The Sudanese refugees and fire hazard study / Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, James Cook University, Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre.

Entrant: Pre-disaster Category, Combination Stream, Safer Communities Awards 2006.

The Sudanese Refugees and Fire Hazard Study was undertaken as part of an Ethnic Communities Project within Queensland Fire & Rescue Service (QFRS). Sudanese refugees were targeted because Africa is the second-largest originator of refugees in the world, and increasing numbers of Sudanese people are seeking refuge in Australia. The city of Toowoomba was primarily chosen as the site of this pilot study as it currently is home to a growing number of Sudanese refugees. The project: has led to improved community safety for Sudanese refugees in Toowoomba, by identifying emergency management issues for the community and techniques for improving community safety in the present and future; represents best practice by using community participation techniques to identify emergency management issues for an at-risk community; demonstrates the power of effective collaboration between a number of agencies which has led to more effective outcomes; has engaged participatory techniques that are efficient and effective in identifying community needs in an emergency management context; and will benefit emergency services nationally for similar 'at-risk' community groups, by providing insights into the benefits of community participation techniques as well as the practicalities of particular issues faced by Sudanese refugees in the context of emergency management, particularly fire risk.