This photo-based lesson includes a quiz about bushfires which can be set for homework. It begins with a photo, which can be downloaded in a powerpoint.
Snapshots
Say to students that they are about to see a photograph. Their job is to identify where the picture was taken, who the people pictured are, and what the news story is.
Display the photo.
After discussion, confirm what students may have guessed. The picture refers to Australian bush fires which break out during the summer months and can cause enormous destruction and loss of life. It shows firefighters working to limit the spread of the bushfires.
But point out, if no one has noticed, what the firefighters are actually doing. They are not carrying water hosepipes, the traditional symbol of the fight against fire.
Look closely at what they are carrying.
They seem to be holding burning wands. Could it be that they are actually starting fires? Discuss with students, and try to work out an explanation.
Focus
Yes, they are starting fires, and also stopping them. The photograph shows bush firefighters monitoring flames from what is known as a "backburning operation". It was taken near the township of Warrimoo in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney on December 30, 2001. At that time firefighters were responding to more than 100 summer bushfires on Sydney's southern and western outskirts. Some 140 houses and thousands of hectares were destroyed.
Bushfires occur during every Australian summer. Discuss what turns a seasonal problem into a disaster. This year, extreme high temperatures and lack of humidity combined with strong and winds that change direction rapidly. Talk about the need for householders and the emergency services to be aware of the risks and prepare for them.
Discuss what backburning is all about – risk management. Explain that planned and controlled burning of combustible material can be an effective way of controlling bushfires. By carefully removing vegetation and other flammable material in its path, a wildfire it can be stopped. This can be done by bulldozing the land or, as in this case, by burning vegetation leaving only ashes. When the oncoming bushfire reaches it, it will die away, having nothing burnable to keep it alive. Ask students to explain the process in their own words.
Look again at the photograph. Discuss the two men pictured. How well-protected are they? Compare the flames with those that students may have seen from the raging bushfires on television news coverage. Do they look more controlled? See the hosepipe on the floor near the firefighter on the right. What might that be there for?
Developments
Here are some quick questions and possible answers, mostly related to preparation and survival. Any of them may be researched and explored further, using internet searches.
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How do bushfires start?
Lightning strike over dry land is a common cause. Human intervention such as fires which get out of control, cigarette butts thrown from cars and arson.
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Why is a car a bad place to be during a wild fire?
It's cramped, contains fuel which is flammable, even explosive, and may not be able to move faster than the fire itself.
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What do experts say someone who decides to stay in their home should do?
Be ready to hose down roofs and stamp out embers, after first clearing all the perimeter of flammable material, including trees, shrubs and garden beds. Ideally this should be done before the fire season. It is also possible to plant fire-resistant shrubs.
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Is digging a trench or hiding in an underground cellar a good way of surviving as a wildfire passes through?
Probably not. Such a confined space could be filled with intense heat and be left high in carbon dioxide and low in oxygen as a result of the combustion.
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Should someone in a fire soak themselves and their clothes with water as a fire approaches?
No, the water will not quench the flames. It is more likely to boil and leave someone with scalds as well as burns. In fact, most people will die before the flames reach them as a result of inhaling smoke or suffocating from lack of oxygen.
Credits
This resource was written by PJ White and produced in February 2009. It was updated in August 2011. For more resources, visit redcross.org.uk/education