TB 155 - Wildland Urban Interface Structure Defense Flashcards
Firefighters can prepare themselves for wildland structure defense activities by developing a sound understanding of:
-wildland structure environment
-fire behavior and forecasting
-Risk Management process
-tactical terms and associated tactical actions.
Leaders Intent:
The first and foremost INTENT during structure defense is to keep firefighters and the public SAFE.
Secondly, once that safety can be ensured, then we can aggressively work towards?
keeping the wildland fire away from structures and communities.
What are the two basic structure environments in the wildland?
INTERFACE - A condition where structures abut the wildland (clear line of demarcation)
•Greater potential for house to house ignition
INTERMIX - A condition where structures are scattered throughout a wildland area.
•Usually requires a higher ratio of engines to structures
•More complex to triage and defend
________ is a preplanned area where firefighters can immediately take refuge for temporary shelter and short-term relief without using a fire shelter in the event that emergency egress to an established Safety Zone is compromised.
Temporary Refuge Area (TRA)
________ is a preplanned area of sufficient size and suitable location that is expected to protect fire personnel from known hazards without using fire shelters.
Safety Zone
Always have an exit strategy in the WUI:
• Employ tactical maneuver to avoid heat injury, move away from the fire
• Move to a Temporary Refuge Area
• Withdraw along an Escape Route
• Move into a Safety Zone.
Standardized references you can use to validate your fire behavior forecast:
• Incident Response Pocket Guide
• Look Up, Look Down, Look Around indicators
• Extreme Fire Behavior indicators (spotting, crowning, rate of spread)
• Campbell Prediction System (CPS)
• Know what the fire is doing at all times in order to maintain an accurate fire behavior forecast.
• Know current weather conditions and forecasts. Consider wind speed, direction, relative humidity, temperatures.
• Observe current burning activity in order to predict flame length and intensity.
• Consider local weather factors and fire history
• Evaluate for wind shifts, micro-climates, weather indicators and hazards
• Evaluate surrounding fuels for type, height, continuity, and conditions
A Structure’s triage category in the WUI is based on:
-forecasted fire behavior
-surrounding area terrain
-any defensible space.
What are the different structure triage categories in the WUI?
- Not-Threatened
- Threatened Defensible
- Threatened Non-Defensible
Explain the 3 structure triage categories….
- Not-Threatened:
- Threatened Defensible:
- Threatened Non-Defensible:
- Not-Threatened: Safety Zone and TRA are present and construction features or defensible space make it unlikely that the structure will ignite during initial fire front contact.
- Threatened Defensible: Safety Zone and TRA are present. Construction features, lack of defensible space, or other challenges REQUIRES firefighters to implement structure defense tactics DURING FIRE FRONT CONTACT.
- Threatened Non-Defensible: Either there is NO SAFETY ZONE or TRA present and/or the structure has challenges that DO NOT ALLOW firefighters to safely commit to stay and protect the structure during fire front contact.
Safety Zones should be identified and designated based upon _________.
forecasted fire behavior.
If a structure becomes involved in fire in the WUI, and a decision is made to extinguish the fire, what is the appropriate PPE required?
Structure Fire PPE including SCBA
(DO NOT base your decision to remain at a structure and/or the safety of your personnel on the use of SCBA’s.)
• Keep at least _____ gallons of water reserve in your apparatus tank
100 gal
Strategy should reflect a “general” plan that is broad in scope and provides direction for accomplishing the incident objectives.
______ are the specific actions firefighters will take to accomplish the incident objectives.
Tactics
Tactical Maneuver:
-Tactical maneuver implies movement or purposeful reaction to change.
-It is imperative that CONTINGENCY PLANNING be part of every tactical plan.
-Tactical maneuver (agility) is essential to ensure fire fighter safety since legitimate safety zones ARE NOT always immediately present in the WUI.
-Tactical maneuver can be an OFFENSIVE or DEFENSIVE action
The following are the seven TACTICAL actions available to structure defense resources:
• CHECK AND GO
• PREP AND GO
• PREP AND DEFEND
• FIRE FRONT FOLLOWING
• BUMP AND RUN
• ANCHOR AND HOLD
• TACTICAL PATROL
Check and Go tactic:
Prep and Go tactic:
Prep and Defend tactic:
Fire Front Following tactic:
Bump and Run tactic:
Anchor and Hold tactic:
Tactical Patrol:
The goal of the “Fire Front Following” tactic is to?
-search for victims
-effect perimeter control
-extinguish spot fires around structures
-control hot spots
-reduce ember production.
APPENDIX B- RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS
Step 1: Situation Awareness
Step 2: Hazard Assessment
Step 3: Hazard Control
Step 4: Decision Point
Step 5: Evaluate
Tactical Engagement Process:
Firefighters must anticipate the unexpected and build agility (Tactical Maneuver) into their plan with contingency planning.
The lexicon for contingency planning is P.A.C.E.:
P- Primary Plan [Offense] -Is focused on fire fighter safety and on mission objectives. Yields the most desirable results (Manning hose lines to suppress the fire around a structure)
A- Alternate Plan [Offense] A fall back plan that closely supports the Primary Plan (Retreating into or behind the structure until fire intensity diminishes)
C- Contingency Plan [Defense] A plan totally focused on the firefighter’s SAFETY. Move to a tactical refuge area or withdraw along the escape route and into a safety zone
E- Emergency Plan [Defense] A plan totally focused on individual firefighter SURVIVAL. When threatened by fire, firefighters should get into their fire shelter
There are 5 “Levels of Engagement in wildland firefighting”.
Use acronym “DRAW-D” to identify a thoughtful and mindful approach to choosing the appropriate tactical action:
D- Defend
R- Reinforce
A - Advance
W- Withdraw
D- Delay
Appendix F - Structure Assessment Checklist
Adequate clearance around a structure should be a minimum of _____ ft (steeper the slope the more clearance required).
100ft
Guidelines for Estimated Resources for Structure Protection:
-_____ engine(s) per one structure, one additional engine for every four structures to be used as “backup” and for patrol.
-For structures that are close together (50’ or less), one engine may be adequate to protect ______ structures
-One engine
-two structures
Power Line Safety:
-Maintain a ____ ft distance from TRANSMISSION lines
Spot fires or low ground fires can be fought with hose lines if heavy smoke or flame is not within _____ ft of the power lines
35 ft
100 ft
Structure protection should start with a determination of ________.
the exit strategy
Structure defense firefighting in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) is inherently dangerous because it is primarily associated with _______ firefighting.
in-direct
Successful WUI firefighting operations are accomplished by selecting SOUND STRATAGIES supported by ___________.
effective TACTICAL actions that keep firefighters SAFE, protect the public and minimize property loss.
Defending structures from a wildland fire will not be possible in every situation. What will dictate the strategies that will be used?
-Risk to firefighters
-Fire behavior
-Availability of resources
