Water and sap inside the wood make mini explosions as they turn into gas and burst out. That’s why damp wood makes the noisiest fires.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Fire
Displaying 41 - 60 of 161 articles
Emergency responders and military personnel need to think creatively – even imaginatively – to save lives under pressure. Analyzing the Grenfell Tower Fire in London reveals useful lessons.
It will take time to digest the details of the 830-plus page report from phase one of the inquiry, but there are clear improvements to be made.
History has told us Aboriginal people in Tasmania almost exclusively occupied open plains. Revelations to the contrary could transform modern conservation.
The Amazon will take a lifetime to recover from this year’s fires – if it ever does.
Rainforest species didn’t co-evolve with fire – and even a low intensity wildfire can kill half the trees.
Don’t blame climate change for the 39,000 forest fires now incinerating huge tracts of the Brazilian Amazon. This environmental catastrophe is human-made and highly political.
What exactly is inside those red fire extinguisher canisters, and does it work better than water?
Grenfell Tower fire is the kind of tragedy that changes the built environment forever, through new building rules and safety measures.
Bushfires require three key ingredients to ignite: heat, fuel and oxygen.
The influence of Notre Dame Cathedral extended into every part of the life of Paris. The cathedral school was the training ground for medieval thinkers and the place of birth of the first university.
The Notre Dame Cathedral was long a powerful symbol of church authority - but it wasn’t static. The design kept changing to keep up with the changing times.
After the building that symbolized ‘all that is Russian’ went up in flames, the czar scrambled to restore it to its former glory.
Researchers can more easily compare heated rocks from different studies and areas.
The Black Saturday fires transformed the way Australia responds to bushfires.
Fortunately, no lives were lost in the latest cladding fire in Melbourne, but it’s a stark reminder of the urgent need to track and verify that building materials comply with safety standards.
Research found that burns were most common among children under five years.
Fires and logging changes forest soil structure for at least 30-80+ years, affecting everything from regrowth to carbon storage.
Bushfires across Queensland are fanned by high winds pushed north by a strong low in NSW.
The dry, hot, downslope Santa Ana winds of Southern California fan late fall wildfires that have largely traveled through – and are fueled by – homes and other structures.
Top contributors
-
Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania
-
Emeritus professor, University of Wollongong
-
Earth and paleo-climate scientist, Australian National University
-
Professor, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University
-
Distinguished Research Professor and Australian Laureate, James Cook University
-
Professor, The Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University
-
Professor, Deakin Law School, Deakin University
-
Professor, Charles Darwin University
-
Future Fire Risk Analyst, The University of Melbourne
-
Professor of Science Communication and Chemistry, University of Hull
-
Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires, University of Wollongong
-
Senior Lecturer in Ecology, The University of Melbourne
-
Senior research fellow, Western Sydney University
-
Professor of Geography and Director of the Centre for Wildfire Research, Swansea University
-
Postdoctoral researcher, University of Tasmania
