professionals - wildfires - response part 3

E-Learning for WildfiresProfessionals

Wildfire Response and Recovery Part 3:

The recovery phasee-Learning for the Prevention, Preparedness and Response to

Natural Disasters2

You have successfully developed and implemented a wildfire suppression plan. You have also selected appropriate suppression tactics. The wildfire is now controlled – what do you do now? There are a number of activities that need to follow during the recovery phase (once the fire has been controlled), including:

1. Completion of the mop up phase2. Scaling down wildfire suppression operations3. Facilitate debriefs4. Fire investigation5. Assisting with the recovery phase6. Hand over to the landowner

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

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Recovery

You have successfully developed and implemented a wildfire suppression plan. You have also selected appropriate suppression tactics. The wildfire is now controlled – what do you do now? There are a number of activities that need to follow during the recovery phase (once the fire has been controlled), including:

1. Completion of the mop up phase2. Scaling down wildfire suppression operations3. Facilitate debriefs4. Fire investigation5. Assisting with the recovery phase6. Hand over to the landowner


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This final section of the module will

now explain each of these activities in

turn.

Recovery

1. Completion of the mop up phase

The mop up phase involves extinguishing all parts of a fire after it has been brought under control Mop up involves carrying out all necessary actions to prevent re-ignition and to fully extinguish the fire.

The mop up phase is also sometimes referred to as “mopping up” and “damping down and turning over”.


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Recovery

Source: Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency

The type of fuel that the fire is burning inwill influence the amount of time andresources required during the mop upphase.

Fires burning in peat can be verychallenging to extinguish completely. Itmay take a number of hours or days forthe fire to be completely extinguished.


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Source: Junta de Castilla y Leon (Spain)

Recovery

Sometimes a combination of suppression tactics will need to be used during the mop up phase.

For example, it may be effective to extinguish a ground fire by excavating ground to create fuel breaks around burning areas and to also apply water.

Deep penetration lances can sometimes be useful for extinguishing ground fires burning in peat. the nozzle should be jabbed into the smoking ground and water applied until the peat takes on the appearance of porridge – a sign that it is saturated with water. Personnel should continue to pierce the ground until the fire has been extinguished.


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Recovery

Recovery2. Scaling down suppression operationsThe Incident Commander will determine when it is safe and appropriate to scale down operations,having ensured the incident is under control or concluded. This decision will be made in conjunctionwith all relevant Multi agency services attending the wildfire incident.

Once the decision has been confirmed to scaled down the incident, it should be communicated toeveryone onsite and relayed to central control rooms following the procedures in place. The plannedoperation will then commence in an orderly structured manner, with the relevant service commandersoverseeing the operations.

This is an important phase of the incident and one during which accidents and injuries may occur dueto complacency. It is important to maintain the highest attention to command and control throughoutthis phase of the operations, to reduce the risk of avoidable injuries or damage to vehicles andequipment.


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RecoveryThe closing phase of a wildfire incident may take an extended period to complete dueto its scale. However, it is imperative that all personnel, vehicles and equipment arereturned to operational readiness within their area of responsibilty as soon as possible.

Each service/organisation present should: • Ensure appropriate inventories of equipment have been undertaken before leaving

the site • All vehicles and equipment are fully checked and in good working order before they

are made available for further use• Arrangements are made to ensure any missing equipment that is later found is

returned to its owner


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RecoveryThere are numerous issues to consider during the scaling down of an incident. Here are some examples: • Continued dynamic management of risk • Patrolling the outer perimeter to prevent re-ignition or breach of control lines • Mopping up of hot spots or deep seated fires • Appropriate replacement of personnel and resources with those from partner and

land management agencies, if appropriate • Liaison with relevant agencies and authorities • Collection of appropriate data that may be required post incident • Public access of roadways which may have been closed during the incident• Arrangements for the public to return to their property if they were evacuated


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RecoveryIt may also be necessary to provide information about the incident to a range of other organisations, such as: • Local authority • Insurance investigators • Land managers/owners • Utility companies • Police • Environmental agency• Other interested parties including the press


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RecoveryIt is therefore important that theIncident Commander ensures that arecord of all actions taken is producedand kept.

It is also essential for the IncidentCommander to collect all necessaryinformation from multiagencypartners to ensure that reports andother communications produced areaccurate and complete.


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Source: Frederiksborg Fire and Rescue Service (Denmark)

Recovery3. Facilitate debriefs

Debriefing is another element of scaling down and closing any emergency incident, includingwildfires. Debriefs play an important part in promoting improvements in personal andorganisational performance and should take place whenever there is an opportunity toimprove standards.

Debriefs may be delivered in a range of different formats, including: • On scene “hot“ debriefs• Structured internal debriefs• Structured multiagency debriefs• Critical incident debriefing and counselling (for example if fatalities have been involved)


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RecoveryHere is an example of a “hot” debrief taking place (see right).

All personnel should be given the opportunity to comment on the incident during a debrief – they may have seen or heard things that the incident commander and other commanders did not see or hear.


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Source: Frederiksborg Fire and Rescue Service (Denmark)

RecoverySome of the important information that may form the basis for a debrief could include an evaluation of:


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• Pre-planning• Partnership working• Appropriateness of fire plans• Multi-agency response arrangements• Existing operational intelligence information• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

• The provision and use of equipment• Safe systems of work• FRS and partnership training• Levels of safety supervision

Recovery

All important action points and learning outcomes raised during a debrief should be fed back into policies and procedures. Importantly, any equipment, systems or procedures which did NOT work satisfactorily, or which made the working environment unsafe, should be highlighted and measures should be taken to ensure that the problems do not reoccur at future incidents.It is equally important to highlight any unconventional systems, procedures or tactics that were successful and/or which improved the safety of the working environment.


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4. Fire investigation

Fire investigation is defined as “The process of determining the origin, cause, and development of a fire.”*

Fire investigation is a specialist task which requires specific knowledge and training.


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Recovery

Source of definition: NFPA (2011) NFPA 921 – Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations (NFPA, Quincy, Massachusetts), page 14.

• The point of origin of the wildfire• The cause of the wildfire• The extent and area of the fire 'footprint'• Environmental impact• The extent of damage to habitat, wildlife

and property.• Records of any fatality or injury• Criminal activities• Estimated costs of the incident• Any extreme or unusual fire behaviour


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Fire investigations can help to gather a significant amount of really importantinformation concerning the wildfire incident, including:

Recovery

Source: Junta de Andalucia (Spain)

The collection and recording of this information through appropriatefire investigations is extremely important for ensuring all suppressionagencies continually develop and improve their approaches to wildfireprevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

In short, fire investigations are an important element of the continuousimprovement cycle for wildfire suppression organisations.


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Recovery

This section has only provided a brief overview of why fire investigations are important forwildfire incidents. Further information concerning fire investigation can be found in anumber of places, including:

• National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) (2005) Wildfire Origin and Cause Determination Handbook (USA)

• Interfire website

You can also try watching the videos on the next pages.


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RecoveryFurther information on Fire Investigation

http://www.nwcg.gov/sites/default/files/products/pms412-1.pdf

http://www.interfire.org/features/wildfires.asp

4. Assisting with the recovery phase

While response encompasses the actions taken to deal with the immediate effects ofan emergency (such as a wildfire), we can define recovery as:

“The process of rebuilding, restoring and rehabilitating the community following anemergency”. (Source: UK National Recovery Guidance)

Recovery is an integral part of the emergency management process.


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Recovery

http://www.gov.uk/national-recovery-guidance

Actions taken to suppress a wildfire andactions taken during the closure of thewildfire can have an impact on the recoveryphase.

While many suppression organisations areunlikely to play a major role during therecovery phase, they may be able to assistthose organisations that are involved. Thisassistance may come during fire suppressionoperations and/or during the recovery phaseitself.


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Recovery


One area that fire and rescueservices/wildfire suppression organisationsmay be able to assist with during recovery isto reduce the potential impact of erosion.When wildfires burn and removevegetation this can sometimes createinstability and the soil which leads toincreased erosion. Suppression activitiesduring a fire can also increase erosion –such as the removal of vegetation to createcontrol lines or washing away of soil byvehicles, pumps and hoses.


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RecoveryHere is an example of an erosion control

measure after a wildfire…


To help reduce some of the potential negative impacts on recovery,suppression organisations should try to pre-plan with organisationsresponsible for recovery.

They should also look to liaise with recovery organisations at an earlystage in the incident.


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Recovery

Recovery5. Handover to the landowner or manager

Following the scaling down of operations the responsibility for the incident will need to be handed over to a responsible authority/person. This is often called “handover”.

There should be a formal procedure for handover. Some fire and rescue services have developed standard forms which are used to document key information which is passed on to the landowner/manager during the handover phase.


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RecoveryUseful information that could be included on handover forms includes: • Date, time and location of the incident

and the handover• Details of the situation• Identified hazards• Contact numbers and names• Any further visits they may be required

or special measures that may need to be put in place


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Source: Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency

Try watching the videos on the next pages to find out more about some of the considerations that need to be taken into account during the recovery phase.


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Further information on wildfire recovery

Recovery

We hope you enjoyed this part of the module!


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End of Wildfire Response and Recovery : Part 3

Source: Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service (UK)


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End of Wildfire Module Summary

Now that you have worked through this module you should understand theimportance of safely and effectively responding to wildfires.

You should now know:• How to formulate a tactical plan• Which types of suppression tactics are suitable for particular conditions and

situations

You should also understand the importance of the recovery phase and how you canhelp.


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End of Module Summary


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End of Wildfire Unit Summary

This is the last module in the series on the topic of wildfires.

Thank you for taking the time to complete these modules. We hope you enjoyedthem and hope that you now feel better prepared to plan for and respond towildfires!

We hope the modules were informative and that you now feel moreknowledgeable on the subject. You may want to find out more about specificissues and terminology, so we have included some suggestions for furtherinformation and resources. Click on the hyperlinks on the next page.


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The videos on the following pages were produced in Spain.

They provide an overview of some of the important material covered throughout the three modules on wildfire prevention, wildfire preparedness and wildfire response and recovery.


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Unit Summary Videos



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Sources of further information on Wildfire Terminology

European Glossary for Wildfires and Forest Fires (2012) – EU(within European forest fire networks project section)

International Multi Lingual Fire Management Terminology

(Global Fire Monitoring Center)

Glossary of Wildland Fire Terminology (2015)

(National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG), USA)


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

http://www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/literature/glossary.htm

http://www.nwcg.gov/glossary/a-z


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Wildfire Glossary (2009) (Rural Land Management Group

for AFAC)


Forest Fire Fighting Terms Handbook (2009)

(EU F.i.r.e 4 Project)


http://www.protezionecivile.gov.it/resources/cms/documents/fire_handbook.pdf


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Other sources of information on wildfire terminology include:

• Fire Terminology - United States Forest Service (USA)

• Glossary of wildfire terms – British Columbia Wildfire Service (Canada)

• Wildfire Dictionary – New South Wales Rural Fire Service (Australia)




http://bcwildfire.com/Situation/Glossary.htm

http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/plan-and-prepare/building-in-a-bush-fire-area/planning-for-bush-fire-protection/dictionary-terminology

Please visit the other e-PPR modules on the topics of storms, flooding and heat waves to learn more about how to prevent, prepare for and respond to other natural disasters.


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professionals - wildfires - response part 3

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