Article 5: ECUFPA: INTEGRATED FIRE MANAGEMENT – WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Integrated fire management covers three key areas:
- Wildfire Prevention – fuel load reduction / alien vegetation control / rehabilitation
- Wildfire Protection – education & awareness, FPA partnerships
- Wildfire Suppression – fire suppression activities, extended mop up
Wildfire Prevention: Fire prevention includes all activities and operations aimed at preventing unwanted fires from occurring and to eliminate or reduce the risks and hazards associated with fire. The three main activities of fire prevention are:
- Education & Awareness
- Preparedness in terms of the law, and
- Compliance with the law.
A few important fire prevention activities, which your FPA will undertake:
- Wildfire awareness campaigns
- Fire weather monitoring
- Wildfire prevention training
- Causes of wildfire and their origin – investigations
- General fire educations and awareness interventions, and
- The compliance of national statistics to assist in developing strategies.
Wildfire Protection: Fire protection includes all activities that are aimed at the protection of life, property and assets from the impacts of unwanted wildfires. Education, campaigns, communication & awareness are the key components of integrated fire management. Fire protection activities include the following:
- The development of policies and strategies
- Implementation of SOP’s
- Entering into agreements
- Gathering of data
- The development of communication networks
- Determining training needs and establishing training schedules
- Prescribed burning and fuel load reduction operations
Wildfire Suppression and Response: Being sufficiently prepared and ensuring an appropriate response to veld and forest fires when they occur are key factors in effective and efficient fire management. It is essential to have plans and resources in place prior to fires occurring. Responsible authorities need to have a range of options available, know which fires to suppress and which to allow to burn, mechanisms for monitoring fire danger and identifying fires which require action, and clear responsibilities and coordination mechanisms – this is where your FPA plays a key role.Fire suppression includes operations and tactics aimed at containing, controlling and extinguishing fire. It revolves around the management of the firefighting resources and the implementation of predetermined standard operating procedures, which guide decision-making and the actual operations on the ground. Efficient fire suppression is primarily geared towards a rapid response or an aggressive initial attack strategy, as it is known. The fundamental principle of “throwing” the maximum amount of firefighting resources at a fire before it increases in size greatly reduces the complexity and the costs associated with a large fire that escape initial attack.