011S215EP

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Unit 1
01-1-S215-EP
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Unit 1 Objectives

• 1. Discuss how preparing for and responding to
  interface fires is a shared responsibility.
• Describe the human and environmental factors in
  the interface that affect critical decision
  making and require situational awareness for
  firefighter safety.

3
Unit 1 Objectives

• 3. Identify the value of the Incident Command
  System as an effective tool to manage interface
  fires.
• 4. Discuss the importance of knowing your agency
  policy relating to interface fires.

4
Interface Definition

• The wildland/urban interface is the zone where
  human-made improvements meet and intermix with
  wildland fuels commonly referred to as the
  Interface or I Zone.
• The wildland/urban interface will be referred as
  the Interface in this course.

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Governments Responsibility

• Enacting statutes and laws that control
  development, planning, law enforcement, and
  building codes.
• Enforcing codes enacted by legislation.
• Foster cooperation among different agencies
  within the government (fire, law enforcement,
  health, etc.

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Landowners / Homeowners Responsibilities

• Maintain defensible space
• Reduce other hazards
• Prevent fires
• Obey planning and building ordinances
• Construct homes
  using fire resistant
  materials

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Firefighting Agencies Responsibilities

• Firefighter safety
• Recognize the inevitability of an interface fire
• Prepare mutual aid agreements and pre-incident
  planning documents
• Conduct specialized training and drills
• Qualifications of personnel
• Upgrade and maintain firefighting equipment

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Firefighting Agencys Responsibilities

• Enhance interagency cooperation
• Provide communications that function between
  agency lines
• Provide specialized personal protective equipment
  (PPE)
• Support physical fitness of personnel
• Realize that fires burn across jurisdictional
  boundaries

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Firefighters Responsibilities

• Physical fitness
• Training
• Drill to maintain proficiency
• Use and maintain PPE

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Human and Environmental Factors in the Interface

• In the rapidly changing arena of interface fires
  there are many factors that will affect critical
  decision making and require situational awareness
  for firefighter safety.

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Exercise
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Civilians in the Fire Area

• May be unwilling to leave the area
• Mass exodus may cause traffic jams and
  entrapments
• Other people who
  come to watch

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Access to Fire Area

• Do you have safe access?
• Do you have escape routes?
• Gridlock
• Traffic accidents
• Blocked roads (fallen power lines, rolling
  material, smoke/visibility)
• Dead ends and cul-de-sacs

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Command, Control, and Accountability

• Complicated organization
• Lack of organization
• Confusion may affect critical decision making and
  increase firefighter risk
• Multiple jurisdictions
• Failure to use or ineffective unified command
• Radio communications

01-14-S215-EP
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Command, Control, and Accountability

• Structure protection or suppression of wildfire
• Sense of urgency (threatened structures)
• Firefighters who want to do too much or stay too
  long
• Lack of information about the fire or assignment
• No plan or more than one plan
• Aircraft in use
• Other agency policies
• Who do I report to?
• Heavy equipment working in area
• Not familiar with burning wildland fuels
• Not familiar with burning structures

01-15-S215-EP
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Special Hazards

• Power lines
• Propane and heating oil tanks
• Burning vehicles
• Panicky homeowners
• Domestic and wild animals
• Traffic
• Toxic smoke
• Underground utilities,
  gas lines and septic
  systems
• Hazardous materials (chemicals, fluids, meth
  labs, etc.)

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ICS is a Tool For Effectiveness and Safety For
Interface Fires
01-17-S215-EP
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ICS Solution to Chaos and Confusion

• Originally developed in California (FIRESCOPE) to
  improve response to interface fires
• NFPA 1561 Standard for Incident Management System
• Accepted as standard for incident management by
  all federal wildland firefighting agencies
• Widely accepted and used by many structure
  firefighting organizations

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ICS Solution to Chaos and Confusion

• Accepted by many other agencies (FEMA, National
  Fire Academy, U.S. Coast Guard, and Military when
  responding to civil incidents, etc.)
• Clearly defines responsibility of IC
• Addresses multi-agency and jurisdictional issues
• Facilitates growth of organization to support
  incident needs
• Provides common terminology for incident
  management

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Features of ICS

• Management Functions (only fill as necessary)

• Command
• Operations
• Logistics
• Planning
• Finance/Administration

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Features of ICS

• Organizational flexibility (add additional
  positions as incident requires)

• Initial attack (Type 5 incident)
• Initial attack with mutual aid (Type 4 incident)
• Extended attack (Type 3 incident)
• Incident management teams (Type 2 and Type 1
  incidents)
• Consolidating separate incidents (Area Command)

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Features of ICS

• Establishment and Transfer of Command
• Unity of command
• Management by Objectives
• Chain of Command
• Span of Control
• Common Terminology
• Resource Management
• Single resources
• Strike teams
• Task forces
• Incident Action Plan

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Agency Policy

• Public relations problems

• Public doesnt care about the color of the truck
  or uniform.
• They pay taxes and want the fire put out or their
  home saved.
• They dont care what our policy has to take into
  account.

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Agency Policy

• All firefighters must know and understand their
  agency policy.

• Wildland firefighting agencies involved with
  vehicle or structure fires.
• Structure firefighters involved with wildland
  firefighting.

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Agency Policy Exercise

• Discuss agency policy pertaining to interface
  fires of the students attending this course

• Vehicle fire
• Fighting structure fire
• Fighting wildland fire
• Entering structures
• PPE (bunkers, SCBAs, fire shelters)
• Driving (hour limitations)
• Etc.

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Out of Jurisdiction Responses

• Policy limitations stay with employee
• You must follow your agencys policy even if
  working for another agency.
• Inform supervisor of home agency policy.

• Safety should always be primary guide in decision
  making.

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Mutual Aid

• Whenever two or more agencies are working
  together there are issues that need to be
  resolved.
• Agencies likely to work together must train
  together to
• Gain valuable exposure to each others capability
• Expose equipment and safety limitations
• Reduce or eliminate agency differences
• Overcome lack of training and experience in
  various areas of firefighting.
• Develop a network for finding out about new tools
  and tricks of the trade.

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Unit 1 Objectives

• 1. Discuss how preparing for and responding to
  interface fires is a shared responsibility.
• Describe the human and environmental factors in
  the interface that affect critical decision
  making and require situational awareness for
  firefighter safety.

29
Unit 1 Objectives

• 3. Identify the value of the Incident Command
  System as an effective tool to manage interface
  fires.
• 4. Discuss the importance of knowing your agency
  policy relating to interface fires.