Dr Rachel Westcott

Dr Rachel Westcott’s PhD was completed in 2018 and discovered and recommended proactive strategies to strengthen and improve human safety and well being in a changing climate of natural hazards. Rachel investigated and developed best practice methods for preparedness and response practices in a bushfire – all aimed at making fire preparedness part of everyday life for those who live in at risk areas. This normalising of preparedness makes becoming ‘fire fit’ a normal routine.

Rachel undertook extensive interviews on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, a location with a recent history of severe bushfires and a resourceful regional community. Rachel presented her research findings at many industry events during her PhD, including a Three Minute Thesis at the CRC’s Research Driving Change – Showcase 2017, as well as speaking on ABC local radio across Australia. She also entered the CRC Association’s Early Career Researcher communication competition in 2019, with a 30 second video available on the CRC website. As a veterinarian, Rachel has had an avid interest in the ways animals are handled during a disaster, and she participated in many aspects of the broader CRC project, Managing animals in disasters.

In 2015, Rachel was recognised for her work with the South Australian Veterinary Emergency Management team with a Pride of Australia award after South Australia’s Sampson Flat bushfire for helping save and manage hundreds of animals during the fire. Rachel currently runs her own business, Engine Room Solutions, which has research, emergency management and publishing divisions - with a focus on publishing PhD student papers - as well as running her own veterinary practice.