Bushfire preparedness gets global recognition

The Australian Capital Territory Emergency Services Agency (ESA) has been recognised for world-first technology that is helping Canberrans better prepare for bushfires.

ESA’s Automated Bushfire Attack Level (AutoBal) tool has received the 2019 ‘Special Achievement Geographic Information System Award’.

The ESA was picked from more than 100,000 nominated organisations world-wide.

AutoBal helps the ESA to understand the level of risk from bushfire to people and homes in bushfire prone areas.

In just one hour, 16,000 properties can be accurately assessed using 3D mapping of buildings, landscapes and vegetation to determine the individual risk to each home.

The assessments provide detailed information to help residents understand how to prepare themselves, their families and homes for the risk of bushfire.

The first-of-its-kind technology was developed by the ESA Risk and Planning team in partnership with Esri, a global spatial technology developer.

The awards ceremony was held in San Diego, California at the Esri Annual User Conference and National Security and Public Safety Summit.