Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes	Part A: Human impact of fighting fires
10 minutes	Part B: Thermite the firefighting robot
35 minutes	Part C: Design technology to help fight fires
05 minutes	Reflection

Part A: Human impact of fighting fires

Step 1.

Ask students to imagine they are firefighters.

How might they feel when approaching a fire? Would they be scared? Why?

You could use these images to create some context for students.

Step 2.

Ask students to think from the perspective of the firefighters' families. What do you think they are feeling?

Step 3.

Explain that firefighters confront bushfires and other emergency situations in order to keep our communities safe. However, in doing so, they risk - and sometimes lose - their lives.

Part B: Thermite the firefighting robot

Step 1.

Can students think of some alternatives to humans in trucks fighting fires? Are there ways that we could better use technology to address the risks?

Run a brainstorming session. No idea is a bad idea!

Step 2.

It’s important to first note that prevention strategies are a good investment of time and money. If we can prevent fires from getting out of control in the first place, we won’t have to spend as much effort in combating them.

Programs such as controlled burns and land management strategies are a good approach to this.

It’s also worth noting that climate change is playing a significant role in increasing the frequency and severity of natural disasters. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s Sixth Assessment Report into climate change says that it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land (A1), and that global surface temperature will continue to increase until at least mid-century under all emissions scenarios considered. Global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C will be exceeded during the 21st century unless deep reductions in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions occur in the coming decades. It is therefore worth thinking about how to reduce our carbon emissions as a way of reducing bushfires.

Step 3.

We’re starting to see a number of technologies emerging to better combat fires:

Enhanced water-bombing, with increased water-carrying capacity and speed, such as this ‘super scooper’ plane.
Novel fire retardants, including options such as water-enhancing gels that are non-toxic and/or long-lasting that slow water evaporation and enable water to stick to vegetation.
The use of drones to conduct prescribed burns, scouting, and clearing vegetation. The ANU is also developing automated water gliders, kind of like homing missiles filled with water, that can fly to a fire just as it’s starting and put it out.
Placing community fire tanks in target areas. Dams are not ideal for bulk tankers and in drought years dams become dry. Community fire tanks provide permanent water storage and are fitted with anti-vortex nozzles plus 100mm and 125mm couplings to fill tankers in minutes – many times quicker than mains water.

Watch:

Thermite™ Firefighting Robot (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z64-1HQe6xA)

Step 4.

As a class, discuss what is good about Thermite’s design. Suggestions might include:

It allows humans to combat fires while out of reach of the fire, hopefully keeping them safe.
It has a number of different water cannons for different situations.
The dozer blade allows it to push earth and other obstacles out of the way.

Step 5.

As a class, discuss what could be improved about Thermite’s design. Suggestions might include:

It doesn’t really look capable of fighting big bushfires hundreds of metres tall.
It still has to be connected to a hose supplying it with water, which could be a logistical problem.
It won’t be able to access rough terrain in the way humans or flying bombers could.

Part C: Design technology to help fight fires

Step 1.

Students are going to imagine they are part of Minderoo’s new Fire Shield department, the Innovations Team.

They have been charged with coming up with new technologies or approaches to combating fires.

No idea is out of bounds. Students should get as creative as they can.

Perhaps they want to put a big fire-retardant blanket over the bush to snuff out a fire. They would have to figure out what the blanket is made of and how to deploy it, but it’s not impossible.

Extension: Students might prefer to focus on preventative programs or measures, such as how to better detect bushfires, ‘wet’ the bush so it’s not as flammable come fire season, or work on preventing climate change.

Step 2.

Before students start on their own design, ask them to conduct their own independent research on an already-existing technology. They could use one from the list in Part B, Step 3 (also available on the Student Worksheet), or find something through their own independent research.

Students then evaluate this already existing technology.

What is good about it?
What could be improved?

Step 3.

Finally, students design their own technology to help fight fires.

Their design document should include:

an image of the design
an explanation of how the design works
an explanation of how the design addresses a need, such as reducing the heat of a fire or protecting human firefighters
a list of materials used in the design

You might want to develop your own rubric, or build on the one above, to determine what a successful design should include. It’s useful for students to have input into this assessment process so that they know what they need to deliver.

Reflection

Students swap their designs with someone else. Using the Student Worksheet, they then evaluate each others’ designs.

What do they like about the design?
How do they think it will be effective?
What challenges do they see with the design that might need to be addressed in future iterations?

Teacher reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching practice today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Resilient Australia - How Can We Use Technology to Fight Bushfires?

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