In this section
- Sustainable fire management and fire ecology to support bushfire planning that protects communities and the environment
- The Fire-Scape program and community-led landscape planning to balance fire safety and ecological outcomes
- Roadside fire management and risk reduction across transport corridors and public land
- Guidelines, case studies and tools to support safe, practical and consistent roadside fire management
Program overview
CFA provides programs and publications to support bushfire planning and operations in rural and regional landscapes, with a strong focus on environmental sustainability.
Roadsides play an important role in safety, service delivery and environmental health. Managing roadside fire risk involves a range of organisations and responsibilities.
One key focus area is roadside fire management.
Sustainable fire management
Sustainable fire management meets community safety objectives for protecting life and property while:
- avoiding or, if that is not possible or practical, minimising harm to the environment, including the quality of air, land, water, and biodiversity
- maintaining or improving biodiversity (through regime management) where practical
- using regime management to reduce the occurence and intensity of bushfire across the landscape
- meeting legal and policy obligations for environmental care.
Resources
Fire Ecology Guide
Information on sustainable fire management is available in the Fire Ecology Guide.
Developed by CFA, the Fire Ecology Guide supports people working in rural landscapes to plan and manage bushfire operations in an environmentally sustainable way.
Fire-Scape program
Fires are a natural part of the Australian landscape. In Victoria they can be devastating, however appropriate fire regimes are also necessary for many native plants and animals to survive. Fire-Scape supports communities and land managers to consider both fire safety and ecological outcomes when planning and managing fire across the landscape.
Fire-Scape is a CFA initiative that brings communities and land managers together to work across a local ‘fire landscape’. The program supports a coordinated approach to fire management that helps protect life and property while also considering environmental values. Fire-Scape includes practical resources, workshops and community fire management planning activities.
Fire-scape Program Overview
This video explains the Fire-Scape program and how CFA works with communities and land managers to integrate bushfire risk reduction and fire ecology across the local landscape.
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Victoria can offer a wonderful Lifestyle
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the natural beauty of the Bush the
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habitat it provides to Wildlife and the
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open space is for grazing Agriculture
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and hobby farming attracts more people
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each year however this shifted the
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country creates its own hazards a much
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higher Bushfire risk and an impact on
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the long-term health of the natural
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environment
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thank you
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plant burning is one of the most
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effective Land Management tools it can
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reduce Bushfire risk and enhance
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ecological values plant burning has
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sound scientific foundations and
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practical applications on properties of
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all sizes and tenures
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however many private land managers and
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high-risk Landscapes are unable to plan
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or control their own boom safely they
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might not have the knowledge or
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confidence to plan for their Bushfire
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risks and environmental needs
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they might not have the resources or the
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time to ensure the area is properly
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prepared and the burn completed safely
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or keeping the burn controlled within a
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single property is difficult
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firescape is supporting communities to
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work together
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across tenures and across properties to
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better manage a shared landscape to find
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we haven't had the capability until this
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project come along that's why I'm so
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excited about it to work with the
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individual landowners on their
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individual properties to come up with a
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community-based risk plan and risk
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mitigation plan to lower fuel loads and
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fire intensity
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burning on public land is pretty well
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covered by DSE there are all sorts of
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targets and so forth about how much
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vegetation should be burned and can be
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burned but in the highly fragmented
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Landscapes within the private land
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tenure there's very little planning to
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date for activity in terms of on ground
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burning and so this program is really
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the first go at getting that sort of
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thing done on private land
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so the key to this program and probably
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the challenge of it as well is the Dual
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objective to to look at reducing fuel
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levels and protecting ecosystems at the
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same time and on top of that involving
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local communities in managing their own
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bush
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this program is great because it gets
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everyone together in the whole Community
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we can work with our neighbors planning
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out different areas to burn we've lived
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here for approximately 15 years we've
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built the house here we have cleared
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around the house and we've also done
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some clearing and sunburning in in
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certain areas of the property
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um but we are going to be burning an
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area that hasn't been burnt for about 15
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years
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we've had very interesting information
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given to us about all sorts of fire
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behavior and and risk the reason I would
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like the burn is is several fold one is
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to help protect assets that's near the
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bush which hasn't been burnt for
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probably at least 60 years and the other
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is that the bush has degraded that
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there's not the variety of species of
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plants there because it's such a country
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that needs Burns at regular intervals
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and it's well overdue in need for a burn
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for the ecological benefits
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and hopefully after the burden we'll be
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able to assess and see what varieties
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have will spring up
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also looking at the Ecology of of the
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area and what species that we can that
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are here
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which some we haven't even didn't
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realize were here
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also the Regeneration after the fire
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will be a wonderful thing to look at
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I have friends who are some botanists
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who have already done a we've put in
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quadrants and assessed the the
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species that are currently growing in
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three different areas on the Block and
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they're they're all very keen to come
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back post burn and reassess it
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some weeks and months and years after
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the burn to see what turns up firescape
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can give you the knowledge and tools to
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enable you and your community to reduce
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fuel loads and produce a healthier
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natural landscape
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during two fire escape workshops local
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land managers and owners are Guided by
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fire and ecology experts to develop a
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community-burned strategy this is a
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long-term strategy to gain a more
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natural mix of vegetation and habitats
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while achieving effective fuel reduction
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these workshops will also help locals to
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begin their own property fire management
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plan
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during the following Autumn participants
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will be invited to observe a plan burn
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to demonstrate fire Behavior site
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preparation and burn management
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techniques
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optional training in different
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monitoring methods will help local
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environment groups or interested
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landowners track the Regeneration
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process and the ongoing health of their
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plants and animals
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so there is a difference that you can
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make like when buying Good Housekeeping
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and good fuel management and if you can
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spread this to The Wider community and
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we get the whole community on board we
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can make a real difference
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for more information on firescape the
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CFA plan burning program or how CFA is
6:27
incorporating fire ecology into its work
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please contact us today
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thank you
More Information
If you would like further information on our sustainable fire management programs contact your local CFA vegetation management officer at your nearest CFA office.
Roadside management
CFA has established a Roadside Management Program to support members, partner organisations and individuals involved in roadside fire management.
Resources
Roadside Fire Management Guidelines
CFA has developed the Roadside Fire Management Guidelines to provide advice on planning effective roadside fire management, along with a worksheet to support the planning of roadside fire management activities.
Roadside Fire Management general information brochure
These guidelines are supported by the Roadside Fire Management General Information brochure, which provides a plain-language overview of key fire science principles to support understanding and application.
Roadside Program Case Studies
A number of Roadside Program Case Studies are also available to provide ideas and information about current roadside fire management plans, projects and programs being undertaken by CFA and other organisations.
Herbicide Application
CFA supports the safe and effective use of herbicide for fire prevention on private and public land. However, CFA members no longer apply herbicide for vegetation management activities. All herbicide application for these purposes will now be carried out by qualified contractors engaged by the relevant land manager.
This change does not apply to herbicide used by CFA members for routine maintenance of fire stations or training grounds where required.
More Information
The CFA Roadside Program provides support for general roadside fire management issues. If you have a particular roadside fire management issue, contact your local municipal council or your local CFA office for advice.
For more information about the CFA Roadside Program, contact CFA Community Safety on 03 9262 8444.
For information about road management responsibilities and traffic management in Victoria, visit the Transport Victoria road and traffic management page.
Page last updated: Wednesday, 23 September 2026 1:36:32 PM