Module 5 - Fireline Organization

Question 1

HAC1 - R (Rapattack crew)

Answer 1

• ~10 in AB (provincial resource)
• type 1 fire fighters- initial action ff
• must meet provincial fitness standards
• contract helicopter- crew is rappel capable
• 8 members (1 leader, 1 sub-leader, 6 crew members)
• (may be divided into 2 crews of 4)

Question 2

HAC1H (Helitack crews)

Answer 2

• ~10+ in AB (WMA resource)
• type 1 fire fighter- initial action ff
• must meet provincial fitness standards
• helicopter hired as needed based on fire hazard
• 4-8 members (1 leader, 1 sub-leader, 2 to 6 crew members)

Question 3

HAC1F (firetack crews)

Answer 3

• WMA resource
• type 1 fire fighters…(student crews)- hired as needed
• must meet provincial fitness standards
• follow up after initial action to release IA resources

Question 4

WFC2 (sustained action crew)

Answer 4

• provincial resource
• type 2 fire fighters- hired as needed for ongoing support on larger fire operations
• intermediate fire training
• must meet provincial fitness standards
• 25 person crew- sustainable for 3 days & nights on fire & may be kept on for extended periods as needed

Question 5

what are the 5 functions within the incident command team?

Answer 5

1. command- overall responsibility for “fire incident”
2. planning- collect & evaluate fire weather & fire behavior data & develop action plans for review by the incident commander
3. logistics- equipment inventory, support & service
4. operations- carry out all tactical fire operations (ground & aerial)
5. admin/finance- time keeping, costing & payment of fire fighters

Question 6

what are the 4 levels of the fire organizational buildup and what are these based on?

Answer 6

• based on fire size, difficulty of control & priority to extinguish
  1. 150+ personnel
  2. 25-150 personnel
  3. 9-24 personnel
  4. 1-8 personnel -basic IA fire

Question 7

what are the 2 levels of ICS (overhead) teams?

Answer 7

1. advanced fire behaviour course
   - >20, D-class fires & 2, E-class fires
2. advanced fire behaviour course
   - >15 fires, 5 or more D-class or bigger fires

Question 8

what are 3 specialized functions?

Answer 8

1. fire behaviour officer- specialist on problem fires
2. air attack officer- guides air tanker operations for bird dog plane
3. aerial ignition boss- carry out aerial ignition tactics

Question 9

explain what a fireline is?

Answer 9

• is a strategically planned, cleared strip or barrier (down to mineral soil), constructed to stop the spread of surface fire
• the width and location relative to the fire is a function of fire intensity, ROS & fuel type
• manually using hand tools (1 to 3ft wide) on lower intensity fires
• mechanically using heavy equipment on faster moving, hot intensity fires

Question 10

what are the 6 things done on hand constructed firelines?

Answer 10

1. locate- fireline relative to fire’s current location, ROS & fire behaviour (crew leader)- use anchor points
2. clear- fireline of surface fuels & aerial fuels up to 2m
3. grub- fireline down to mineral soil
4. burn off- fuels between the fire and fireline (ONLY under orders from your crew supervisor)
5. mom up- completely extinguish the fire (cold trailing)
6. patrol- fire perimeter, also look well ahead of the fire

Question 11

explain cat constructed firelines?

Answer 11

• used on more aggressive, hotter fires
• strategically located relative to the fire (consider fuels, topography, time to construct, & HROS/FROS)
• 10 to 20+m wide (more if necessary)
• involves at least 2 cats per group
• timber may be salvaged when possible & other fuels are bucked up & pushed away from the fire
• ground crews are always needed for final preparation of cat-construction

Question 12

explain fire control line?

Answer 12

• any combination of fireline, retardant line & natural barriers intended to contain the fire
• all fires must be contained with the control line before you commit to the fire being extinguished

Question 13

what are 3 methods of wildfire attack?

Answer 13

1. direct attack
2. parallel attack
3. indirect attack

Question 14

direct attack

Answer 14

• refers to any action taken directly on the fire
• generally used on relatively low intensity & slower moving fires
• “hot spotting” taking direct action on the hottest points of the fire first

Question 15

parallel attack

Answer 15

• contain the fire from flanks working up to & cutting off the fire head
• used on faster moving, hot or smoked in fires
• consider fireline production rates relative to fire spread

Question 16

indirect attack

Answer 16

• used on very hot, aggressive crown fires
• a “backfire” is lit from a control line under the influence of the fire caused winds
• requires an experience aerial person??

Question 17

what are the 4 stages of wildfire control?

Answer 17

1. OC- out of control: fire not contained or fire not responding to control efforts (all fires start as OC)
2. BH- being held: fire not likely to spread beyond existing control lines given current weather & fire behaviour
3. UC- under control: having received sufficient suppression action to ensure no further spread of the fire (contained by control line)
4. E- extinguished: all lingering surface & ground fire has been completely extinguished