ABSTRACT
Itiswithinthesethreearenasthatgeographyplaysaunifyingroleinthe potentialtodescribeandexplainthevariationinthedistributionand concentrationoffireincidenceoverbothspaceandtime.Twoprimary toolsthathavegreatpotentialtoexploitthegeographicalnatureofthe wealthofdatacapturedandstoredbythefireserviceareGISandstatistics. Fireisnotarandomphenomenonandcanbeshowntobedisproportionatelyconcentratedinareasexhibitingsimilaritiesinsocial,economicand environmentalcomposition.Spatialandtemporalpatternidentificationof fireincidenceprovidesabasisforresearchintowhere,whenandwhyfires occur.Theclassificationofareasbylevelsandtypeoffireincidenceand theoutcomesenablesworktobeundertakentoestablishthesimilarities anddifferencesbetweenthoseareasandthecommonriskindicators. Profilingthecharacteristicsofareasthathavesimilarfireincidence countsandratesprovidesacontextwithinwhichbothcommunityfire safetyplanningandresponseoptionsarebetterinformedandcantherefore bemoreeffectivelymanaged.
