Welcoming New Editor-in-Chief and Section Editor-in-Chief of Fire

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Grant Williamson has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of Fire (ISSN: 2571-6255, IF: 2.726, CiteScore 4.9). The founding Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Alistair M. S. Smith will remain on board, and lead the Section "Fire Science Models, Remote Sensing, and Data".

Dr. Grant Williamson is a landscape ecologist and spatial scientist at the University of Tasmania, Australia, whose research has focused on the climatic and human drivers of wildfires and fire danger across Australia, the dynamics and human health impact of smoke wildfires and prescribed fires on human health, and the application of novel geospatial methodologies to fire analysis and pyrogeography. Grant is currently a work package leader with the NSW Bushfire Risk Management Research Hub, and an affiliate with the Centre for Air Quality & Health Research and Evaluation (CAR-CRE).

The following is a short Q&A with Dr. Grant Williamson, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views of the research area and open access publishing:

1. What do you like about being the Editor-in-Chief of Fire? How would you like to develop Fire?
   I am excited and enthusiastic to begin my role as Editor-in-Chief of Fire, having watched the journal grow under the leadership of Prof. Alistair Smith from its beginnings into an increasingly respected and active journal for the fire science community, covering a diverse range of topics in the field. Going forward, I would like to further develop our connections with research networks in the field internationally to further increase our impact in delivering quality science and to develop new journal Sections with a focus on fire and biodiversity and fire and human health. Given our research field, which is often punctuated by major wildfire seasons that drive rapid, focused research, I see a venue for building new Special Issues around specific seasonal and geographic events.

2. Is open access popular among fire scientists? What might your response be to open access skeptics?
   Open access academic publications, provided they are backed by a strong, scientifically credible academic team, as Fire is, provide a vital outlet for research. Our field is increasingly funded, ultimately, by public money, and our research, as it intersects with emergency and land management, also has strong impacts on the public, who have a right to discover and understand the latest science as it impacts their lives. Open access publishing is necessary to accomplish this. In an increasingly international field that, for too long, has seen research focus on a limited number of wealthy countries, open access publishing also ensures research has global readership and participation.

We warmly welcome Dr. Grant Williamson as our Editor-in-Chief, and we wish Prof. Dr. Alistair M. S. Smith success in his new role as Section Editor-in-Chief. We look forward to their valuable input for the continued success of Fire.

Fire Editorial Office