Check for ground fuels beneath your engine. Grasses, brush and other ground cover could bring the fire to you.

One of the most important things in managing any fire is the need for a strong incident management system. This system is based on a hierarchy of command in which the overhead team maintains a strong presence and the crew maintains high accountability. Freelancing and solo jobs are strictly out. Everyone works in a team, as a team.

The incident command system acts as a wide-ranging safety net that connects you with other people in the field when your life is on the line- which is every time you fight a fire. Since that safety net is essentially a flow of information to and from your position, good communications are integral to the incident command system.

For example, wildland firefighters who are appropriately trained sometimes use fire as a suppression tool. When the decision has been made to begin burning in a certain area, a member of the overhead team notifies adjacent divisions so that everyone in the area knows what is going on, thereby avoiding confusion and preventing accidents.

One of the most Important things that the overhead team considers in making fire fighting decisions Is topography.

Similarly, structural fire fighters attack the fire from inside a structure, while other fire fighters work to vent the gases and smoke by opening the roof. If this duel attack is not properly coordinated, the build-up of heat could endanger the fire fighters inside and weaken the roof under the fire fighters outside.

One of the most important things that the overhead team considers in making fire fighting decisions is topography.

At a minimum, fire fighters should learn and follow the safety guidelines for box canyons, saddles, and mid-slope roads and structures with fire below.

These safety guidelines are available in various publications and from other wildland agencies. We hope these suggestions help keep you safe.

Remember them in good health.

HOME