Wildland fire suppression

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The 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire was a large forest fire that took place in British Columbia, Canada in 2003.
The 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire was a large forest fire that took place in British Columbia, Canada in 2003.
William Cervera, a wildland firefighter from the Angeles National Forest responding to a fire in Altadena, California on July 9, 2006. The tool William is holding is a Pulaski.
William Cervera, a wildland firefighter from the Angeles National Forest responding to a fire in Altadena, California on July 9, 2006. The tool William is holding is a Pulaski.
Engine ANF 13, from the USDA U.S. Forest Service, Angeles National Forest in the San Gabriel Mountains of the Southern California, Los Angeles Area. This Type III Engine is staffed by a captain and 4 crew members.
Engine ANF 13, from the USDA U.S. Forest Service, Angeles National Forest in the San Gabriel Mountains of the Southern California, Los Angeles Area. This Type III Engine is staffed by a captain and 4 crew members.
Water Tender ANF 10, from the USDA U.S. Forest Service, Angeles National Forest in the San Gabriel Mountains of the Southern California, Los Angeles Area. This Type II Tender is staffed by a 2 crew members
Water Tender ANF 10, from the USDA U.S. Forest Service, Angeles National Forest in the San Gabriel Mountains of the Southern California, Los Angeles Area. This Type II Tender is staffed by a 2 crew members
Crew transport vehicle known as a "buggy" unit 1A and 1B from the Bear Divide Hotshot crew at the Angeles National Forest in the San Gabriel Mountains of the Southern California, Los Angeles Area.
Crew transport vehicle known as a "buggy" unit 1A and 1B from the Bear Divide Hotshot crew at the Angeles National Forest in the San Gabriel Mountains of the Southern California, Los Angeles Area.
Masticator, which chews through brush and small trees, on the Zaca Fire
Masticator, which chews through brush and small trees, on the Zaca Fire

Wildland fire suppression is a unique aspect of firefighting.

Wildland firefighting requires different tactics, equipment, and training from the normal structure fire fighting found in populated areas. Working in conjunction with specially designed firefighting aircraft, these wildfire trained crews knock down flames, construct a fireline, and mop up hot spots to protect watershed, wildlands, and the populated areas within the wilds. Wildland fire suppression also addresses the issues of the "urban interface" where populated areas border wildland areas. During the winter months, they are hard at work removing hazardous fuels to reduce fire hazard.

Contents

[edit] Equipment and people

[edit] Ground suppression

[edit] Command and control

  • Incident Management Team - The incident commander and appropriate general or command staff personnel assigned to manage an incident. These teams are national resources and maybe be flown in for large incidents.
  • Incident Commander - Individual responsible for the management of all incident operations at the incident site.
  • Division Chief - The Division Chief is also known as the District Fire Management Officer. On a fire the Division Chief will usually serve as the "Incident Commander" and help direct fire crews and order more equipment if needed.
  • Battalion Chief - The Battalion Chief is also known as the Assistant District Fire Management Officer. The Engine Crews, Hotshot Crews and Fire Prevention units report to the Battalion Chief. They will respond to all fires and coordinate the fire fighting efforts during the initial attack.
  • Fire Information Officer - The Fire Information Officer (FIO) responds to the fire, to make sure that members of the community are informed of important information about the fire. The FIO often uses the media such as TV and the radio to let the community know what is going on.
  • Fire Prevention Officer - Fire Prevention units patrol the forest, and teach fire prevention at public events and in schools.

[edit] Hand crews

[edit] Helitack Crews

The use of helitack can vary from forest to forest. In the Kootenai National Forest, helitack [1] crews often perform duties similar to typical initial attack crews. Two or three firefighters will be dispatched to a newly-reported fire ranging in size from a single burning tree to a half an acre. Helitack crews are usually used for initial attack on fires that are difficult for other firefighters to access, or on extended fires that require aerial support in the form of water drops, cargo delivery, crew shuttling, or reconnaissance. A typical initial attack response by a helitack crew involves flying to the fire via helicopter and spending one to three days (although sometimes much longer) putting the fire out before hiking to the nearest road for pickup. Some helitack crews have the capability to rappel out of the helicopter in situations where there is no place for a helicopter to land.

[edit] Rappellers

A highly effective way to fight wilderness fire when no roads are nearby is to have 2 - 16 highly trained wildland firefighters rappel from a helicopter. These firefighters then take suppressive action on the fire or clear a helispot to receive additional firefighters if the fire is too large. Rappellers usually carry 30 lbs. of personal gear plus up to 300 lbs of fire gear which is lowered down to them from their helicopter in cargo letdown boxes. Rappelling heights can range from 30 feet (in tall, continuous brush) to 250 feet (in timber). When suppression is complete on rappel fires, ground transport is typically arranged to pick up the firefighters at the nearest road, which could be a 2 - 7 mile hike while carrying 50-100 lbs of equipment. These crews carry chainsaws, hand tools, radios, and can even have 75 gallon water bags (called blivets) flown in to help fight the fire. When not rappelling, the crew works as a helitack crew and can fly or hike to any regular fire.

[edit] Smokejumpers

[edit] Vehicles

[edit] Engines

[edit] Crew transport
  • The "Buggy" crew transport vehicle (Image provided here)
  • Crew bus
  • Helicopter "Helitack"

[edit] Tankers

When water is required to refill an empty fire engine, water delivery is vital. The typical water tender carries 1200 gallons of water to support the fire engines. Water tenders can be used to fill water dropping helicopters when a lake or reservoir is not nearby.

[edit] Heavy Equipment

Heavy Equipment's primary function of wildland fire suppression is through the application of heavy construction style equipment to move large amounts or earth, or remove vegetation. This application can also be used as pre-fire suppression to clear fuel breaks, or provide access to areas that maybe previously inaccessible. Heavy equipment is often used to mitigate storm, flood, earthquake and other emergency incidents requiring this type of equipment.

  • Wildland fire bulldozer
  • Wildland fire loader
  • Wildland fire motor graders
  • Masticator

[edit] Auxiliary Equipment
  • Wildland fire heli-tender
  • Wildland fire fuel tender
  • Wildland fire dozer tender

[edit] Air suppression

[edit] Fixed wing airplanes

[edit] Rotary wing helicopters

  • Water Dropping Helicopters
  • Helitack
  • Helicopter Rappell

[edit] See also

[edit] Hand tools

[edit] Australia

Wildland fire and wildland firefighting play a major role in Australia due to arid conditions, similar to those in the western U.S. The preferred term for wildfire in Australia is bushfire. Notable fire services tasked with wildland fire suppression include:

[edit] References

[edit] See also

Wildland Firefighter Foundation

[edit] External links