Emergency Services Research
Led by Associate Professor Carlyn Muir, the Emergency Services Research team’s public health experience and use of systems approaches enables them to examine safety in high-risk environments.
The team covers a diverse range of injury and violence prevention topics that focus on improving outcomes in complex safety-critical environments. Drawing on applied research expertise in public health, psychology, paramedicine and data analysis, the team collaborates extensively with emergency service organisations and other stakeholders to ensure research is aligned with real-world needs and supports the development of effective, actionable strategies.
Research areas include occupational safety and wellbeing of emergency service workers, emergency vehicle safety, the role of emergency services in improving public health outcomes, and community safety. Significant partnerships and long-term data linkage programs have been forged with a number of Australian state fire, ambulance and police agencies.
Major projects
In 2025, the team continued research into: fleet safety during fire and emergency operations; safety for emergency service workers when responding in high speed road environments; and testing of fire trucks to better understand performance for falling objects and rollover situations. Additionally, the team continued to work with state fire authorities and external partners to increase the safety of emergency service workers nationwide.
A project with the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC) examined the feasibility of establishing a national fire fatality dataset, and the team continue their work with Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Ambulance Victoria to better understand community injury as a result of CFA-attended events.
Team milestones
The team’s expertise had continued demand in 2025, delivering their second workshop on emergency vehicle safety at the Australasian Road Safety Conference in Perth. The team also co-presented with Victoria Police, Griffith University and the University of the Sunshine Coast at the Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Conference in Canada, which focused on translation of evidence into practice for road policing.
Student success
PhD student Christine Mulvihill received the 2025 Peter Vulcan Best Paper Award Student for her paper, To what extent has a systems thinking approach been applied to understand motor vehicle crashes involving ambulances? A systematic review of risk factors and characteristics.
Funding partners
Research continues to be funded by the team's many partners, including NSW Rural Fire Service, the Department of Transport and Planning, Victoria Police, the Country Fire Authority, Fire Rescue NSW, the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council, Safe Transport Victoria, and the US National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine Behavioural Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program.
The Emergency Services Research team is recognised for its expertise in research tailored to the needs of partner organisations. Their in-depth understanding of the unique challenges faced by the industry and strength in stakeholder collaboration and network development, makes their work industry-leading and highly sought-after.