Wildland Fire Suppression Tactics And Strategy

Wildland Fire Suppression Tactics

Victor Alvarez
East Los Angeles College
Fire Technology 209 – Fire Tactics and Strategy
Captain Hosea
May 18, 2015 If you are the first person to arrive at a fire or a single resource boss in charge of the first crew at a fire, you have several problems. You are confronted with deciding; what is the most important work to do first, and where the most effective work can be done. Keep in mind at all times that firefighter safety is the highest priority in fire suppression. After sizing up the fire you need to select an anchor point and make your attack. If you are the incident commander, establish an organization and command structure. Make sure your subordinates know the plan and are kept informed on changing conditions, tactics and/or strategies. Use water or dirt to cool and extinguish hot spots. Anticipate future control action when the fire cannot be contained promptly. Construct fire line uphill from an anchor point. As a first effort, keep fire out of the most dangerous fuels, and prevent it from becoming established in explosive types of fuels, such as grass, thickets of tree seedlings, heavy brush, or slash areas. Confine the fire as quickly as possible. Locate and build fire lines. Move all rollable material so it cannot roll across fire lines. Leave no significant areas of unburned material close to fire line. To gain control, swiftly locate and build fire line in the easiest and safest places for line construction that can be held. Burn out as needed, when line is constructed and burning out can be controlled. Utilize existing barriers to full extent. If fire spread cannot be contained, notify dispatch and do some safe, effective work on at least a part of the fire. Where improvements such as houses, fences or other buildings are involved, consider all the facts before determining which point to attack first. No improvement or piece of property is worth firefighter injury or fatality. Now a decision must be made concerning how to attack a fire. The methods of attack are direct, parallel, and indirect. Direct attack is made directly on the fire's edge or perimeter. The flames may be knocked down by dirt or water and the fire edge is generally treated by a follow-up fire line. Or, a fire line is constructed close to the fire's edge and the fuel between the fire line and the fire is burned out or the fire is allowed to bum to the fire line. Direct attack generally works best on fires burning in light fuels or fuels with high moisture content burning under light wind conditions.

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