Virtually everywhere in the United States is affected to one degree of another by wildland fires. Even if a community is not directly involved with the fire itself, chances are that some of its members have gone to help fight wildland fires in other areas of the country by providing manpower, financial support, or other humanitarian aid. Policies regarding the handling of wildland fires continue to change and evolve as new information is learned each fire season. Attitudes have changed between complete wildland fire suppression to no suppression at all. We now seem to have reached a balance between the two schools of thought and fall somewhere in the middle. Physics and Chemistry of Fire Fire Triangle There are three main components to the fire triangle: fuel, heat, and oxygen. Matter States Matter exists in three basic states: solid, liquid, or gas. A substance experiences a phase change when the physical characteristics of that substance change from one state to another state. Perhaps the most recognizable examples of phase changes are those changes from a solid to a liquid or a liquid to a gas. When a substance goes through a phase change, there is a change in the internal energy of the substance but not the temperature of the substance (Serway, et al. 611). Combustion Combustion is a rapid, continuous reaction that usually takes place in the gas phase. Wood is an organic compound primarily comprised of cellulose. For wood, the phase change from a solid to gas is almost instantaneous as combustion occurs (Coleman, et al. 95). Ignition occurs when an outside source is no longer needed to sustain combustion (Coleman, et al. 87). Heat Heat is a physical characteristic of energy that is produced as energy... ... middle of paper ... ...bie. "WILDLANDFIRE.COM." 1997-2005. March 18, 2005. http://www.wildlandfire.com # Alaska Fire Service. "U.S. Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management." 2002-2005. March 20, 2005. http://fire.ak.blm.gov # Coleman, Ronny J., et al.Fighter's Handbook: Essentials of Firefighting and Emergency Response. Delmar/Thompson Learning, Stamford, CT, 2000. # National Wildlife Coordinating Group Training Working Team. Wildland Fire Suppression Tactics Reference Guide. National Wildlife Coordinating Group, Boise, ID, 1996. # Perry, Donald G.Wildland Firefighting: Fire Behavior, Tactics and Command. Fire Publications, Inc., Bellflower, CA, 1990. # Serway, Raymond, et al.Physics for Scientists and Engineers. Thompson/ Brooks/Cole, Belmont, CA, 2004. # Teie, William.Fire Officer's Handbook on Wildland Firefighting. Deer Valley Press, Rescue, CA, 1997.
At 2215 hrs, on November 28, 1942, Fire Alarm Headquarters from Box 1514, situated at Stuart and Carver streets, received an alarm. When the responding apparatus arrived they found a small car fire at the corner of Stuart Street and Broadway. After the fire was extinguished the firefighters were about to return to quarters when their attention was called to smoke emanating from the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub a few doors away. Upon their arrival at the entrance of the Broadway lounge on Broadway they encountered numerous people leaving the premises admidst the cries of “fire”. The chief in charge immediately ordered that a third alarm be sounded from Alarm Box 1521 which the alarm was received by fire alarm headquarters at 2223 hrs. A civilian sent an alarm that was received at 2220 by fire alarm headquarters. As soon as the chief in charge realized that the immediate problem was one of rescue he ordered that a fourth alarm (received at 2224) and a fifth alarm (received at 1102) be sent. The apparatus responding was comprised of 25 engine companies, 5 ladder companies, 1 water tower company, 1 rescue company and various other apparatus. 18 hose steams for cooling purposes and three ladders were utilized (located at Piedmont, Broadway, and Shawmut for venting operations).
"NFPA 1710: Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments, 2010 Edition." National Fire Protection Association. N.p., 1 Jan. 2010. Web. .
Wildfires started as an annual and seasonal occurrence in the south western region of California since the early 1930’s in part because of the hot dry summers and the hot dry turbulent Santa Ana winds that blow in from the desert during the fall months. Now it has become a yearlong event (Mckay, 2010). These conditions greatly contribute to the “fire season” throughout this area. This set of circumstances in conjunction with downed power lines and humans that ignited fires took place in October of 2007. This led to a series of fires that burned more than 500,000 acres, destroyed 1,500 homes, killed 9, injured 85, and forced the successful evacuation of around 500,000 people out of harm’s way.
The Blackwater fire of 1937 was a forest fire that occurred when a lightning strike ignited a tree in the Shoshone National Forest. It lasted for 6 days and killed 15 people, injuring a further 38; David P. Godwin (investigator of the fire) said,“not since 1910 have so many lives been lost on a single national forest fire”. The fire consumed a total of 1700 acres of forest woodland1 in this time. The Blackwater fire’s dire effect therefore resulted in the methods of firefighting that were used at this time being reviewed and updated to try to make firefighting safer for those involved in combating fire.
Prescribed fire is a controlled burn of an area done by a team of experienced or educated people in a grassland or forested area. This type of burn is intended to help the health of plant and animal species and restore them to their native state. When certain areas that need to be burned so often do not get burned, they can be a hazard to the ecosystem in which it presides. A forest can get over grown and thick which will create more fuel for a wildfire that can destroy a forest community. In grassland a controlled burn, or prescribed burn, can help eliminate invasive species that can take over grasslands that are harmful to the more desirable plants. This type of fire can be seen as harmful and a disaster by many people, but it has great benefits on the areas in which it is done.
"NFPA 1710: Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments, 2010 Edition." National Fire Protection Association. N.p., 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. .
The most pressing issue facing Detroit, in regard to fire, is the steady amount of burning vacant or delipidated buildings, and second to that is the high rate of home fires. For the purposes of this project, the capabilities of
As people of the twenty-first century, we are all too familiar with the frequent occurrence of wildfires in our nation’s forests. Each year millions of acres of woodlands are destroyed in brutal scorches. It has been estimated that 190 million acres of rangelands in the United States are highly susceptible to catastrophic fires (www.doi.gov/initiatives/forest.html.). About a third of these high-risk forests are located in California (www.sfgate.com). These uncontrollable blazes not only consume our beautiful forests but also the wildlife, our homes and often the lives of those who fight the wildfires. The frequency of these devastating fires has been increasing over the years. In fact, in the years 2000 and 2002, it has been reported that the United States has faced its worst two years in fifty years for mass destruction fires (www.doi.gov/initiatives/forest.html.). The increased natural fuels buildup coupled with droughts have been a prevailing factor in contributing to our wildfires and unhealthy forests (www.blm.gov/nhp/news/releases/pages/2004/pr040303_forests.html). Due to the severity of these wildfires, several regulations and guidelines have been implemented to save our forests. In fact, the President himself has devised a plan in order to restore our forests and prevent further destruction of our woodlands.
It is so sad to see the horror of forest fires and how they corrupt our beautiful land. So much damage comes out of what started so small. At least 603 square miles of land were burned in the early stages of the Arizona fire only a couple of years ago (BBC 2). In a Colorado fire 2.3 million acres had been burned (BBC 3). That land could have been saved if the use of prescribed burns had been in the area.
Early recognition of a need for ICS and a prompt initiation by the Oklahoma City Fire Department allowed for a swift implementation of a command structure which in turn allowed recourses to be allocated quickly and
Varone, J. C. (2012). Legal considerations for fire & emergency services (2nd ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar.
Humans have been changing the Western forests' fire system since the settlement by the Europeans and now we are experiencing the consequences of those changes. During the summer of 2002, 6.9 million acres of forests was burnt up in the West (Wildland Fires, 1). This figure is two times the ten year annual average, and it does not look like next summer will be any better (Wildfire Season, 1). Foresters have been trying to restore the forests back to their original conditions by thinning and prescribed fires but have encountered countless delays. Politicians are proposing sweeping changes in bills, which have caused great controversy, in efforts to correct the problems that the Forest Service has faced in restoration projects. Are these bills necessary or is there a better solution that politicians are overlooking?
This 80,000 pound powerhouse was just purchased by the Swarthmore Fire & Protective Association. Equipped with a 100-foot aerial and a 2000 gallon per minute (gpm) Hale single stage pump, Tower 14 can knock down just about any fire.
The DOI and USFS cannot continue to suppress these new super-sized wildfires with their meager budgets. Congress needs to grant these agencies access to the same emergency funds used for other natural disasters such as tornados and floods. We need to reform federal wildfire policy by treating mega-wildfires as the natural disasters that they are by targeting emergency funding for fire prevention.
Fire at any level can be devastating, yet the effects that wildfires have on every worldwide country really has left its mark on the land. As written by world renowned wild fire spokesperson Smokey the Bear, “Every year, wildfires sweeps through parts of the United States setting wilderness and homes ablaze. On average these raging infernos destroy about four to five million acres of land a year. But in 2012, wildfire burned more than 9.3 million acres, an area about the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined” (U.S. Wildfires). Destroying homes, crops, towns and of course forests. Yet the effects of these fires can be seen from a negative perspective as well as some positive. Plus there are natural causes as well as manmade that makes these destructive fires erupt and become almost unstoppable in seconds.