Australia’s leading independent bushfire consultant in bushfire behaviour science and threat diagnosis in forest fires, shrubland fires and grass fires – how to predict them, how to explain them in user friendly language, how to manage them on any site, particularly in worst case weather. Our expertise is unparalleled in planning, in both theory and in practice.
Red Eagle’s big picture goal is to eradicate the bushfire threat. We therefore specialise in protection against severe bushfire attacks because this is when almost all damage occurs.
Our operating principles:
• We apply knowledge, skill and experience to eradicate the bushfire threat and its damage
• We specialise in understanding and management of severe bushfire attacks because this is when almost all damage is done
• We provide independent expertise and advice about bushfire behaviour, bushfire threats and bushfire risk and the management of each
• We apply our expertise to protect houses, communities, horses and other livestock and valuable forests and crops from damage in severe bushfires
Our unique core strength is that we focus on the flame’s actual height, proximity and duration because these things are the known causes of damage. We do not quote rate of spread as the danger because it is not, nor do we calculate flame length from equations based on rate of spread as the fire authorities and some fire researchers incorrectly do. They quote both as dangers, but they are very indirect measures and to be meaningful indicators, have to be properly calibrated, which is not done. They also tend to ignore proximity and duration.
Our expertise and advice is trustworthy because it is founded on good science that we can trace back to first principles. It also has to pass three other tests – common sense, logic (can it be explained simply) and integrity (would I accept my own advice).
Think about this: The bushfire flame and the embers cannot do supernatural or imaginary things, despite some government policies believing they do. They are controlled by the laws of nature, and explained and predicted by science. When we know what the flame and embers can and cannot do, or did or did not do, the fog and confusion clear away for creative and rational solutions.
Our vision is to make Victoria and Australia bushfire-protected, starting with this simple building block: PROTECT EACH HOUSE FROM FIRE DAMAGE. Our philosophy is simple. When we save the house from damage in a severe bushfire, we save the house and the person. When we protect the neighbourhood, we protect the community. There is no other provider in the bushfire protection industry who aims to protect the individual house as comprehensively as we do (this link explains what we mean). There is no one who has our vision or who has our breadth of experience. There is no other provider that has developed a house protection system and implemented it successfully in a severe bushfire attack.
Our obsession is that high quality science is essential for solving bushfire problems. We have become a world wide CENTRE FOR EXCELLENCE in bushfire science and bushfire risk management. This Centre allows us to independently analyse and publish the merits of research, policy, assertions, spin, and proposals, whether from governments, organisations or neighbours. If we see good science we use it. If we see poor science, we expose it. Our finely tuned charlatan detection meter identifies false and misleading quackery, whether by governments, researchers, businesses or individuals.
INTRODUCING RED EAGLE’S DIRECTOR …
Denis O’Bryan graduated from Creswick School of Forestry and Melbourne University and began work as a forester when forestry and fire protection were inseparable twins. He had over 20 years experience working in the Victorian Government in fire protection at all levels, including hands-on firefighting, fire crew leadership, pre season planning and preparation, training, statewide fire protection planning and coordination of statewide fire fighting operations. His employment included hands on land management and many years as manager of a busy Fisheries and Wildlife district and a year with the CFA setting up forestry industry brigades. Denis has consulted to the three levels of government – Municipal, Victorian government and the Federal government in fire policy and planning issues, and has worked interstate.
Since then he has trained large numbers of CFA Brigades, other fire fighters and tertiary students in basic and advanced fire courses. Denis authored the two-level Plantation Fire Fighter training program and manual for the CFA and has delivered training courses in them. He authored an accredited basic fire fighting awareness training program. He has a good understanding of the limitations and strengths of both professional and volunteer fire fighting.
Denis is Director of Red Eagle which provides bushfire services and expertise to government and private property clients in planning, assessment, risk management and training. He is keen to improve the community’s ability to protect itself in a cost effective way. He believes he has found a very effective way of combining bushfire behaviour science and risk management principles to empower property owners to self-protect, and is keen to make this knowledge accessible to the community. He believes that better knowledge by the community of bushfire behaviour and its application will lead to much less loss and damage in severe bushfires.
He personally applied his principles and practices in the Black Saturday fires north of Whittlesea on 7/2/09, and they were instrumental in saving lives, property and horses.
Denis has written several articles regarding bushfire risk management and has recently published a major review of bushfire behaviour – The Science of Bushfire Behaviour, where he re-analyzed and integrated worldwide references about fire behaviour. This has brought the science of bushfire behaviour to a higher level of understanding. This revised fire behaviour content was applied to two other books – The Science of Bushfire Risk Management and the more user-friendly Beat the Bushfire Enemy with Knowledge.
He has most recently published an e-Book called The Bushfire Solution Papers, a collection of background papers that include details of his concerns about the declining fire protection standards in Victoria and the vital need to turn this around. He wants the Papers to be widely read and debated, so Red Eagle has published it at no cost, as a public service. The Papers go into a fair bit of detail and show how we can broaden our understanding to increase our suite of mitigation options. The Papers culminate in a solution package that can prevent house loss and reduce the bushfire problem from very serious to a minor irritation, creating self reliant and resilient communities along the way. He believes these solutions will solve the bushfire problem in other states and other countries. The target audience is the student of bushfire issues, the concerned citizen and the politician and bureaucrat leader with vision.