Warnbro Bushfire Staff Ride

In May, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) Bushfire Centre of Excellence (BCoE), in partnership with the Metro South Coastal Region, hosted its first Staff Ride focusing on the response to the Warnbro bushfire that ignited near the Warnbro Train Station in December 2025.

A Staff Ride is an experiential learning opportunity where participants examine a real incident in detail, reflect on the key response factors and share their own perspectives to aid group learning.

The Staff Ride included participants from the BCoE, DFES Operations command, the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, local government and Department of Defence. This ensured a broad range of perspectives and experience were represented, including those involved in the Warnbro incident, leaders in operational bushfire response and staff with a responsibility for organisational learning and operational improvement.

Assistant Director Bushfire Knowledge BCoE Peter Galvin said the Staff Ride provided a valuable opportunity to reflect on real-world decision making in a complex operational environment.

“Staff Rides allow us to step back from the pace of an incident and examine the decisions that were made, why they were made and what we can learn from them to improve future response and enhance cross-agency collaboration,” he said.

Arriving at the Baldivis Fire Station in the morning, participants were welcomed and briefed on the incident. They then travelled to the fire's point of origin, visiting a further three sites on the fireground. Key discussion areas included challenges related to unexploded ordnance management, the effectiveness of aviation resources in highly variable coastal vegetation and the implications for bushfire response strategies and tactics.

Back at the fire station, participants worked through sense making and debriefing sessions. Discussion focused on what participants had learned, how they might approach a similar situation and how they could share these learnings. 

Participants agreed the Staff Ride was a valuable knowledge sharing opportunity.

Superintendent Bushfire Centre of Excellence Craig Garrett said; “Having a firsthand account, in the setting of the incident, is a powerful storytelling tool.  Everyone can contribute with various levels of knowledge, skills and experience, which invites diverse perspectives into the conversation.”

By sharing learnings and working through complex response factors, the Staff Ride reflects the BCoE's ongoing work to promote leading practice in bushfire response and support operational decision makers.

To stay up to date with the latest news, insights and learning opportunities from the Bushfire Centre of Excellence, visit dfes.wa.gov.au/bushfirecoe or connect with the BCoE team bushfirecoe@dfes.wa.gov.au.