Sometimes, the best way to fight fire is with fire. In these cases, various firing devices are available that allow firefighters to work from close range to farther distances to start these burns. On some fire scenes, mop-up operations are necessary once the main fire and pre-planned burns are under control. Throughout this course, we will review the common firing devices you will likely work with to ignite a controlled burn and different methods of conducting a mop-up operation.
Course Type: Full-length Course
Course Duration: 60 mins
A main goal shared by firefighters is to prevent the spread of the fire they are dispatched to. This also goes for wildfire firefighters. While this may be a difficult goal to achieve at times on the wildfire scene, resources, and techniques are available to assist the responding crews’ efforts. In this course, we will review different handline techniques that can be done by one crew or in tandem with others, and solutions to the problem of trying to source water to hard-to-reach locations you may get called to. These skills and understanding will give you a better chance of suppressing the flames quickly and efficiently.
Course Type: Full-length Course
Course Duration: 60 mins
When the wildland meets more urban structures like homes or other buildings, there are added risk factors wildland firefighters may face. The wildland urban interface poses its own set of challenges and hazards that may not be experienced in wildfires spreading through areas with only vegetation. These locations include a mixture of structures with wildland topography and fuels. As responding firefighters, it is important to be aware of what you may face at these scenes. You will now be working on suppressing the wildfire spreading through the natural vegetation and determining if suppression efforts are safe to enact on structures in the path of the flames.
Course Type: Full-length Course
Course Duration: 60 mins
As a firefighter responding to a wildland fire, a landscape that can change in seconds, it is important to be prepared. A basic understanding of the terminology used in the field relating to the parts of a fire, suppression, and fire behavior will provide a better understanding and ability to use skills and knowledge more effectively. Being able to distinguish the different fuel types igniting these fires will benefit all responding departments by giving an idea of how the fire may burn, how best to extinguish it, and how to navigate it safely.
Course Type: Full-length Course
Course Duration: 60
Weather is the most unpredictable and challenging aspect of the fire environment. Firefighters closely monitor temperature and moisture as these weather components directly influence fuels and potential fire behavior. Weather can also be affected by topographic features and characteristics of an area. The responsibility for predicting wildland fire behavior lies with everyone on the fireline, emphasizing the importance of identifying, analyzing, and using relevant situational information about topographic features.
Course Type: Full-length Course
Course Duration: 60
