No nation is as ravaged by fires as Australia. It is the every-present force that shapes our land and people. Every summer threatens to explode into an inferno, yet despite repeated disasters, this enemy remains largely unknown to us. Why is it so deadly, and how can we fight it?

For decades our ways of fighting bushfires had hardly changed- rickety fire trucks, rakes and wet blankets were the only weapons of choice. But in the past few years fire-fighting has been revolutionised with an array of technology, much of it making the transition from warzone to the fire zone. With each new fire season, new weapons are being brought to the battle, along with a greater understanding of how fires behave in Australian conditions.