Wildland fire suppression
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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.
Equipment and people
Ground suppression
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 resorces 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.
Hand crews
- Type 1 Interagency Hotshot crew
- Type 1 Crew
- Type 2 Initial Attack (IA) Crew
- Type 2 Crew
- Type 3 Crew
Helitack crews
Smokejumpers
- Smokejumper Crews
Vehicles
Engines
Crew transport
- The "Buggy" crew transport vehicle
- Crew bus
- Helicopter "Helitack"
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.Dozers
Air suppression
Fixed wing airplanes
- Airtankers
- Air Attack
- Lead Aircraft
- Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems (MAFFS)
- Infrared Aircraft
- Smokejumper Transport Aircraft
- Airlift Aircraft
Rotory wing helicopters
- Water Dropping Helicopters
- Helitack
- Helicopter Rappell
See also
Hand tools
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:
References
External links
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