The Community Fireguard Program (CFG) was developed and implemented in 1993 by the Country Fire Authority in response to a recognised need for shared responsibility that emerged from the Ash Wednesday fires. At the time of its inception, CFG was a new concept that aimed to encourage neighbourhood groups to proactively address their bushfire risk. The program was not conceived as an information dissemination tool, but rather as a community capacity building exercise. The program builds resilience in communities through fostering local networks, increasing self efficacy, facilitating informed decision making and preparedness activities. With the assistance of a CFA facilitator, groups self-direct their learning in bushfire behaviour, personal preparedness and response strategies.
The program has now been operating for 20 years and while there have been attempts to replicate it in other States and related initiatives internationally, it remains unique in its commitment to community capacity building strategies. To ensure this program maintains its relevance and integrity, particularly in the context of increased risk of large scale disasters, a rigorous examination of the program features has been conducted. This paper will present an examination of the Community Fireguard program to assess its alignment with current disaster risk reduction recommendations and capacity building principles. We evaluate its cost against outcomes in terms of reduced loss of life, property and psychosocial impacts. The program was found to be closely aligned with current recommendations, to address the core elements of capacity building principles, and to minimise loss and psychosocial impacts. It has been successful in progressively incorporating new evidence but has not managed to reach all sectors of the community. Unintended benefits such as increased social connections, a critical element of resilience, have been identified and subsequently adopted as a core objective of the program.