Greg Penney

Greg Penney is a career firefighter and a researcher at Edith Cowan University. With 14 years’ experience as a career urban and wildland firefighter / officer in Western Australia (in both metropolitan and country commands), amongst other qualifications he is finalising his PhD on Wildfire Suppression, holds a MEng (Building Fire Safety & Risk), MParamedScRes (Risk), GDip Bushfire Protection and Bachelor of Science. In 2019 Greg was Task Force Leader of the Western Australian Strike Team Charlie deployed to Walcha, NSW and during the devastating Waroona/Yarloop wildfires of 2016, Greg received a commendation for distinguished service and outstanding actions in leading the defense of Preston Beach facing catastrophic wildfire conditions.

As a subject matter expert, Greg authored the inaugral Fire Protection Association of Australia (FPAA’s) Bushfire Protection and Design Accreditation (BPAD) Level 1 course and has previously consulted in the field to the Western Australian branches of Master Builders Australia (MBA), Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS), Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) and Department of Planning (DoP). In his current fire service role Greg leads the development and delivery of Incident Management training, including strategic and tactical fire and rescue response across a large range of hazards including wildfire, urban fire, rescue and Hazardous Materials. Greg is not only a highly qualified researcher in the field of wildfire engineering and suppression, he is also a decorated firefighter with extensive experience in both planning and engineering in areas prone to wildfire impacts.