More than 3000 emergency services workers will meet in Sydney today for the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC) conference.

The four-day event will host more than 100 speakers, covering topics such as prescribed burning, smart data and technology, emergency warnings, heatwaves and climate prediction.

Key speakers will include Marta Yebra from the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Co-operative Research Centre, who will discuss the use of satellite data in burning efforts and pre-positioning of firefighting resources.

Tom Remenyi from the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Co-operative Research Centre will discuss whether prescribed burning can continue in Tasmania, while the Bureau of Meteorology’s David Jones and Blair Trewin will speak on climate predictions for bushfire and floods.

Ann Bostrom from the University of Washington will discuss improving warnings and forecasts, and Steve Sutton from the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Co-operative Research Centre will talk about studies on the Indonesian island of Simeulue, where only seven people out of 80,000 were lost during the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

AFAC CEO Stuart Ellis believes the conference, at the International Convention Centre, will help emergency services and land management organisations redefine their roles in protecting communities.

It will “bring together global emergency management experts to share insights on how we can all collaborate for success and improve performance in emergency management”.

The full program is available here.