professionals - wildfires - preparedness part 2

E-Learning for WildfiresProfessionals

e-Learning for the Prevention, Preparedness and Response to Natural Disasters

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Wildfire Preparedness – Part 2:

How to train and exercise for wildfires


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This is the second part of the module on wildfire preparedness and will cover the following topics:

• Basic wildfire training • LACES Safety Protocol• Wildfire training delivery methods• International exchanges• Multiagency training and exercising

Source: Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service (UK)


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Training and exercising is another key element of preparedness for wildfires.

All those involved in suppressing wildfires must receive adequate training to ensure they are competent to perform their role. This will help to ensure that all personnel are:

• Safe• Effective• Efficient

Training should begin with initial training but this must also be complemented with an ongoing training programme.



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Basic wildfire training should cover the following key elements:


• Knowledge about the wildfire environment

• Knowledge of suppression techniques and tactics

• Knowledge of the hazards present at wildfire incidents

• Instruction in implementing appropriate control measures, including an appropriate safety system or protocol

• Instruction in the correct use of PPE, equipment and tools

• Appropriate first aid training


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Importantly, wildfire training should provide personnel with the knowledge and tools to understand when, where and why there will be changes in wildfire behaviour.




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… training should also provide personnel with the knowledge required to predict and identify where extreme fire behaviour may occur.


Source: Junta de Andalucia (Spain)


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… training should also provide personnel with the knowledge required to predict and identify where extreme fire behaviour may occur.


Please note… extreme fire behaviour is

explained in more detail within the

previous module on wildfire prevention.



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To develop and implement safe and effective suppression plans, personnel also need to be trained to identify and use the following key concepts:


Key concept Explanation

Windows of opportunity ‘A period of time or location on the landscape when/where it will be particularly advantageous to adopt particular suppression tactics or actions.’*

Trigger points ‘A pre-designated point in time or place whereby a predicted change in fire behaviour will influence tactical decision-making. For instance, if a wildfire reaches a particular trigger point on the landscape, the Incident Commander may decide it is necessary to adopt alternative tactics in order to maintain safety and effectiveness.’*

Critical points ‘This is a point in time or space when/where there will be a significant influence on fire spread, rate of spread and/or fire intensity.’*

* Definitions from the EUFOFINET Project’s European Glossary for Wildfires and Forest Fires (2012)

http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/Fire/Partners.aspx#internationalfirerescuepartners


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Wildfires can be dangerous and personnel need to know how to keep themselves and their colleagues safe. Safety systems and protocols are therefore of vital importance for all wildfire training programmes.

The video on the next page explains the 18 Watch Out Situations. The Watch Out Situations have been developed in the USA over the course of the last five or six decades and all wildland firefighters in the USA are expected to know them. The 18 situations were all experienced at fires where there was a fatality, entrapment or near miss incident. This list provides a useful reminder of some of the hazardous situations that may occur at a wildfire.



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There are different safety protocols in use around the world to help mitigate hazards and keep firefighting personnel and members of the public safe.

A number of countries currently implement the LACES Safety Protocol.



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There are different safety protocols in use around the world to help mitigate hazards and keep firefighting personnel and members of the public safe.

A number of countries currently implement the LACES Safety Protocol.


Interesting fact about the evolution of LACES: The protocol began as LCES. However, a number of countries have now added the A to make LACES.


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LACES is an acronym for:

L = LOOKOUTSA = AWARENESS and/or ANCHOR POINTC = COMMUNICATIONSE = ESCAPE ROUTESS = SAFETY ZONES



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LACES is an acronym for:

L = LOOKOUTSA = AWARENESS and/or ANCHOR POINTC = COMMUNICATIONSE = ESCAPE ROUTESS = SAFETY ZONES


The individual key elements of LACES will now

be briefly explained in turn.


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LookoutsPersonnel tasked with managing and maintaining safety by observing and monitoring the fire and personnel.




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Awareness and/or Anchor PointAll personnel should be responsible for establishing and maintaining situational awareness at wildfire incidents.

All personnel should ensure they remain vigilant, continually evaluate their surroundings and communicate any hazards through the appropriate levels within the incident command system.



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Awareness and/or Anchor PointThe creation of an anchor point is sometimes a key element included within the LACES safety protocol.

An anchor point is an advantageous location, usually a barrier to fire spread, from which to begin constructing a control line.



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CommunicationsEstablishing and maintaining effective communication is vital for maintaining safety at wildfire incidents.

Clear, concise briefings are a vital part of the communication strategy for all wildfire incidents. Good briefings ensure that all personnel are situationally aware and that personnel are deployed safely, effectively and efficiently.




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CommunicationsEstablishing and maintaining effective communication is vital for maintaining safety at wildfire incidents.

Clear, concise briefings are a vital part of the communication strategy for all wildfire incidents. Good briefings ensure that all personnel are situationally aware and that personnel are deployed safely, effectively and efficiently.


Remember: SMEAC briefings were explained earlier in this module

and they can help provide a structure for effective briefings.



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Escape RoutesEscape routes are pre-planned routes to be used in an emergency situation. They can be used by personnel to get away from danger to a safety zone.

Escape routes should always be:• Pre-planned to avoid confusion and panic• Communicated to all personnel• Monitored throughout the incident




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Escape routes should also be:

• Established at the earliest opportunity• Kept as simple as possible• Upwind of the fire• Downslope of the fire

Escape routes should also avoid re-entrants and saddle features


ESCAPE

ROUTE

ESCAPE

ROUTE

ESCAPE

ROUTE

ESCA

PE

ROUTE

ESCAPE ROUTE


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Safety ZonesThe final key element of LACES is safety zones.Safety zones are predetermined areas of safety where personnel can find refuge from a wildfire.

Like escape routes, they should always be: • Pre-planned to avoid confusion and panic• Communicated to all personnel• Monitored throughout the incident


SAFETY ZONE


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Safety Zones should also be:• Close enough to be effectively used• Devoid of fuel (or contain the minimum of fuel)• Upwind of the fire• Downslope of the fire

As a general rule, safety zones should be able to accommodate all personnel and provide a minimum separation of at least 4 times the maximum flame length



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Safety zones should never be:• Beneath aerial fuels (tree canopy)• Beneath or near overhead power lines, gas pipelines or oil pipelines• Located within re-entrants or saddle features



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The “black area” (i.e. area already burned by the fire) may be an appropriate safety zone if: • it satisfies the other previously mentioned criteria; and, • there is no fuel remaining which might sustain the fire should it burn back into the black area


Source: Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service

(UK)


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To summarise, the key benefits of LACES are that:

• It is easily remembered • It can be fully adjusted to different circumstances and scales of incidents. • When implemented correctly, it is clear, concise and easily understood by all personnel.

These are some of the basic attributes of an effective safety protocol.



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IMPORTANT:This short section has provided a basic overview on LACES and is not comprehensive. Before attempting to implement LACES, further research and training should be completed.



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As a starting point, further information on LACES can be found in the following places:

• National Wildfire Coordinating Group - USA• Scottish Government’s (2013)

Fire and Rescue Service Wildfire Operational Guidance – see pages 180-208• Canadian Forest Service Publication – LACES versus LCES


Find out more about LACES

http://training.nwcg.gov/classes/s130/508%20Files/071231_s130_m2_508.pdf

http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0043/00436138.pdf



http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications/?id=20908


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The videos on the next page also provide some further information about the LCES Safety Protocol.

Please note the videos talk about LCES (and not LACES) because they were produced in the USA. Even if you are considering implementing the LACES Protocol (including the “A”), they still provide some useful information and ideas to consider.



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The way that wildfire training delivered is also as important as the content.

Different delivery methods of different advantages and disadvantages. The learning outcomes of individual sessions and modules will dictate the most effective training delivery method.


As a general guide, wildfire training programmes are most effective if they include a combination of some or all of the training delivery methods listed

on the next page.


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Delivery method Explanation

Classroom sessions • Effective for teaching key theories and concepts• Provide opportunities for reviewing real life case studies

Table top exercises • Effective for putting theory into practice• Provide opportunities for problem solving• Provide opportunities to confirm understanding of key theories and practice

Field exercises • Effective for putting theory into practice• Provide opportunities for problem solving• Provide opportunities to confirm understanding of key theories and practice• Provide opportunities for familiarisation with the environment, real

procedures and real-time decision-making.


Wildfire Training Delivery Methods


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Delivery method Explanation

Simulation exercises • Effective for putting theory into practice in a safe and controlled environment• Provide opportunities for problem solving• Provide opportunities to confirm understanding of key theories and practice• Provide opportunities for familiarisation with real procedures and sometimes

with real-time decision-makingTask specific training • Ensure personnel are trained for specific tasks and roles

Information exchange and secondment opportunities

• Provide opportunities to learn from specialists in other places and countries• Provide opportunities to import knowledge and experience from others• Provide opportunities to share good practice and learn new ways of doing

things• Helps create an outward-looking ethos of continual development and

improvement for wildfire training




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Delivery method

Simulation exercises

Task specific training

Information exchange and secondment opportunities



The following training delivery methods will be explained in a

little more detail on the following pages.

We will also explain why multiagency training can be

valuable.


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Task Specific TrainingSome roles may require personnel to receive specific training.

For example, it is standard practice in most countries that firefighters that may be required to use helicopter transport during a wildfire incident will need to successfully complete training on how to embark and disembark a helicopter safely. Without this training, personnel are not permitted to travel in a helicopter at an incident.Task specific training may need to be repeated at regular intervals to confirm understanding and compliance over time.




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Simulation training Simulation is the imitation or representation of a real-world process.

In the context of wildfires, computer simulation software is now available on the market to enable firefighting organisations to design and deliver realistic incident command training for wildfire incidents.

This training can be delivered inside, within a training facility and has a number of benefits.



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The key benefits include: • Providing unlimited number of exercises with almost limitless realistic scenarios.• Exercises can be run in real-time or time can be adjusted to suit

specific requirements.• Exercises can be adjusted by trainers, including making sudden changes which prompt trainee to evaluate and potentially change tactics (i.e. change in wind direction).• Training can start at any point in the incident – i.e. training can commence at the initial attack phase or later in the incident when more senior incident commanders would arrive. • Simulation training is a great way of training and exercising for the coordination of ground and aerial resources.



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Other benefits of simulation training are:

• Numerous training exercises can be delivered without the financial constraints of organising field exercises• Training is not dependent upon the weather, unlike training in the field with live fire• The simulation tool can be used to reveal the behaviour and personality of the trainee, which can help identify strengths and weaknesses. • Simulation tools enable training exercises to be recorded and played back. This is an extremely useful feedback tool that helps trainers explain to trainees what they did well and what they could improve in future.



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ECASC in France has developed a highly advanced simulator for training for wildfires. The simulator has taken more than 10 years to develop and is used extensively to deliver wildfire incident command training to French fire officers at different levels of command. The simulator has also been adapted to train fire officers from other countries.

The simulator consists of two key elements: • Software which presents trainees with realistic, real-time

images of what they would see at a wildfire incident. • A training space which is divided into a number of rooms (see

right) assigned to different functions, meaning that commanders only see their area of the fire and are required to talk to each other via radios, replicating what would happen in real life.


http://www.valabre.com/joo2012/


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Source: ECASC (France)

The graphics used within ECASC’s simulator are extremely realistic, depicting different vegetation (see left)


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The images on screen show what is happening in terms of the fire and in terms of personnel/resources deployed.

As soon as a fire officer moves his/her resources, the image changes accordingly. If a fire starts burning in a different direction, the image changes accordingly.


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ECASC’s simulator also includes modules which can be operated by pilots of planes and helicopters.

This enables realistic simulation of aerial attack, including time taken for aircraft to refuel and reload. It also enables safe and realistic training for ground-air coordination.




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You can find out more about ECASC’s wildfire simulator by clicking on the leaflet on the right

(please note the information is provided in French only)

Find out more about Simulation Training for Wildfires




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International exchangesThe potential benefits of international exchanges cannot be underestimated.

International exchanges can provide valuable opportunities to exchange:• Knowledge• Experience• Good practice• IdeasThey can also generate opportunities for joint training.

This can all help save time and money and enhance effectiveness. If organisations work together across international borders they can make significant advances through collaborative working.



French, British, Danish and Slovakian fire officers visiting

ECASC, France in September 2012 to exchange knowledge and

experience on wildfire incident command.


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It is imperative that all agencies that attend wildfire incidents have the opportunity to train and exercise together to ensure adequate preparedness for wildfires.


Multiagency Training and Exercising



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Multiagency training should include some key basic elements, such as:• Incident command:• Roles and responsibilities• Communication

• Safety systems and protocols• Familiarisation with systems of work/Standard Operating Procedures• Familiarisation with equipment and operators



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In addition to ensuring knowledge and understanding and interoperability, multi-agency exercises can form and strengthen relationships between organisations and individuals.

Strong relationships are of significant importance in many areas of work associated with wildfires – including activities associated with wildfire prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.



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IMPORTANT – all wildfire training should be continually reviewed and adapted to incorporate:

• Lessons learned from training exercises• Lessons learned during wildfire incidents and debriefs• New information as it becomes available



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That concludes this part of the module. However, you may find it useful to also learn more about different approaches to wildfire training around the world:• USA - National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG)• Europe - Pau Costa Foundation• Eurofire Competency Standards• UK – Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service


Find out more about LACES

http://onlinetraining.nwcg.gov/

http://onlinetraining.nwcg.gov/

http://www.paucostafoundation.org/ing/

http://www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/eurofire/tc_cs_en.html

http://www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/eurofire/tc_cs_en.html

http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/Fire/Training.aspx#wildfiretrainingcourses


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End of Module Summary


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We hope you enjoyed this part of the module!

Please visit the next part which covers the topic of warning and informing the public.

End of Wildfire Preparedness: Part 2



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