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  3. Building Behaviour in Bushfires

Building Behaviour in Bushfires (EVSC90023)

Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

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Overview

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May
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This subject covers the fundamentals of how domestic buildings respond to bushfire in a planned environment context. Working from the science fundamentals through to the policy and legislation frameworks that tackle bushfire risk mitigation through to building design. With successful completion of the course, students will be well equipped to judge and implement design solutions within the scope of Victorian building regulations relating to bushfire risk management.

Building behavior in bushfires requires some critical background knowledge in order to be effectively taught, with pre-requisite subjects Bushfire and Climate and Bushfire Urban Planning. An improved understanding of the broader range of values that are inevitably considered in bushfire urban design will be better addressed in this subject when the subject Bushfire Planning and Management is completed prior to beginning this subject.

 

Intended learning outcomes

Objectives. By the end of the subject students should:



  • Have an understanding of building performance and compliance within a planned environment;
  • Have an understanding of the assumptions and complementarity of building and planning measures in achieving acceptable levels of bushfire risk management;
  • Have an understanding of how regulations tackle quantification of the mechanisms of interaction between bushfires and building envelope;
  • Have an understanding of building legislation in Victoria including history, tiers of government, agencies and the roles of the Building Commission, municipal building surveyors and private building surveyors;
  • Be introduced to the role and process of performance-based codes and solutions;
  • Be knowledgeable of processes of building regulation and permits;
  • Be able to carry out bushfire attack assessments and prepare a report to submit to the relevant building surveyor;
  • Have a sound understanding of construction and testing requirements under relevant building codes for fire-prone environments;
  • Be introduced to a broader context of bushfire urban interface risk issues.

Last updated: 11 October 2023