Our History
Principal consultant Michael Blackman is the founder and managing director of FFEC. With over 30 years experience in establishing fire management plans and implementing fire management programmes on rural, pastoral, mining, conservation and Indigenous lands throughout Australia, Michael established the consultancy in 2009 with the vision of providing a range of land management services and training that reflect the environmental history of Australian fire regimes.
The importance of maintaining ecological integrity through prescribed burning implementation and caring for country laid the foundations of what is today an organisation growing rapidly to meet the current and future needs for protection of life and property; authenticating cultural burning; rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems and adapting to climate change impacts.
Community Involvement
With our extensive experience and collaboration with local and state organisations we have developed a reputation for excellence in active participation in promoting appropriate fire regimes for sustainable ecological outcomes. This experience has included extensive work and consultation with government agencies, Indigenous communities, registered training organisations and private enterprises and active participation in rural community fire services.
Insurance
FFEC has public liability insurance to the value of $20,000,000. Certificates on currency are provided as requested with project proposal folios.
Management Systems
FFEC have adopted the AS/NSZ ISO plan-do-check-act paradigm to guide us in establishing an integrated management system for quality, safety and environment.
Policy and Procedure
Our integrated policy and associated procedures ensure our activities are managed and monitored to achieve our company goals and satisfy all legislative requirements.
Risk control
Quality, Safety and Environment
FFEC conducts site-specific comprehensive risk analyses for all projects and training workshops. Our Job Safety Environment Quality Analyses (JSEQA) detail controls for our risks associated with field operations. Control measures are included in each project’s Fire Implementation Plan and determine our fire strategy and burn techniques to ensure desired outcomes are achieved without harm to persons, property or the environment.
Projects
Our projects are tailored to individual clients’ needs and budgets and managed to ensure consistency in outputs. Projects are monitored with resources allocated to reflect the complexity of the project.
Monitoring and continual improvement
FFEC captures data in the field and within our internal processes to both conduct research and development into improved fire implementation methodology and technology and also to manage our activities more efficiently.
Key Staff
Our directors have had a combined experience in fire/land management for more than 60 years
Michael Blackman:Principal Consultant
Michael is one of Queensland’s leading professionals in fire management, having implemented many fire programs across Northern Australia in 30 years amounting to 1000s of hours in on-ground and aerial fire projects. Michael’s extensive background in all aspects of land management provides him with a holistic approach to implementing fire.
In his career as a Ranger Michael has successfuly rehabilitated degraded properties with the use of fire while under the employment of companies such as Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Australian Bush Heritage and Queensland Parks and Wildlife. Michael is highly experienced in delivering all of our courses to a range of audiences from large multi-national companies to small community groups. Michael develops our fire strategies and techniques and manages all projects.
Reserve manager position
- 1988 – 2001: QPWS: Lakefield National Parl, Iron Range National Park
- 2002 – 2004: Australian Bush Heritage: Carnarvon Station Reserve
- 2004 – 2009: Australian Wildlife Conservancy: Brooklyn Station Mt Molloy
- 2009 – present: FFEC Trainer/Mentor
Clare Blackman:
Trainer and Ranger Group Consultant
Clare is our most experienced land management trainer. Clare has a 30 years history in conservation land management including fire management.
Clare works with and trains indigenous/ non indigenous entities on the effective establishment and initiating of land management programs to achieve realistic goals. Clare has also been actively engaged in FFEC burn operations since its inception and has actively attended the fire programme on ground over the past 10 years.
Reserve manager position
- 1988 – 2001: QPWS: Lakefield National Parl, Iron Range National Park
- 2002 – 2004: Australian Bush Heritage: Carnarvon Station Reserve
- 2004 – 2006: Australian Wildlife Conservancy: Brooklyn Station Mt Molloy
- 2006 – 2014: Evergreen Fuels/ Train Plantation Native Trees Lockhart Rvv.
- 2014 – 2016: Mapoon Ranger Coordinator/Trainer
- 2017 – Present: FFEC Trainer/Mentor
Our duties included
- All aspects of administration
- Rehabilitation of degraded habitats
- Feral animal control
- Erosion control
- Weed management
- Fauna trapping
- Plant identification
- Fire management
- Endangered species programs
- Infrastructure maintenance
- Major donor hosting
- Hosting of international student volunteers & Volunteer philanthropists
Other PEOPLE WE HAVE WORKED WITH
Dr Leasie Felderhof
Firescape Science
Leasie has a PhD in Earth and Environmental Science and is the Managing Director of Firescape Science. Leasie has been involved in a number of local and State environmental projects from regional conservation strategies, developing fire management systems, firescar mapping, remote sensing projects, threatened species recovery plans and biodiversity research.
Dr Paul Williams
Vegetation Management Science
Paul is a botanist and the director of Vegetation Management Science with many years of experience in vegetation and fire management, and has worked in many areas across Queensland and has a keen understanding of the different fire issues of many Queensland bioregions.
Dr Steve Murphy
Adaptive Natural Resource Management
Steve is an experienced ecologist focusing on fire ecology & management, threatened species ecology & recovery, fauna survey, remote sensing, spatial analyses, data management systems and implementation of on-ground and aerial burning.
Mentors
FFEC employs personnel for projects from a pool of highly experienced field operators and trainers. All of our personnel are qualified and field operators regularly attend FFEC training workshops to refresh their skills and update their knowledge in aspects of prescribed burning and aerial incendiary. FFEC employs the services of contractors who have been involved in our past projects and understand FFEC philosophy, project management and management systems.
Peter Stanton
Peter was the principal conservation officer in Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service for many years. Formerly a forester, he is widely acknowledged as being one of the most experienced fire ecologists in the country, FFEC fire philosophies and strategies for implementation have been developed under the ongoing mentorship of Peter.
Professor Jeremy Russell-Smith
Jeremy Russell-Smith is an ecologist with interests in achieving sustainable management outcomes in fire-prone savanna landscapes across northern Australia and nearby countries. He helps coordinate applied research programs of the Darwin Centre for Bushfire Research, Charles Darwin University, and the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance.
Various traditional owners throughout Cape York
Contracts awarded to FFEC from Serco Sodexo & Spotless on Australian Military estate
- Implementation of strategic burn plans
- Compliance and risk management
- Quality assurance
- Project management
- On-ground and aerial burning
- Asset protection and ecological maintenance
- GIS analysis and map production
- Over-all fuel hazard assessments
- Infrastructure protection burns
