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About FSF

The Firefighters Support Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization whose primary mission is to develop, produce and distribute training programs to firefighters and first responders. All of our programs are distributed free of charge.

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Firefighters Support Foundation is credited as the source

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Accompanying Video

This PowerPoint presentation accompanies the video presentation of the same title.

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Presenter

Scott Magers has over 34 years of public sector fire service experience. He currently holds the position of Battalion Chief with Hillsboro Fire and Rescue, Hillsboro Oregon. Additionally, Chief Magers is a Type 1 Incident Commander with the Oregon State Fire Marshals Office, overseeing one of their Incident Management Teams.

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Wildland/Urban Interface Fires

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Background

• In 2013 the National Interagency Fire Center saw more than 47,000 wildfires burn off 4.3 million acres.

• From 2004 – 2012 more than 13,000 primary structures were lost in the United States due to wild fires.

• According to the US Fire Administration: In 2012, 9,326,238 acres were burned in the United States. That is an area bigger than NJ, Connecticut and Delaware combined.

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Situational Awareness

You can’t determine how to fix the problem , if you don’t know what the problem is!

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Situational Awareness• Find out where the leading edge of the fire is, in reference to the location of the

structures you are protecting.

• Know the fuel, weather, and topography of the area.

• Are there maps of the area or subdivision?

• How much time to do you have before the fire gets here?

• Has structural triage been done for the area?

• Is the area evacuated?

• Is electrical power working in the area?

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Situational Awareness• Know the 10 Standard Firefighting orders and the 18 Watch out Situations and how

they apply to your area.

• What resources are available?

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Structural and Site Preparation

• Evacuate civilian personnel and animals (animals will require you to use your best judgment)

• Remove combustible objects from the perimeter of the home (boats, campers, trash receptacle, fire wood, etc.)

• Clear all vegetation from around the structure to a distance of a least two to three times the anticipated flame length.

• Prepare the structure by closing windows, removing light curtains, closing interior doors to limit fire spread, turning off fans and coolers, disconnecting any gas/LPG services, leaving on electricity, making sure all of the entrance doors can be opened, etc. In addition, make sure that a porch light and a central interior light are left on.

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Structural and Site Preparation

• Use garden hoses to fill engines tanks and buckets• Pre-treat the structure with a class A foam, if available• Ladder the roof. (Use homeowners ladder, if it is safe. If you will be

staying with the structure, use the fire departments ladder)• If the structure has an electric generator, start it• If portable pumps or alternative water supplies are available, prepare

them for use • Close the garage door and disconnect the garage door openers, so that if

you lose power you still can get in• Note all hazards, including power lines, septic tanks, terrain features,

private bridges and LPG tanks, roof mounted satellite dishes, or any structure on the roof

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Structural Protection• Structural Fire Protection is divided into the following categories:

– Apparatus Positioning– Deployment for Structural Protection– Mobility– Methods of Confronting the Fire at the Structure

• Spotting situations• Contain the fire fully• Partial containment • No containment possible

• Retreat– Don’t underestimate the value of a good exit strategy!

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Apparatus Positioning • Note landmarks and hazards as you approach the scene• Back your engine in from the last turnaround if the driveway is short• Park your engine so it does not block traffic• Avoid parking next to flammable vegetation, under power lines, near LPG

tanks or other potential sources of intense heat• Park engine to facilitate structural protection within reach of the hoselines• Survey the area for hazards such as septic tanks• Review maps and survey the area• Identify and communicate escape

routes and safety zones• Monitor fire behavior

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Deployment for Structural Protection

• Check your personnel protective equipment (PPE), including fire shelters• Brief the crew; use the Look Outs, Communications, Escape Routes, and

Safety Zones (LCES) principles• Ensure that the occupants are apprised of the most current evacuation

orders• Quickly survey structure and surrounding areas• Advance two 1 ½-inch hoselines in the direction the fire is coming from,

around each side of the structure, not to exceed 200 feet• Ladder the side of the structure away from the fire• Advance a hoseline to the roof to extinguish any brands or small fires• Place a garden hose in the engine tank filler or alternate water source• Use hoselines on the ground to suppress or steer the fire around the

structure• Be prepared at all times to pick up and deploy as the threat passes

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Mobility • Never allow your company to become tied down. Limit your hoselines to

200 feet. • If you must retreat in a hurry , leave your hose and, if possible, take your

fittings and nozzles. • All hoselines should be taken off the same side of the engine and should

not block egress. They should never block the street or cross in front of the apparatus.

• The roof may be protected by the pre-placement of a hoseline, or in some cases the residents garden hose.

• A hoseline should always be available for the protection of the apparatus.• In large scale incidents an engine may be deployed to lay out hoselines for

the protection of structures ahead of the fire. Engine companies will remove their nozzles and reconnect them and their engine to the preplaced hoselines.

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Confronting the Fire at the Structure

Spotting Situations– The biggest problem with spot fires is extinguishing the fire

brands before they start a larger fire. Attempt to extinguish spot fire as quickly as possible before they grow.

– If you find yourself in a spot fire situation make sure you have a lookout in place. Lookouts will be able to see of the spot fire will cut off your egress if you need to leave in a hurry.

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Confronting the Fire at the Structure

Contain the fire fully (extinguish and/or control the fire) as it approached the structure or the yard:

– This technique may or may not involve the use of water

– In those cases where it does not require the use of water, the fire may be slowed significantly by removing the fuel and the extinguished with handtools

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Confronting the Fire at the Structure

Partial Containment is used when you can control the fire prior to reaching your structure.– This carries the most risk to your personnel– The rear hoselines attack and split the fire from the rear of the

structure– The lines are then moved to the front of the structure where they

control the fire at the sides of the building and peel the fire away from the building

– Then working back toward the rear of the structure– As the main fire passes, hoselines are then used to extinguish spot and

smoldering fires in the area of the structure– Check for any extension into the structure

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Confronting the Fire at the Structure

Should the fire be so large, or traveling so fast, that no direct attack can be mounted, a no-containment-possible mode is selected:– This mode is very dangerous to firefighters, YOU MUST have a safety

zone identified and are ready to retreat, should it be necessary– The objective is to cool the structure to withstand the heat as the fire

passes– You are also relying on any pre-treatment to the structure that your

crew was able to perform prior to the fire reaching your area– DO NOT STAY LONGER THAN IS SAFE. RETREAT TO YOUR SAFETY

ZONE WITH PLENTY OF TIME TO DO SO!

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Confronting the Fire at the Structure

• As with any structural attack, these methods of defending a structure may be used in their purist sense, or they may be used in conjunction with each other.

• Make sure you have a good grasp on your situational awareness before determining what method you will use.

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Retreat

Do not overstay your ability to safely meet your objective!– At times it will become necessary to retreat due to

the intensity of the fire– Take care in retreating:• Other companies may be doing the same• Civilians may also be leaving the area• Your egress may have changed because of the fire

– Maintain your situational awareness during your retreat

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Suppression of the Wildfire

• Many structural fire departments are becoming increasingly involved in the suppression of Wildland or Wildland/Urban Interface Zone fires. There are two methods of attack:

– Direct Attack

– Indirect Attack

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Direct Attack• The direct attack method generally works best on fires burning in light

fuels, or on low-intensity fire accessible to the firefighters, enabling them to work close to the fire edge to perimeter.

• Direct attack usually begins by selecting an anchor point and advancing hand lines directly around the fires edge or perimeter. Flames are knocked down with the water or throwing dirt on the fire.

• Crews then follow up behind scraping the vegetation to mineral soil along the edge creating a fire line.

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Indirect Attack• A method where the control line is located a considerable distance from

away from the fire active edge. • Indirect attack is accomplished by building fire line some distance away

from the fire edge or perimeter, and then burning the fuel between the fire line and the edge of the fire.

• Indirect attack also takes advantage of natural and manmade barriers and allows selection of the final perimeter control edge.

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The best Defense is a Good Offense!

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