Preplanning for the WUI

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Preplanning for the WUI
Captain Seth Barker focuses on strategies to best prepare communities before fire
threatens
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By Kindra Sclar
Published Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Addressing the hazards that exist in the wildland/urban interface
(WUI) can be very challenging. Fighting fires in this type of
environment presents unique obstacles, and often the best way to
confront those obstacles is by figuring out strategies prior to the
occurrence of incidents.
Preplanning provides the opportunity for fire personnel to determine
the tactics that will best protect life and property in the event of a WUI
incident. Unfortunately, it can often be difficult to get communities
involved with preplanning. “I think it is safe to say that communities
don’t take action unless faced with a prior event that makes them
realize how unprepared they are,” says Captain/Training Officer Seth
Barker of the Big Sky (Mont.) Fire Department.
Today at FDIC, Captain Barker will discuss the importance of
preplanning, concentrating on finding target hazards, identifying
problems and formulating a firefighting strategy in the WUI—with a
focus on community education and involvement. I had the opportunity
to speak with Captain Barker recently to discuss WUI preplanning.
Firefighting Strategy
Preparing for a major incident within your district, response area,
community or agency can be a daunting task. One of the
responsibilities of any agency is identifying their target hazards and
coming up with solid incident action plans.
It’s important that a WUI preplan be specific enough to be useful at
the company level. “Firefighting strategy means exactly that. Having
predetermined lookout locations, communication plans, escape routes
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and safety zones in the WUI is invaluable and saves time,” says
Barker. “Look at your district and have a plan for each structure
protection team. You can determine how many engines/resources will
be needed, how much water is available, and how the area has been
pre-triaged for each street/subdivision/neighborhood.”
Available Resources
Preplanning also provides department personnel with the opportunity
to have a working knowledge of what resources are available within
their own department and in other departments as well. “From a
structural fire department standpoint, it is important to understand the
limitations of the responding agencies,” Barker says. “They are
experiencing new terrain, resources and environment.”
When it comes to preplanning, the goal is to have things mapped out
so that no one has to waste valuable time on issues that could have
been addressed prior to an incident. “It is important to minimize
‘recon’ on the company officer level when a structure protection team
is assigned a certain area. This can be accomplished by identifying
safety zones, establishing escape routes, understanding pre-existing
fuel loads and highlighting topography,” Barker says.
In addition, preplanning provides responders with information that can
keep them safe on the fireground. “Showing potential evacuation
routes, landing zones, water supplies, and refueling locations is
critical to ensure that the responding structure protection team, or the
company officer from another district, knows they are being well taken
care of,” Barker says. “Identifying where to go and what to do from a
‘resupplying’ standpoint is also a very important factor to ID. Know
where personnel can go to get food, water, fuel and supplies for an
extended stay.”
Community Involvement
One final essential component of WUI preplanning: community
involvement. When it comes to preplanning, getting the community
involved can only increase the odds for success when it comes to
fighting fires in the WUI. “Community members should focus on
continuity with mitigating hazards in the WUI,” Barker says.
“Community education, at this stage, becomes crucial on a
neighborhood level.: He recommends departments hold informational
meetings on the community level to better educate community
members on construction and landscaping techniques that can
mitigate fire risk.
“This can create an environment that fosters community buy-in,”
Barker says. “If the neighborhood manages each other, and
recognizes that they need to set their subdivision up for success, it is
much more powerful than the local agency always telling them what
they are doing wrong.”
Community education not only empowers residents, but also
underscores to them the limitations of what the fire department can do
—and how their actions can directly affect firefighter capabilities. “By
being involved in training and task-level job functions, the customer
can appreciate what work they can do to increase the likelihood of
firefighters defending their home,” Barker says.
“Having a 360-degree approach with the fire department and the
community working together creates an environment of mutual
respect,” Barker says. And it also provides the department and the
community with a greater chance for success when it comes to facing
hazards in the WUI.
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Kindra Sclar
Kindra Sclar is an associate editor for PennWell Public Safety, which
publishes FireRescue magazine and FirefighterNation.com. Read Full
Bio
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