Despite increased focus on resilient planning and construction design in areas prone to wildfire impacts, recent research has found inconsistent approaches, a lack of evidence-based performance criteria, and limited suitable code-based verification methods for use in wildfire contexts. These limitations serve to reduce the potential effectiveness of measures intended to improve wildfire community and build resilience. The lack of suitable verification methods is particularly problematic in Australia, where complex building code requirements associated with enhanced wildfire resilience have been extended to hospitals, child care facilities, schools, and other assembly buildings. To address this issue, this paper proposes the Wildfire Expected Risk to Life and Property (WERLP) verification method. As a holistic absolute probabilistic verification method, WERLP can be applied to both building and urban design contexts within the Australian jurisdiction. The application of WERLP is demonstrated using the case study of a new hospital development.

Wildfire risks are increasing due to climate change, which poses a challenge to conventional firefighting strategies. In the wildland–urban interface (WUI), people and their infrastructure are increasingly vulnerable to fire. Strategic planting of low-flammable vegetation as green firebreaks has emerged to support wildfire management in the WUI. However, under extreme heat and drought, even low-flammability plants become fuel, contributing to fire spread and intensity. This paper presents a conceptual design framework for irrigated green firebreaks (iGFBs), which does not seek fine detail, or transferability, but rather it provides the initial concept for integrating vegetation design with supplemental irrigation to maintain fuel moisture and enhance fire-regulating ecosystem services. The framework is structured around landscape contexts, priority ecosystem services, integrated design solutions, and implementation considerations. A case study in Noosa Shire, Queensland, Australia, demonstrates how urban water reuse, including greywater and rainwater, can provide the needed irrigation in a WUI landscape. The iGFB concept highlights the potential to reduce fire intensity and slow fire spread while delivering co-benefits such as localised cooling and enhanced biodiversity. While the framework is site-responsive, its underlying principles are transferable to other WUI settings. Further research is required to evaluate the effectiveness of iGFBs under different fire and climate scenarios.

Wildfire risks are increasing due to climate change, which poses a challenge to conventional firefighting strategies. In the wildland–urban interface (WUI), people and their infrastructure are increasingly vulnerable to fire. Strategic planting of low-flammable vegetation as green firebreaks has emerged to support wildfire management in the WUI. However, under extreme heat and drought, even low-flammability plants become fuel, contributing to fire spread and intensity. This paper presents a conceptual design framework for irrigated green firebreaks (iGFBs), which integrate vegetation design with supplemental irrigation to maintain fuel moisture and enhance fire-regulating ecosystem services. The framework is structured around landscape contexts, priority ecosystem services, integrated design solutions, and implementation considerations. A case study in Noosa Shire, Queensland, Australia, demonstrates how urban water reuse, including greywater and rainwater, can provide the needed irrigation in a WUI landscape. The iGFB concept highlights the potential to reduce fire intensity and slow fire spread while delivering co-benefits such as localised cooling and enhanced biodiversity. While the framework is site-responsive, its underlying principles are transferable to other WUI settings. Further research is required to evaluate the effectiveness of iGFBs under different fire and climate scenarios.

Climate change, altered ecosystems, and expanding development in fire-prone landscapes are increasing fire risk in the wildland–urban interface (WUI). This study uses Noosa, southeast Queensland, Australia, as a case study for a preliminary modeling assessment of irrigated green firebreaks (iGFBs). Using the AMICUS Vesta Mk2 fire-behavior model, fire spread rates and fireline intensity were compared across dry eucalypt control scenarios, non-irrigated green firebreak scenarios, and irrigated green firebreak scenarios receiving 1 and 2 mm m⁻² day⁻¹ of water. In line with future climate predictions, these scenarios were compared under progressively worsening fire-weather conditions. The drought-affected dry eucalypt control produced the highest predicted fire spread rates and fireline intensity, and although non-irrigated green firebreak scenarios reduced fire behavior, they may still exceed typical suppression thresholds under catastrophic conditions. In contrast, iGFB scenarios consistently reduced both fire spread rates and fireline intensity across all fire-weather classes. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the model outputs were most responsive to drought- and moisture-related assumptions, supporting the importance of fuel moisture in the performance of the iGFB concept. Although iGFBs are not a stand-alone solution suitable for all settings, the findings provide a preliminary region-specific proof of concept for iGFBs and support the need for further applied research.

Climate change, altered ecosystems and expanding development in fire-prone landscapes are increasing fire risk in the wildland–urban interface (WUI). This study uses Noosa, southeast Queensland, Australia, as a proof-of-concept case study to test irrigated Green Firebreaks (iGFBs). Using the AMICUS Vesta Mk2 fire-behaviour model, fire spread and fireline intensity were compared across dry eucalypt control scenarios, non-irrigated green firebreak scenarios, and irrigated green firebreak scenarios, receiving 1 and 2 mm m⁻2 day-1 of water. In line with future climate predictions, these scenarios were all compared under progressively worsening fire-weather conditions. The drought-affected dry eucalypt control produced the highest predicted fire spread and fireline intensity, while non-irrigated green firebreak scenarios reduced fire behaviour, but they may still exceed typical suppression thresholds under catastrophic conditions. In contrast, iGFB scenarios consistently reduced both fire spread and fireline intensity across all fire-weather classes. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the model outputs were most responsive to drought- and moisture-related assumptions, supporting the importance of fuel moisture in the performance of the iGFB concept. Although iGFBs are not a stand-alone solution suitable for all settings, the findings provide a region-specific proof of concept for iGFBs and support the need for further applied research.