Guest Editorial: Wildfires, Fire Science and Fire Safety Engineering

摘要

"A case can be made for fire being, next to the life processes, the most complex of phenomena to understand" Prof Hoyt Hottel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (1903-1998) [1]. This editorial goes to press just as the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission (2009 VRC) releases its final report [2]. The Commission conducted an extensive investigation into the causes, preparation for, response to and the impact of the massive wildfires that burned throughout the Australian state of Victoria in late January and early February 2009.