The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body responsible for fire protection across approximately 95% of New South Wales's land area. As the world’s largest volunteer fire service, the NSW RFS has over 71,000 volunteer members organised into nearly 2,000 brigades. In addition to responding to bushfires, the NSW RFS plays a crucial role in various other emergencies, from structural fires to motor vehicle accidents.

The NSW RFS was tasked with expanding the existing Fires Near Me NSW App into a multi-hazard platform in response to the findings of the recent flood inquiry. The app needed to incorporate flood warning information and other hazards while transitioning to a new codebase and managed service arrangement. With public trust on the line, the project required continuous development and enhancements to meet the community's needs during emergencies.

The challenge was not only to deliver a reliable solution but also to do so within a non-negotiable timeframe, ensuring that the app would be ready in time to fulfil the government's commitments.

NSW RFS aimed to transform the Fires Near Me app into Hazards Near Me NSW by incorporating new features and enhancing existing ones. The project was divided into three phases:

• Phase 1: Include high-level functionality such as user login options, map-based alerts, watch zones, push notifications, fire danger ratings, and hazard reductions.
• Phase 2: Extend the app to support additional regions across Australia, introduce dynamic notifications and watch lists, and integrate crowdsourcing features.
• Phase 3: Migrate the Fires Near Me NSW app into a new Hazards Near Me NSW and Fires Near Me Australia codebase and add flood data based on the flood inquiry recommendations.

Fireant was chosen for this critical project for several reasons:

• Expertise in scalable mobile applications.
• Proficiency in serverless technology allowed for an efficient and event-based solution.
• A reputation for trust and reliability in delivering results quickly.
• A highly agile delivery approach that enabled rapid iteration and development.

Fireant took on the challenge with a three-phase approach, focusing on meeting the urgent needs of the NSW RFS while ensuring a seamless user experience:

Phase 1 and 2:

Fireant fast-tracked the development of the fire component of the National Hazards program. This included normalising and presenting data from various sources despite delays in the consolidated data feed. The team worked closely with the NSW RFS to design a scalable, modular cloud architecture using AWS serverless technology, ensuring it could handle the national-scale requirements. Fireant also introduced a Broadcast Dashboard to manage notifications based on user location, enhancing the app's real-time alert capabilities.

Phase 3:

Fireant created two versions of the app—one for national fires and another for NSW fires and floods. Using its experience with the NSW SES Hazard Publishing platform, Fireant integrated flood data and enhanced the app's user management system to support multiple jurisdictions.

The project faced several constraints:

• A tight deadline due to public commitments made by the government, making delivery timelines non-negotiable.
• There is a need for a highly scalable solution that sends tens of millions of notifications within hours.
• Compliance with NSW Government security and data regulations required a robust and secure AWS serverless architecture.

The project delivered outstanding results:

• The platform was tested to handle up to 50 million notifications within minutes, ensuring it could scale for large-scale emergencies.
• The app maintained a 99.999% availability rate and successfully handled 7 million notifications over 48 hours during a live flood response in the Hawkesbury River area.
• Hazards Near Me NSW remains Australia's most downloaded emergency management government app, a testament to its reliability and effectiveness.

Client Testimonial: Anthony Clark, Director of Communications & Engagement at NSW RFS, said, “Our challenge is getting information to people during emergencies that will ultimately save lives. In addition to building public-facing apps like Hazards Near Me NSW and the national Fires Near Me app, Fireant has also helped build a picture of emergency data nationwide. They’ve brought ideas, innovation, and a high standard of work at every project stage.”

Fireant’s success with this project reinforced the value of accurate, agile delivery. By focusing on rapid iterative design, build, testing, and feedback, Fireant avoided the pitfalls of traditional waterfall processes. This approach now informs Fireant’s digital product delivery strategy for all future projects, ensuring that solutions are built with speed, flexibility, and a user-first mentality.

The success of the Hazards Near Me NSW app has positioned NSW RFS as a national leader in multi-hazard public warning systems. The app's reliability and effectiveness have strengthened public trust in the NSW Government’s ability to protect its citizens during emergencies, setting a benchmark for emergency management solutions across Australia.