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By Jamie Thompson
FireRescue1 Editor
 AP Photo/the Sun News, Janet Blackmon Morgan A wildfire threatens structures in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on Wednesday. |
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INDIANAPOLIS — Fire departments in the wildland-urban interface need to be more proactive in combating the risks of wildfires, a session at FDIC was told Thursday.
Climate change and larger populations moving into interface areas means more and more firefighters in urban locations are having to learn how to approach and tackle wildfire incidents.
Firefighter Christopher Barney, of the Portland, Ore., Fire Department, said while urban departments often don’t rank such fires as a major challenge to their area, the threat is real and growing.
“When I started looking at the bigger issues, I would never have thought that the city New York would have to face it,” he said.
“But they have a pretty significant issue there. In 2006, Staten Island had 93 brushfires in two-and-a-half months, with all of those threatening homes.”
Firefighter Barney said planning ahead is vital in reducing the risks of fire in the wildland-urban interface.
However, budget constraints can present challenges, Firefighter Barney said, with departments always being asked to do more with less.
“Staff decreases and population increases are never a good combination,” he said.
But by working with other organizations, departments can have better chance of securing federal funding for mitigation programs, according to Firefighter Barney.
The Portland Fire Department secured a grant in 2006 from FEMA, which has several programs available.
“The big selling point for us was it wasn’t just the fire department, but the parks department and others, too — it was a city-wide effort,” Firefighter Barney said.
“Any time any agency — whether it be a city council of federal government — sees multiple agencies working together it’s a big plus to them.”
To tackle the problems of fire in interface areas, departments need to move away from what is often a reactive approach to incidents.
“I’m trying to advocate in my city and pass the idea to everybody else of, ‘Let’s be more proactive.’
“Figure out what is out there and what is going to pose a threat to us, and deal with it so fires are less of a problem in the future.”
Firefighter Barney said smaller organizations that often deal with wildfires can understandably often respond better than larger, urban departments.
“Larger cities tend to go with regular box assignments and ladder trucks, which can be as far as safety goes problematic,” he said.
“Smaller communities can jump off on their brush trucks and jump off in PPE that’s appropriate for the situation and will not cause heat stress or injuries to firefighters.”