Guidelines for selecting a safe escape area
This past year, I’ve been deployed on several fires with my incident management team to various corners of the country. Despite the different circumstances at each of these fires, there was one common element: the need to establish the right size and location for safety zones.
A Definition
Before we decide how to select and construct a safety zone, we must consider what a safety zone is. The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) defines safety zone as “an area cleared of flammable materials used for escape in the event the line is outflanked or in case a spot fire causes fuels outside the control line to render the line unsafe. In firing operations, crews progress so as to maintain a safety zone close at hand, allowing the fuels inside the control line to be consumed before going ahead. Safety zones may also be constructed as integral parts of fuel breaks; they are greatly enlarged areas which can be used with relative safety by firefighters and their equipment in the event of blowup in the vicinity.”
Don’t confuse a deployment zone with a safety zone. Deployment zones are your last-ditch spot—it’s the best available space for you to deploy your fire shelter when faced with uncontrolled fire behavior and you can’t make it to an adequate safety zone. Only use a deployment zone when fire conditions compromise escape routes and safety zones.
Choosing a Safety Zone
While some safety zones are self-evident—such as large, washed out areas, sand pits and burned areas—any spot you select should be carefully evaluated before declaring it a safety zone. This job typically falls to the safety officer or the division supervisor, but other operational staff can help identify a good location too. Safety zones and deployment zones should always be communicated to incident personnel and listed on incident maps.
The NWCG’s Incident Response Pocket Guide (PMS#461/NFES #1077, January 2006) offers the following guidelines on safety zones:
• Avoid locations that are downwind from the fire.
• Avoid locations that are in chimneys, saddles or narrow canyons.
• Avoid locations that require a steep uphill escape route. Take advantage of heat barriers such as the lee side of ridges, large rocks or solid structures.
• Burn out safety zones prior to the flame front approach.
• For radiant heat only, the distance separation between the firefighter and the flames must be at least four times the maximum flame height. The distance must be maintained on all sides, if the fire has the ability to burn completely around the safety zone. Remember, convective heat from wind and/or terrain influences will increase this distance requirement.
Estimating Safety Zone Size
The table below shows the NWCG’s calculations on estimating the size needed for the construction of a safety zone:
Distance separation is the radius from the center of the safety zone to the nearest fuels. When fuels are present that will allow the fire to burn on all sides of the safety zone, this distance must be doubled in order to maintain an effective separation on all sides.
Final Considerations
Safety zones are not a substitution for good strategy or effective tactics. In addition, one safety zone is not sufficient; always establish multiple safety zones. Always consider how long it takes the slowest person on your squad, crew or team to get to the safety zone. That is your speed.
When you construct safety zones, ask yourself, Can I survive without a fire shelter? What natural areas or constructed sites are present that can aid in the establishment of the safety zone and my survivability (e.g., rocky areas, water, meadows, clearcuts, roads, helispots)? The location for a suitable safety zone must be scouted ahead of time for size, hazards and time of construction. After establishing one, notate all maps. Finally, remember that your escape time and safety zone size will change as fire behavior (and number of resources/apparatus) increases.
Gene Madden is an SOFI, an IOFI and an MEDL. E-mail him at gmsof1@comcast.net.
