 Firefighter safety is something we take very seriously at CFA. Our crews operate in dangerous conditions and we need to provide them with the training and equipment required to ensure their safety. Bushfire burnovers are potentially fatal situations where crews are caught out at the head of an intense fire front, often caused by a sudden change in wind direction and strength. Because the flame front is fast moving, crews have an extremely short period of time to prepare for the burnover. Crew protection systems need to be easily and rapidly deployed. Firefighters should be regularly trained with the crew protection systems so that the deployment of the systems becomes second nature to them. CFA's crew protection systems have been evolving since the 1977 western district fires when standard tanker design and heat shielding were first introduced. 1983 was the year of the Ash Wednesday fires. Twelve CFA volunteers tragically died during a burnover at Upper Beaconsfield. From that event, the tanker fleet was upgraded to all diesel-powered vehicles and further research conducted into equipping tankers with fire-resistant materials. In 1998, the Geelong West and Geelong City tankers were fighting a forest fire near Linton, Victoria. These firefighters were in unfamiliar surrounds amongst a large quantity of heavy and fine fuels and were possibly unaware of appending wind change. Once the wind change occurred, the firefighters were unable to safely retreat before the fire front arrived. Within minutes, the fire front engulfed the tankers. All five crew members on the Geelong West tanker perished in the fire. The coronial inquiry into the Linton tragedy found that the tanker crew protection was inadequate, as was situational awareness of the firefighters at the time. Significant research and crew protection system developments occurred as a result of the Linton burnover. Following the inquiry, a minimum skills training system was introduced to enhance the skills of our firefighters. Water spray deluge systems, drop-down radiant heat shields and other crew protection components were introduced to all new medium and heavy tankers in 2006 and retrofitted on older models before the 2013-14 fire season. These crew protection systems provide a survivable space for crews during a burnover. Additional radiant heat shielding was also applied to vulnerable tanker components, including the pumps, cabling and hoses, as well as low-level water indicators on the tanks. Further review, enhancement and validation of the crew protection systems have been part of ongoing research activities to ensure they are best placed to enhance the safety and survival of our firefighters. Initially, testing was completed at the Bushfire Flame Front Simulator Research Facility in Mogo, New South Wales, using gas-fuel flames. Positive results from these experiments led to recommendations for further field testing to validate the simulated bushfire results. Initial field tests were conducted at Tumba Rumba, New South Wales, but the burns were not able to replicate the intensity of the Linton fire. Just how the crew protection systems would stand up to a fast-running grass fire, grassland field tests occurred in Wangerata, Victoria. The results showed the systems were effective in grass fires. The aim of the forest field test was to recreate the burnover scenario based on the 1998 Linton fire burnover. A site in Brocknell, Victoria was selected due to its similar, heavy and fine fuels and topography. Both sites were dominated by stringy bark trees and had a long unburnt understory. The day of the test burn was selected to also replicate the same weather conditions and subsequent fire intensity and behaviour as experienced at Linton. The following footage from the burn at Brocknell shows the crew protection system being tested on the medium tanker. As the fire progresses, you can observe the temperature beside the tanker and the temperature inside the cabin. The estimated average fire intensity at Linton was 9,500 kilowatts per metre. The average fire intensity at the experimental fire was 19,000 kilowatts per metre with 31,000 kilowatts per metre peak intensity at impact on the tankers. A medium tanker with the current crew protection system, a polymer gel protected ultralight tanker and a Class A foam protected ultralight tanker were tested during the Brocknell experimental test. All the tanker crew protection systems adequately met crew survivability objectives during the experimental burn test. It is important to remember that crew protection systems rely on a number of active systems to operate such as water supply, pumps to run and fire to be within the limits of the system capability. Crew protection systems are always a last resort and can never be absolutely guaranteed to ensure safety in all circumstances.